Five Ways to Get an App Into Apple’s Top 10

Getting your mobile application into Apple’s Top 10 is like getting into the National Football League playoffs — it’s where 90% of the money is. Due to the way people search and browse for apps, the Top 10 in any category receive a huge majority of the downloads, so marketers are rightly looking for ways to launch, and sustain, their app’s presence there.

The exact rules for getting into Apple’s Top 10 are not publicly disclosed but are largely based on the volume of downloads, combined with app activations; if apps are downloaded but remain unactivated, that actually counts as a black mark against you in Apple’s ranking algorithm.

In general an app isn’t downloaded because it will work across all iOS devices in an integrated Apple-like fashion — it’s downloaded because your friends are using it, because it’s fun and social, because you see ads for it, because it’s in reviews in generic and specialist publications, because in-app promotions lead you to it and because (maybe) Apple has chosen to feature the app (a decision that’s made according to its internal rules, regulations and daily desires). Who knows, if you are really fortunate, Apple might include your app in one of its TV spots!

We’ve helped several clients develop marketing programs around their apps, picking up some simple how-to recommendations along the way. Avoiding the range of scamming techniques returned by a Google search, and focusing on promotion rather than design, here are five legitimate things you can do to get your app into the Top 10:

Read the rest of this article at Ad Age

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