Yesterday we learnt a little about the most popular of all Android app stores, GooglePlay, today we are going to look a little bit further into the steps you need to take to open your Android app developer’s account and publish your Android apps in the GooglePlay store.
What do I need to know?
There are a few steps that you must be aware of when publishing your app to GooglePlay;
1: Apps must be optimized for the app store prior to loading them to GooglePlay
2: GooglePlay now has a pre-moderation stage in which your app will be reviewed to see if it meets Google standards
3: You should have great quality screen shots, your APK and a credit card at the ready when you are ready to open your account.
What is App Store Optimization
App Store Optimization is the app version of SEO. Many of you will know that to find your website on the first page of Google it must be fully optimized to help fight off competition, well, the mobile world is pretty much the same. Competition is heating up and the need to get your app fully optimized is now vital in ensure your app has any chance of being found organically within an app search. For more information on ASO please click through here to our recent ASO post.
What is GooglePlay moderation?
Do not panic too much, GooglePlay hasn’t gone mad and is not as strict as Apple in its newly acquired moderation process, quite simply too many apps are being created that are simply not up to standard, either the app has inappropriate material within or it is incomplete. GooglePlay are trying to crack down on apps that fall within these two categories.
What the moderation process means for you, is that once you upload your app into your GooglePlay developer’s Console either 1 of two things will occur
1: Your app will appear as published in Google Developer Console (however it will take 2-3 days to appear in GooglePlay)
2: Your app will appear as Draft in Google Developer Console – This does not mean it won’t be published within 2-3 days, what it means is that it is being held for app review.
Why is my app held as a draft?
There are a few reasons as to why GooglePlay would consider your app a draft
1: First app – This is your first app and GooglePlay may wish to check your credibility as an app maker.
2: App Name – Your app name contains some words that trigger GooglePlay’s attention this may be because the name looks like it could be spam or it may look as though it is copyright of another brand.
3: App description – This may not be complete, or may be too short or vague. GooglePlay want app descriptions to be as clear and concise as possible so that app users are not wasting their time downloading apps that are not relevant to the app name or app description. Descriptions need to be keyword strong, content relevant and not written in a robotic style.
4: Incompletion of datafields – It you have not completed all the fields in your app developer console, or put what looks like junk in these fields your app will be picked up for review. This is because GooglePlay want to make sure that the app is a real app and not junk.
Next week I will be taking you through the steps of opening a GooglePlay developer’s account. Please remember to come back and check this out.