How to check the performance of your mobile app: Complete checklist

The world is rapidly escalating from websites to mobile apps and our reliability on mobile technology is also increasing.

If you have already complemented your website with a mobile app, you have insured your place amidst the growing competition. Kudos for that!

However, if you have still not taken this wise and strategic decision, you can do it now. Convert your eCommerce website to an app with a DIY Shopify app builder like AppMySite.

It will save your time, efforts and money and allow you to enter the mobile market and be future ready.

But it is not just enough to build an app. The real competition begins after your app launch. Hence, you must keep evaluating the performance of your app from time to time. 

Read further and ascertain the parameters you should consider, when assessing the performance of your mobile app. 

Key metrics that determine the performance

It is a wrong notion that the apps that are doing well and attracting enough eyeballs, need not be evaluated. To avoid any dip or loss in future, and to keep your growth curve on rise, you must assess it.

Regular monitoring of your app performance is necessary from both functionality and finance point of view.

It helps you make necessary updates & changes on time and also allows you to enhance the app performance by keeping all the parameters in check. 

We have divided the Key Performance Indicators (or parameters) in five categories and their sub-categories.

Scroll and learn more about each category in detail. Implement and enhance the concerned parameters accordingly, to leverage your performance. 

The 5 most significant KPIs and their sub-categories are as listed below:

#1 Generic mobile app KPIs

Responsiveness:

The app should have a minimum load time and a highly responsive interface. People are restless, and if your app takes too long to load, they might just end up uninstalling it.

The app should be fast enough and the transition time from one activity to another should be low. If you fail to provide this, the abandonment rates will grow higher and you will lose customers.

Assess your app’s load time and make it as fast and frictionless as possible. Always stick to native apps as these are highly responsive. 

Device Adaptation:

Keep a track of the devices that your consumers use to access your app. It will help you to adapt your app features accordingly.

Make sure that your app is easily accessible through multiple devices like phones, tablets or palmtops. 

Multiple OS Support:

In order to cover a larger demography, you must create apps for both android and iOS users. You should also monitor the traffic flow from both kinds of Operating Systems.

If the difference is too large, and any one shows a huge dip or surge, the you should seek the reasons for it. Look for the loopholes where you are falling back and rectify it.

Keep a track of the changes and updates for each operating system. Ensure that your app confirms with the guidelines for each and is suitable for both Android and iOS devices. 

Mobile Downloads:

Evidently, the number of mobile app downloads, is the ultimate parameter of judging the success of it. Measure the number of downloads you earn over a given period of time.

It is noteworthy, that some businesses may earn a huge number of downloads very soon, while some may take time. It is the consistency that matters.

Keep a track of the download and install statistics. Take ample measures to get back on track whenever you lose the rhythm and pace.

Subscriptions:

If your app has one or more features that require upgrades, premium purchases and subscriptions, then maintain data for the same. Record all the sign ups and subscription transactions.

Assess which plans or features get the highest engagement. Also keep a track of all the abandonments, downgrades and the unsubscribes. Look for the reason behind this dip and act on improving it. 

#2 User engagement based KPIs

User Growth Rate:

Track whether all your efforts for fetching users is fulfilling and turning fruitful or not. Monitor patters of customer acquisition and usage. 

See whether certain endeavours, advertisements or updates have spiked the growth rate. Note all the positives, negatives and fluctuation statistics to know if your app is good enough to attract new users or not. 

Retention Rate:

It has been observed that the existing & returning users bring in more sales as compared to the new ones. Track the number of returning users and note the time of their retraction. 

It will help you to add more value to your app and cultivate maximum success through your monetization strategies. It may take time but it will be totally worth it. 

Sessions Rate:

The time that users spend on your app, also determines its success. The app open rate shows how much people like your app, how frequently they use it and how useful it is for them.

The number of times your app is accessed or the time frame for which it is accessed, generally gives you the session rate. However, you can have your very own parameters, depending on your app type and functionalities. 

