App Store Marketing
App Store Marketing covers the full app growth stack - ASO, Apple Search Ads, Google App Campaigns, paid social, DSPs, retention, CRM, creatives and app UX optimisation.
Daily thought from Tom, the ASM editor-in-chief... Attribution is still mostly an install story, but RevenueCat’s Appstack integration is a nudge toward optimizing for renewals, not clicks. Tiny win: pick one paid channel cohort and review first-renewal rate plus recovered billing issues next to CAC before you touch budgets.
Start here: core guides
View all guides
Start here: What is App Store Marketing?
What it is, what’s changed, and the levers that still matter.
ASO Guide 2026
Positioning → metadata → creative → iteration cadence (a repeatable system).
Apple Search Ads Guide
Structure, bidding, creative, and incrementality - without hype.
ASO checklist
A simple weekly routine to keep listings compounding.
App marketing tools
A curated toolbox for research, creative, and measurement.
RevenueCat: Google Play involuntary churn is a recoverable revenue leak (configure grace periods, holds, and in-app messages)
RevenueCat argues a large share of Google Play cancellations are payment failures, not user intent, and outlines a high-ROI recovery playbook using grace periods, account holds, and the In-App Messaging API.
Latest
- RevenueCat: Google Play involuntary churn is a recoverable revenue leak (configure grace periods, holds, and in-app messages)
- Better ratings are not just social proof, they are a growth gate (17k-app dataset)
- Apple: App Store Connect adds 11 new metadata localizations (now 50 total)
- App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 14 (2026)
- Apple updated the Developer Program License Agreement (again). If you ship privacy-sensitive features, skim the diffs
- Android developer verification is rolling out to all developers (Play Console + the new Android Developer Console)
News feed
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App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 14 (2026)
The next conversion gains are coming from boring discipline: test your store promise like a product change, and treat ‘alternative billing’ as an entitlement system, not a policy footnote.
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Better ratings are not just social proof, they are a growth gate (17k-app dataset)
ConsultMyApp analysed 17,128 US App Store apps and found a clear pattern: the top of the charts is dominated by 4.5+ rated apps, and rating improvements can lift organic visibility and paid conversion at the same time.
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Apple: App Store Connect adds 11 new metadata localizations (now 50 total)
Apple added 11 new languages for localized App Store metadata in App Store Connect, with a particular focus on helping apps reach more users in India.
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Apple updated the Developer Program License Agreement (again). If you ship privacy-sensitive features, skim the diffs
Apple’s March 30, 2026 update to the Apple Developer Program License Agreement adds more explicit requirements around specific frameworks (including privacy expectations). It’s the kind of ‘legal’ change that becomes a product/fire-drill if you only notice it during a release.
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Android developer verification is rolling out to all developers (Play Console + the new Android Developer Console)
Google is expanding developer verification and app registration ahead of user-facing install protections later this year. Here’s what changes, when, and what to do now if you ship outside Play.
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Location SDK panic is usually a configuration story, not a magic data leak
OneSignal clarifies how location works in its mobile SDK: it is off by default, requires explicit developer enablement, and still depends on OS-level user permission. Useful framing for privacy reviews and stakeholder questions.
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In iOS 26.4, App Store updates get an extra tap: why tiny navigation changes can shift update adoption
A credited summary of Heise’s March 26, 2026 write-up: iOS 26.4 moves the App Store updates list behind the account screen (and adds a faster Home Screen shortcut), a small UX change that can affect update behaviour and release rollout expectations.
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Apple will show ‘regulated medical device’ status on App Store pages in the EEA, UK, and US
A credited summary of Apple’s March 26, 2026 update: some Health & Fitness and Medical apps must now declare regulated medical device status in App Store Connect, with new compliance cutoffs for new apps now and existing apps by early 2027.
More stories
- Android 17 is making location permissions more ‘in-the-moment’ (and harder to over-collect by accident)
- A primetime TV mention is mostly a brand-demand event (and you can measure it)
- App Store Connect Analytics adds subscription + IAP metrics: cohorts, benchmarks, and new exportable reports
- Apple: App Store Connect Analytics adds IAP + subscription metrics (cohorts, benchmarks, exports)
- App Store Marketing Weekly – Week 13 (2026)
See more
- Apple launches Apple Business: device management, app distribution, and local ads in Maps (coming this summer)
- Apple Maps search ads are reportedly coming: what it means for app teams (and everyone fighting for intent)
- WWDC26 dates are locked (June 8-12): treat platform season as a product and marketing deadline
- Amplitude’s AI Agents pitch: always-on analysts, Slack answers, and ‘insight to action’ workflows
- Airbridge: why MMP pricing is still opaque (and how to evaluate it anyway)
- RevenueCat: free trial length is a product decision, not a 7-day default
- Android’s new ‘advanced flow’ for installing unverified apps: the 24-hour wait is the point
On the grapevine
Small notes and community chatter worth keeping an eye on (curated and capped).
- Google System Services release notes (watch for quiet Play Store mechanics like trials and wishlist nudges) Google (System services) Primary source. Small store behaviours tend to ship here before anyone writes a thread about them. Quick scan weekly, then share only the bits that affect your funnel.
- App Store Connect release notes (workflow + review rules that break launches) Apple Developer (App Store Connect) Primary source. Most launch-week fires are caused by tiny process shifts. A 2-minute scan here usually beats learning via a rejected binary or a broken metadata flow.
- App Review Guidelines (the canonical “what will get rejected” reference) Apple Developer (policy) Primary source. When the team is debating a grey area, link this, quote the exact clause, and design the UX so you can defend it in one paragraph to App Review.
- App Store Connect adds 11 new metadata localizations (especially relevant for India expansion) Apple Developer News Primary source. Localization is not “translation work”, it is a relevance lever. Start with app name, subtitle, and screenshot #1 promise for any market where installs are already meaningful.
- Updated Apple Developer Program License Agreement (tiny wording changes that can become release blockers) Apple Developer News Primary source. Skim the named sections whenever Apple updates the agreement, especially if you ship privacy-sensitive features or rely on niche frameworks. It is cheap to read, expensive to discover late.
See more
- US policy update page: external content links + alternative billing posture during the Epic injunction period Google Play Console Help (US) Primary source. Treat this like a “what’s allowed (and under which program)” reference. Useful when Product, Legal, and Support need one shared source of truth.
- Android 17 location privacy updates (one-time precise access, better indicators, and a clearer permission dialog) Android Developers Primary source. Location is both a trust issue and a conversion issue. If your app asks too early or too broadly, Android’s new patterns make that friction more obvious (and more avoidable).
- Android developer verification rollout (Play Console + Android Developer Console, with install protections starting later in 2026) Android Developers Primary source. If you distribute outside Play (enterprise, beta communities, OEM stores), treat this like a support and distribution readiness item. Get your verification and app registration plan straight before the September country rollout.