Ranking of Apps by Google and Apple - Change in Ranking Algorithm

If you are a mobile application developer, develop Android applications and/or iPhone applications, and want those applications to rank high on the Android Market or iOS App Store respectively, then it is not only the number of downloads but also the active user's number that is going to be taken into consideration.

The changes to the App Store seem to have taken place recently. The free iPhone applications that feature in the Top free Apps chart of Apple Inc. include Facebook, Netflix and Pandora.

There are many experts that consider that taking into consideration the active users of an application is a step towards measuring the correct popularity of the application.

Google was the first one to bring change in the algorithm for ranking the applications. It brought the change in the later part of March. Without losing much time, Apple too followed the suit. This became obvious when my Yearbook Android application jumped from 63rd rank to 11th rank in the Android market list.

The new system of ranking seems to be bit more complex than its predecessors. Besides the new installations per day, the new algorithm takes into consideration the extent of activity. So the utility of the application is also now considered.

There are experts who believe that either the DAU or the sticky factor is considered for ranking the application. DAU stands for daily active users. Sticky Factor is the ratio of Daily Active Users (DAU) to Monthly Active Users (MAU)

The change in the algorithm seems to justify the real meaning of a successful application. Now a successful application is not only the one that is downloaded the most but also used actively the most. This has been the basis of ranking the games and social application on the Facebook and now this serves as the basis for ranking on the Android Market and Apple Appstore. Now the application developers will have to also focus on the utility of the application. This change has a positive effect on the users and developers of applications.

This change is going to benefit Twitter and Facebook. Applications like Spotify, Pandora, Netflix and iPlayer are going to get a boost in the rankings. Game applications like Zombie Farm and Smurf's Village that have comparatively longer shelf life will gain grounds. Those game applications that do not get updated regularly are going to lose grounds.

As a consequence of this change, the newspaper applications will have to make their content so interesting that the brand loyalty towards it is maintained. To get the advantage of the new changes in the algorithm the newspaper application will need to be used at least once in twenty four hours.

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