The information you need to measure the overall success of your application relies heavily on detailed key performance indicators (KPIs). Regarding the development, marketing, and revenue of an application, KPIs give you the ability to track the application’s growth over time.
Key takeaways:
- What exactly are key performance indicators? They matter for any mobile application.
- Some KPIs are more relevant and vital than others.
- You can guarantee the success of your mobile application through monitoring KPIs.
Navigate the development and growth of an application’s success over time by monitoring KPIs. Mobile apps require consistent upkeep, and you have to mold to the shifting market needs and end user expectations. Setting a plan to monitor KPIs regularly is recommended.
Many different KPIs exist though some are more relevant than others. From monitoring and measuring costs, user retention, daily activity, and many others, they all play into the overall application success.
The information collected from KPIs also benefits more than one department, whether it’s for marketers, developers, or anyone else involved in the project including stakeholders.
Although mobile apps are a very common product and experience in today’s world, the amount of competition is stronger than ever. Creating apps requires a design strategy.
This article will offer a comprehensive look at some of the most essential KPIs for mobile apps, with some specific to apps and app development.
KPIs specific to mobile apps/app development
1. User growth rate: Understanding user growth rate requires watching present and past user numbers. Some examples that affect user growth rate include app updates, pricing, and marketing.
2. App retention rate: This pertains to the number of users returning after a specific period of time. User retention is a good sign that an application can achieve longevity.
3. Number of mobile downloads: The number of downloads an app receives is a good indication of the application’s popularity. This doesn’t necessarily mean every user completes the setup process, but it’s good for monitoring where your app sits among the competition.
4. App engagement: Each user is bound to interact with your app in a unique way. Important engagement KPIs to monitor include daily active users, average screens per visit, social shares, and session metrics.
5. Session metrics: There are several to consider – session length, intervals, and depth. Each of these focus on time spent, time between sessions, and the depths of a users’ journey within the app.
6. User activity: Going hand-in-hand with user experience, user activity considers load times, devices using your app, granted permissions, and operating systems, to name a few.
7. Churn rate: You also want to focus on the number of users who uninstall your application. It’s important to aim for a low churn rate, as a high churn rate could be an indication pointing to issues with the application or user interest.
The basics of KPIs for mobile apps
Some indicators carry much more weight than others and require additional monitoring. Reviewing them regularly can ensure the app stays running, is growing, and is keeping users happy. A simple KPI that should be monitored consistently is the user growth rate, which provides a general overview of how your user base is increasing over time.
Tracking this indicator will show you spikes and drops in the number of users, and you can consider this data to adjust if needed. In many cases, these numbers go hand in hand with your application retention rate, which considers the number of users who return to the application over a specific period of time.
Another basic KPI is the number of mobile downloads, which doesn’t necessarily correlate to the amount of users. Nevertheless, monitoring the number of mobile downloads over time can provide a look at the overall popularity of your application. Many of these KPIs offer a general view, but if you’re looking for something more detailed, review engagement metrics.
Most important KPIs for app engagement
Monitoring the engagement on your application considers more than one KPI, and it covers a lot. It’s essential for the growth of any application and to increase brand loyalty. User engagement on your application will look different in a few ways because of certain features when opening the app, where most of the user’s time is spent, and more. Below is a breakdown of several important app engagement KPIs.
Session metrics
This data refers to the number of times each individual user opens your application, and it provides insight into the app’s popularity. You can expect this to vary between the unique needs of each user. Reviewing KPIs such as session length, interval, and depth for the amount of time, frequency, and interactions each user generates is helpful.
Daily and monthly active users
These KPIs provide data on the number of people who use your app on a daily or monthly basis. Averaging the number of daily active users over a certain amount of time can be a helpful way to discern the project’s future growth. In some cases, you can use these numbers to decipher a valuation for the application.
Churn rate
Monitoring the activities of new and existing users in your application is vital, but it’s also important to consider those who unsubscribe or uninstall the application. This is what’s known as the churn rate, and any application should aim for a low churn rate as best they can, and a high one may indicate a problem with the application requiring attention.
Working with professionals for the best results
This is just a brief glance at a few important app engagement KPIs, but it all goes much deeper. Working in the application market can be challenging and can rarely be accomplished alone, especially if you want to rise above your competitors and be a leading force in your industry.
It’s crucial to work with app developers who can ensure project success. From marketing, development, and maintenance, Shockoe’s case studies offer a good look at how they manage the needs of a variety of applications as well as how they can assist with mobile strategy, marketing, and product design, and how your business can include emerging tech for your application.
At Shockoe, we understand the importance of going far above expectations for the end user, and this includes keeping a close watch on a long list of KPIs. By doing so, we can ensure the long-term success of your application and provide the insight and education you need to continue pushing forward.
Contact us to dive into the needs of your mobile application.