Contents
Introduction
In the realms of app stores, where myriad applications strive to draw user attention, the journey from discovery to download is often guided by the insights of those who came before—user reviews and ratings. In a landscape where choice abounds, positive reviews and high ratings not only act as beacons of trust but also wield the power to influence rankings, user decisions, and the overall fate of an app. This article will address the pivotal role that reviews and ratings play in App Store Optimization (ASO) and some practical tips to optimize the reviews and ratings successfully.
How Important Are Reviews and Ratings
Though it sounds like common sense that reviews and ratings are important not only from the ASO perspective but also from the overall app growth, how important are they? aix Inc. conducted user behavior research on app stores in Japan to be more specific about the significance.
The survey concluded that 65.3% of App Store respondents considered reviews and ratings as the most important factor before installing an app, while 60.1% of Play Store respondents answered so. The next important factor for the App Store was title and subtitle, whereas the number of downloads of the app followed for the Play Store.
In summary, at least six out of ten people in Japan consider reviews and ratings before installing an app, so it can be concluded that they can be one of the top priorities for app growth.
Some Practical Tips about Reviews & Ratings Optimization
Use Net Promotion Score (NPS) and Customize User Engagement
To optimize the number of reviews on the app stores, it is popularly known to send pop-ups in the app to leave a review and rating. For apps on the App Store, users can rate the app within the app, while Android apps can only send the pop-up. Either way, it is advisable to prepare multiple pop-ups and user actions according to their Net Promotion Score. Users with positive impressions toward the app (it can be evaluated by the certain stage of the game or the response toward the first question like “How do you like our app”) can be directed to the reviews and ratings on the app stores, whereas the users with negative impressions can be directed to customer service. Moreover, it is important to optimize the texts for the pop-ups according to your service and the users’ NPS.
Things to Know About App Stores’ Reviews and Ratings
App Store and Play Store are the two major app stores widely used globally, but the two stores have some differences regarding their reviews and ratings systems. App Store has a reset feature for the ratings upon the app’s update. But the reviews cannot be removed. And the number of ratings shown on the product page refers to a specific region, so if you had reset your ratings in Japan in your latest update, you would have 0 ratings shown on the product page with the reviews from the past.
Play Store, on the other hand, does not have the rating reset feature. Instead, its system gives weights to the ratings earned with the latest version so the users may see the value of the app with the most recent version. Play Store, then, shows the total number of ratings on the store listing, instead of that of a specific region. So you would see the same number of ratings in different country setting. Another important thing to note is that Play Store considers the keywords used in the reviews into the search ranking algorithm. Lastly, Play Store has a rating filter, where users can filter out apps with below 4.5 or 4.0 rating. So it can be a bit more important to maintain your app’s rating higher than 4.0.
Outro
In the dynamic universe of app optimization, the significance of user reviews and ratings in shaping an app’s destiny cannot be overstated. As our journey through the intricacies of ASO concludes, it is evident that these digital testimonials are more than just metrics—they are the voices that echo the success or challenges of an app. From building user trust and influencing rankings to providing insights for improvement, reviews and ratings serve as compass points in the vast landscape of app stores. As developers and users alike navigate this digital terrain, the collaborative dance between creators and consumers, as expressed through reviews and ratings, continues to be a cornerstone in the ongoing quest for app excellence and user satisfaction.
