App developers who have had trouble getting their creations noticed might have a promising new avenue thanks to Apple. The tech giant said today that it is overhauling its App Store developer Web site to include articles, videos and other material aimed at helping developers grow their businesses and garner more users.
“The App Store makes it simple for users around the world to discover, download and enjoy your apps,” according to Apple. “Grow your business with resources designed to help you create great apps and reach more users.”
Getting Noticed
The topics on the revamped site will include such subjects as getting apps noticed on the App Store, connecting with users via app updates and offering “freemium” products, or apps that are free but with optional paid upgrades. Developers will also be able to submit apps for feature consideration through the new site.
A resource on the site, “Discovery on the App Store,” sets out the process of how Apple selects apps to feature. Other content, such as “Releasing App Updates,” uses case-study formats to illustrate how successful companies release their updates to gain new users and keep existing ones.
Also new is the App Store’s Planning feature that combines previously available information with new material to spotlight methods for picking the right categories for apps.
The App Store site now features a video series called Developer Insights that focuses on some of the App Store’s most successful developers and how they got where they are. The video by Seriously, the company behind the million-selling game Best Fiends, discusses how the company garnered a million social media followers in its first year. The video also explains the company’s techniques for building brand and community among those followers.
The site also contains a subsection on how to best promote apps and another on managing apps, including tax and banking information and tips on generating sales reports.
Secret Team
The App Store has about 11 million registered developers worldwide who have developed more than 1.5 million applications available in the store. According to Apple, it has paid some $ 40 billion to developers since the store opened, and the App Store is responsible for about 1.9 million jobs in the United States.
All that development activity means more competition between developers and increased difficulty to get apps noticed. A recent Bloomberg report indicated that a secret team at Apple has been tinkering with the App Store for some time, and even contemplated emulating Google by offering developers the option to pay to have their apps pushed up the line in search results.
The remodeled App Store developer section made its debut at about the same time that Apple announced its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference, scheduled to take place from June 13 to June 17 in San Francisco.
Image Credit: Screenshots Apple Developers site via Apple.
