How to increase app downloads: 15 organic and paid levers

Where do downloads come from?

Every install is the product of two numbers: how many people see your listing (impressions) and what share of them install (conversion rate). Doubling either one doubles downloads. So every lever below does one of two things: it raises reach or it raises conversion. Knowing which one is weak tells you where to start.

Reach is weak when you rank for few searches, are not in any charts or features, and only exist in one or two countries.
Conversion is weak when people see you but do not install: the icon blends in, the first screenshots do not explain the app, or the rating is low or thin.

App Store Connect (App Analytics: impressions, product page views, conversion rate) and Play Console (store listing visitors and acquisitions) show both numbers.

The 15 levers, by effort and reach

#	Lever	Raises	Effort	Official tool
1	Put real search terms in title, subtitle or short description	Reach	Low	Store text fields
2	Fill the App Store keyword field without waste	Reach	Low	Keyword field (100 bytes)
3	Redesign the first three screenshots	Conversion	Medium	Screenshots
4	Make the icon readable at small size	Conversion	Medium	Icon
5	Ask for ratings at the right moment	Conversion and reach	Low	iOS review prompt, Play In-App Review API
6	A/B test graphics	Conversion	Medium	Product page optimization; store listing experiments
7	Pages per audience	Conversion	Medium	Custom product pages (70); custom store listings (50)
8	Run in-app events and promotional content	Reach	Medium	In-app events; promotional content
9	Localize for countries that already find you	Reach	Medium	Localized metadata
10	Nominate launches and updates for featuring	Reach	Low	Featuring nominations; promotional content featuring
11	Pre-orders or pre-registration before launch	Reach	Medium	App Store pre-orders; Google Play pre-registration
12	Search ads on your own and category terms	Reach	Paid	Apple Ads; Google App campaigns
13	Web and AI-answer visibility	Reach	Medium	Your site, docs and guides
14	Keep technical quality above store thresholds	Reach	Medium	Android vitals; App Store ratings
15	Ship regular updates with clear release notes	Conversion	Low	What's New text

Start with 1, 2, 3 and 5: they are cheap, fully in your control, and every other lever works better on top of them.

Levers 1–2: how do I rank for more searches?

Stores rank apps by matching the search to the text they index and by signals like downloads and ratings. On the App Store the indexed text is the app name (30 characters), subtitle (30) and keyword field (100 bytes); Apple says not to repeat words across them. On Google Play it is the title (30), short description (80) and full description (4,000), with a warning that repetitive or irrelevant keywords can get the app suspended.

List the searches people use for apps like yours, in each country.
Put the most important ones in the title or subtitle, as natural phrases.
Use the keyword field for the rest, comma-separated, no spaces, no repeats.
Release, then watch ranks for two to four weeks before changing again.

A deeper method is in What is ASO?, App keyword research and the App Store keyword field.

Levers 3–4: how do I convert more visitors?

The first one to three screenshots appear in App Store search results when there is no app preview, and Google Play asks you to put the UI first in the first three. Show the main result on frame 1, the core action on frame 2 and the differentiator on frame 3, each with one short caption. See How to design store screenshots that convert and App icon sizes for the icon tests.

Lever 5: how do ratings help?

Apple says ratings and reviews influence how your app ranks in search and can encourage engagement from search results. Use the system prompts: on iOS the rating window appears at most three times in 365 days, and Apple does not allow custom rating prompts. On Google Play, the In-App Review API has an unpublished quota, and you must not ask "Do you like the app?" before showing it. Ask after a success moment, never at first launch.

Levers 6–7: how do I test and tailor pages?

Product page optimization tests up to three icon, screenshot and preview variants for up to 90 days: Product page optimization.
Google Play store listing experiments test up to two variants, including descriptions in localized experiments.
Custom product pages (up to 70) can have their own screenshots, previews, promotional text and keywords, and their own URL. Apple reports that developers see a 2.5 percentage point increase on average when they send people to a custom product page, against a 1.6% average conversion rate on default pages.
Custom store listings on Google Play (up to 50) can target countries, pre-registered users, search keywords, and lapsed or churned users.

Levers 8, 10, 11: which store features bring free reach?

In-app events appear on your product page, in search results and, if selected, on the Today, Games and Apps tabs. An event can last up to 31 days and be promoted up to 14 days before it starts.
Google Play promotional content shows events, offers and major updates on your listing, and can request featuring: app developers have up to 6 featuring slots per quarter for broad audiences; requests must be submitted at least 14 days before the event.
Featuring nominations in App Store Connect let you tell Apple's editors about a launch or update: How to get featured.
Pre-orders and pre-registration collect demand before launch: Pre-registration and pre-orders.

Lever 9: where should I localize first?

Where people already find you without a local listing: your existing installs by country show it. Localizing the title, subtitle, keywords and screenshot captions for those markets (store localization) is usually cheaper than buying reach in a new one. Apple also lists additional supported languages for many storefronts (Turkey, for example, has English (U.K.) next to Turkish); many developers use them for extra keyword space, although Apple does not document how they are indexed for search.

Lever 12: when do ads make sense?

Apple Ads search results ads appear at the top of App Store search results or further down the page, and can lead to a custom product page. Google App campaigns run across Google Search, Google Play, YouTube and the Display Network. Setup guides: Apple Ads and Google App campaigns. Use ads once the page converts, start with your brand and category terms, and judge them by cost per install against what an install earns you.

Levers 13–15: what keeps growth going?

Web and AI answers. People increasingly ask search engines and AI assistants which app to use. A clear website and helpful guides make your app citable.
Quality thresholds. On Google Play, user-perceived crash rates above 1.09% or ANR rates above 0.47% count as bad behaviour and can reduce visibility (Android vitals).
Updates. Regular releases with clear What's New text show the app is alive, and every release is a chance to improve text and screenshots.

How do I measure each lever?

Change one lever at a time, note the date, and compare 2–4 weeks before and after: impressions, conversion rate and installs per country. For tests, use the store's own A/B tools rather than before/after comparisons.

How does Uptika help?

The Uptika ASO score rates your listing in nine parts (search visibility, keyword coverage, metadata efficiency, listing conversion, ratings and more) and the Playbook turns the weakest ones into a short "Do today" list. Keyword radar records your rank for every tracked keyword daily, the New countries page shows markets that already bring installs without a local listing, and the AI echo checks whether AI assistants name your app. For a free first look, run Listing X-Ray on your store link. The Free plan tracks one app in one storefront: start free.

More in this series: How to market an app and the App launch checklist.

Questions

How do I increase app downloads organically?

Rank for more searches (put real search terms in the title, subtitle or short description and keyword field), convert more visitors (first three screenshots, icon, ratings), use free store features (in-app events, promotional content, custom product pages and custom store listings), and localize for countries that already find you.

How do I increase app downloads on the Play Store?

Write a title and short description around the searches people use, meet the screenshot guidance so you can appear in large recommendation formats, test graphics with store listing experiments, use custom store listings for countries and search keywords, and keep crash and ANR rates below the bad-behaviour thresholds in Android vitals.

How do I get the first users for an app?

Start where intent already exists: your own network and community, a pre-registration or pre-order page, a launch-day featuring nomination, search ads on your own category terms, and a listing that answers one clear search. Measure each channel separately so you know which one to repeat.

Do ratings affect downloads?

Yes. Apple says ratings and reviews influence how your app ranks in search and can encourage people to engage from search results. Ask for ratings with the official prompts (on iOS the system shows the prompt at most three times in 365 days).

Should I start with ads?

Only after the listing converts. Ads pay for every tap or install; a weak page wastes that money. Fix search text and screenshots first, then use ads to buy reach on terms you know convert.