Besides, you can also calculate the number of users who are active on a regular basis. They play an instrumental role in the growth of your app and must be given high priority.

Churn Rate:

A smart business owner not only measures the success, but also keeps a track of the failures. Hence, it is important for you to monitor the churn rates as well.

It is basically the measure of the frequency at which your existing users abandon or uninstall your app, or even unsubscribe to certain features. 

Find out the reason behind it and work on it. Assess your flaws from the users’ point of view and aim towards correcting it.

#3 Revenue & return based KPIS

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):

If you own an app, you must be making multiple efforts towards acquiring new users. It is usually done through marketing, advertising and other initiatives.

Generate a collective report of all your endeavours and learn how much you are spending on each user acquisition.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV):

Earning customer loyalty is crucial for higher brand value. This parameter determines the very dedication and loyalty of customers towards your app.

It is the net profit that users generate over a given period of time. Measure it periodically and focus on increasing it. 

Return on Investment (ROI):

The fruitfulness of the efforts, time and money you spend on acquiring sales and boosting app performance must be measured from time to time. 

This also determines a core asset, that is popularly known as ROI or Return on Investment.

The general formula for ROI is: (Gain from Investment — Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment 

#4 Marketing based KPIs

Installation Source:

It is important that you know about the source where your users found your app or the channel that drove them to the app.

Whether they learnt it through an ad, discovered it on app stores through keyword search, or was it referred to them through an existing user. 

Having this knowledge, can empower your mission of getting organic downloads and redirect your efforts in the right direction.

Demographics & Geo-metrics:

Track down your users and classify them on the basis of their location, age, gender, ethnicity, cultural & social background, financial status and more.

This will help you in finding your most probable audience and allow you to channelize your efforts in the right direction. Fetch all the information to process & utilize it smartly. 

#5 App Store related KPIs

Keywords:

Keywords are the most essential feature for ASO and determine the visibility and ranking of your app. Select your keywords cautiously and smartly.

Do ample research and see which keywords are actually working in your favour and which ones were used by your consumers to find you.

Also, keep updating your keyword collection according to the trends, changes in your apps, store updates, and more. 

App Icon:

Although it is not advisable to change your app icon often, you can do primitive A/B testing to judge what suits best.

You can also make your existing app icon look totally new by making few changes hither and thither. It can highly influence your app performance and success. 

Description:

See if the descriptions that you have added for your app on the stores, is working in your favour or not. It can be measured based on the consumer response.

If despite telling people about your app in the description, they are confused, there is something wrong. Update your app descriptions accordingly, but keep it crisp and concise. 

Reviews:

Reviews can give you an immediate insight about your app performance without much efforts. Review can be the best verdict as it comes directly from the customers.

Although, hate-reactions and fake reviews are common, you must act patiently and smartly. With time, you will learn the art of segregating the real from the fake ones. 

However, be open towards every suggestion and align your app performance with the suggestions and the constructive feedbacks. 

Ratings:

People often do not take the pain of typing their feedback. But a lot of them certainly use the ‘rating’ feature to convey their feelings.

Irrespective of your app’s performance, you will get both positive and negative reviews. Focus on the majority lot and try to find the reasons & causes behind that outcome. 

Encourage people to drop honest ratings on your app about their experience. Work on the negative ones and enhance the good ones to boost your brand value.  

Wrapping Up!

This was the end of our detailed tour as we discussed the various parameters that contribute to the performance of your mobile app. We tried to cover every significant aspect of it, in a clear and concise way.

However, the spectrum of mobile app performance evaluation is so broad, that there is always room for new additions. You are free to use your creativity and be your own judge. 

If you feel that there is something else that should be taken into account or something that we have missed out, feel free to share.

Implement the above evaluation parameters and leverage your app’s performance. If you still don’t have an app for your business or blog, then create one first.

Sign up for AppMySite free online app maker and turn your vision into reality. Tap into the mobile market and open new doors to success now!

Get going folks! May the force of technology be with you!