5 Mobile App Analytics You Should be Tracking in 2019
Experienced business leaders will tell you that market research and collecting business statistics will be one of the most crucial aspects in strengthening business strategies. The same mindset must also be applied to mobile application strategies. The process behind ensuring your mobile application does well involves much more than just creating the app. Just as most businesses do with their websites and mobile apps, tracking your mobile application’s analytics allow for you to make the necessary modifications so that your app is comparable to the best apps in the industry. Through analyzing factors such as the app’s functionality, acquisition channels, location data, app engagement metrics, and app store ratings, you will be able to understand your consumer’s needs and develop the optimal mobile application strategy for your company’s needs. To make your life easier, the team at SideLabs decided to think of five important analytics you should be tracking in 2019, to deliver a fluid, personalized mobile app experience to your consumers and set yourself apart this year.
MOBILE APP FUNCTIONALITY
There are roughly 2 million apps available for both Android users and Apple users. How exactly should your app stand out and what gives it the competitive edge? Proper functionality is the tip of the iceberg, but of the most importance when considering your app performance. It is estimated that your consumer’s attention span is anywhere from 8 seconds to 12 seconds. From the time the user opens your app, to when they make their first purchase, it is imperative that the app not crash, there are no bugs, it does not lag, and the mobile experience be seamless. The performance of your app can directly affect the number of users, regardless of how well it’s been designed and what the app has to offer.
Gathering data on the application’s response time, screen rendering times, how versatile the device compatibility is, the user interface, and it’s general performance, would all be considered front-end functionality metrics.
Application Response Time - Due to consumer’s low attention span, you can expect users to have very little patience when engaging with slow apps. You should aim for your app response time to be in the two-to-three second range.
Screen Rendering and Device Compatibility - Ensure that all images, content, and animations are developed, are consistent, will render seamlessly on your mobile app across all platforms.
User Interface - Everything from the content you offer to the points of interaction, affect the overall experience
On the other end, back-end performance metrics would be considered server response time, time to first byte, number of HTTP calls, and TCP connection times.
Server Response Time - A low amount of time for a web server to respond to a request from your mobile app.
Time to First Byte - Being conscious of your app’s response times plays a large role in whether or not your app meets the expectations of your users.
HTTP Calls - Make it a note to reduce the number of calls or requests that your application makes with back-end servers and services when it is active.
TCP Connection Times - Avoid opening up too many connections in a mobile app; alternatively, you can make fewer connections and keep the open longer to reduce traffic.
MOBILE ACQUISITION CHANNELS
The next metric revolves around gaining the traction your mobile app needs to drive new consumers and keep existing users stimulated. Number of installs and install rate are arguably some of the most important statistics you will need. In order to compete with some of the best apps in the industry, you will need to attract new consumers at rapid pace. There are various channels in which you can do this, some of which include targeted blogs, search engine marketing (SEM), social and display ads, search engine optimization (SEO), and deep linking.
Targeted Blogs - Utilizing niche blogs is a way to target consumers who are more likely to be interested in your app as it directly correlates with their interests.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) - Investing in advertisements on search engines such as Google, will exponentially increase the amount of your impressions.
Social and Display Ads - Social media consumes much of time on which consumers use on their mobile devices. Displaying ads on social media platforms, like Instagram and Facebook increase your audience reach.
Search Engine Optimization - Attain a higher ranking in search engines to increase the number visitors to your app
Deep Linking - Using deferred deep linking and deep linking, urge consumers to install your app. Your app can be linked to everything from a mobile website to another app, making your app extremely easy to be accessed.
MOBILE APP LOCATION DATA
Through obtaining accurate location data, companies gain more detailed insight on their consumers and can make more precise predictions. You now can provide relevant content and improve your app’s performance. A defined image of your audience (because of location data) then leads to better ad performance. Content can be localized in real-time, personalizing the experience to each individual user. Location data will also illustrate the physical behaviors of your users after seeing a campaign or your app - and gives you data on their online and offline activities. This allows you to identify any patterns which may be visible in their physical behaviors and interaction with other users in the same geographic location as them.
MOBILE APP ENGAGEMENT METRICS
Once you’ve created the app, it is important to be tracking your app’s engagement metrics to ensure that it does well. The number of installs, active users, recurring revenue, app retention, session length and interval, are all things to consider when analyzing your app’s data.
Number of Installs - Measuring the number installs your app has received and the corresponding locations, provides data which can assist you with figuring out what to target. If you choose to explore the data with the number of installs, you can learn how exactly users found out about your app (e.g. word of mouth or targeted ads).
Active Users - In analyzing your active users, you are able to understand what enhances engagement, what your consumer’s conversion funnel is. You also become better acquainted with your consumers, in understanding what demographics of your users are, their behaviors, and what their general interests are.
Recurring Revenue - At the end of the day, you are looking to generate a certain amount of profit (as any company should). Take into account all finances and numbers, including your Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) and Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), to see the real benefits of your mobile app.
App Retention - Retention is referred to as the percentage of users who return to your app after installing it. Tracking your retention stats help you develop cohorts, which are a group of users that share a common traits and characteristics. In gaining insight as to what is working for your users and what isn’t, you can release updated versions of the app that incorporate this feedback.
Session Length - Session length refer to the duration of time a user will spend on your app before closing it or becoming inactive.
Session Interval - Session intervals refer to the time period between your user’s session on your app. This data will show you how many times your users has opened your app; it will give you insight as to whether or not your app is regularly used or forgotten by your user.
MOBILE APP STORE RATING
Your app store rating is everything! Similar to many other restaurants and service based organizations, much of your consumer traffic is based off of reviews from previous consumers. This builds brand integrity, trust, and sets the standard for the quality of your content. Additionally, reviews and app ratings act as a direct channel of communication between you and your users. Through receiving feedback and ratings, you can identify where exactly your app needs improvement and/or is doing well. You can also use your ranking as way to see what you competitors bring to the table and are offering their clients. The app store also acts has a way to show you similar apps, which may have the same content but deliver it in a different way. It can be a source of inspiration and show you what and who exactly your competitors are.
DON’T JUST READ IT.. TRACK IT!
Now that we’ve told you what you should be looking for, you can start tracking and analyzing your mobile application data with some of our favorite tools we use at SideLabs: