The following best practices have enabled developers worldwide to build great, successful apps for Google Play.
Get the Essentials Right
1. Make it Android
-
Build your apps to make best use of the unique Android features, such as widgets, rich notifications, sharing through Intents, and more.
-
Add the power of Google features your users already love, such as Google Maps, Google Drive, and more, all with single sign on.
2. Make it quality
-
Make sure your apps follow the Core App Quality guidelines.
-
Create apps that are available on all form factors and screen sizes, by following the Tablet App Quality guidelines.
-
Test and optimize your quality at every step and make use of the Google Play beta-testing and staged rollouts features to test with users before launch.
Get Users
1. Build buzz
-
Create a great app listing page to showcase your apps and grab users’ attention. Don’t forget to include a YouTube video.
-
Launch on multiple platforms simultaneously to maximize your reach.
-
Promote your apps with the official Google Play badge and link to your products on Google Play.
-
Build a community with social media, forums, and communities to get and keep users talking.
2. Optimize for great ratings
-
Get to know your users, listen to and update your apps from their feedback.
-
Focus on your strength markets first, get these right before expanding.
Engage and Retain
1. Keep users coming back
-
Use Google Play In-app Billing to offer subscriptions to extended features.
-
Hold competitions and offer promotions, then announce them through notifications.
2. Earn users’ love
-
Respond to reviews and get valuable feedback from the community you've built.
-
Measure your campaigns to see what is driving users to install your apps.
-
Analyze in-app use to steer content updates and prolong the life of your apps.
Beyond the Basics
-
After you’ve launched in your market of strength, expand into other markets strategically and localize your apps as you go.
-
Keep users engaged, and stay ahead of the competition, by continually optimizing your apps to offer new and better features, or retire those that users aren’t using.
-
Build educational apps: learn how to make apps for Google Play for Education.