iTunes Connect Expansion: App Store Browse, App Store Search & More

Big news from Apple!

Per an iTunes Connect banner notification and Apple's app analytics page, we learned that Apple has just released some exciting new data points. Per Apple's banner:

"Now you can learn more about where customers discover your app, including through browsing or searching the App Store, within other apps, or on the web."

Apple is adding several new data points to its iTunes Connect App Analytics dashboard, in both the metrics and sources sub-tabs within the app analytics view, including:

• App Store Browse – identify how many impressions, product page views, downloads, purchases, sessions, or active devices for your app came from users who tapped for the first time while browsing the featured, categories or top charts sections.
• App Store Search –identify how many impressions, product page views, app units, purchases, sessions, or active devices for your app came from users who tapped for the first time from an App Store search.
• App Referrer – see details on which apps sent your app new product page views, app units, and revenue from links within other apps.

You can also filter by country in the metrics sub-tab by selecting filter > country, and view by > source type.

While not quite keyword-level organic attribution or monthly keyword search volume data, this expansion nonetheless represents a treasure trove of tantalizing new insights previously impossible to obtain. Some of the ways that you can use this data include:

• Disambiguating the impact of search vs top charts/features in terms of driving performance for your app.
  • With this data, it is also now possible to more accurately determine the return of earning your way to an above-the-fold top chart position.
• Identifying top referrer apps, in order to strengthen those relationships and/or marketing connections.
• More easily correlating the impact of keyword ranking changes, through allowing segmentation of only data sourced from keyword searches.

Some caveats of the new iTunes Connect data:

• From Thomasbcn:
  • Data only available since 4/15
  • Data is 70% extrapolated
  • Massive post-install misattribution
  • Organic/Paid Search Ads breakdown undisclosed
• From Gabor Papp:
  • Only opt-in data (for us, that's only 26-30% of all user data)

The Bottom Line: Apple's new iTunes Connect data points make it easier for app marketers and developers to analyze the impact of and prioritize their app promotion activities, both in and outside the App Store.

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Incipia is a mobile marketing consultancy that markets apps for companies, with a specialty in mobile advertising, business intelligence, and ASO. For post topics, feedback or business inquiries please contact us, or send an inquiry to projects@incipia.co