{"id":2632,"date":"2016-05-19T09:32:45","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T01:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/?p=2632"},"modified":"2020-05-21T17:47:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T09:47:56","slug":"how-did-we-get-our-app-featured-on-the-apple-app-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/how-did-we-get-our-app-featured-on-the-apple-app-store","title":{"rendered":"How did we get our app featured in the Apple App store?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hello friends! We received a lot of emails and messages in the past week asking how we managed to get the Spacious mobile app featured on the Apple App Store again.<\/p>\n<p>We thought we would&nbsp;write a blog post on how we did that for everyone to read.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, we should say we\u2019ve been featured 3 times by the Apple App Store now, and every time we have been featured, our app downloads jump significantly as well as our chart ranking.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2637\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-4.jpg\" alt=\"image1 (4)\" width=\"350\" height=\"620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-4.jpg 577w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-4-237x420.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The official process you need to follow is to try and pitch to&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:appstorepromotion@apple.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">App Store Promotion<\/a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:appoftheweek@apple.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">App of The Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A feature is not something that can be purchased or influenced by app developers but there are things you can do increase your chances of being picked.<\/p>\n<h2>Appeal to the local Apple team.<\/h2>\n<p>Understand that Apple has over 150 local App Store teams operating in each country that has an App Store. The process by which apps&nbsp;are chosen to be featured is a human process, not an automated one. Apple have said in the past that this ensures the app is relevant to the local audience.<\/p>\n<h2>What does the local Apple team look for?<\/h2>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2639\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image2.jpg\" alt=\"image2\" width=\"352\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image2.jpg 577w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image2-237x420.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>1. Similar look and feel to the iOS<\/h3>\n<p>Building a high quality app which mimics the aesthetics of the iOS is what Apple encourages developers to do.&nbsp;Therefore, the main&nbsp;point of featuring an app is to highlight best practices. This means you need to understand how iOS&nbsp;works and try to follow the conventions they are creating or rather, encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>2. Use the latest Apple features<\/h3>\n<p>Apple updates its iOS from time to time, releasing new tools and functions for developers to use. &nbsp;If you can utilize those&nbsp;in your next app development and release, then I think that gets you even more brownie points. Once again, Apple wants to showcase how people should be building apps and using the APIs they provide.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>3. Don\u2019t forget about localisation<\/h3>\n<p>As mentioned, Apple has an&nbsp;App Store team operating locally in each country. Each team&nbsp;decides independently whether an app should be featured or not.&nbsp;We\u2019ve been featured across multiple App Stores and in each case, we had made specific changes catered to&nbsp;the market where we got featured.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>4. Work across devices<\/h3>\n<p>We have also always ranked well for both iPad and iPhone. This is&nbsp;an important point regarding the versatility of an app performing across multiple devices &#8211;&nbsp;<span class=\"s1\">something I think a lot of developers don&#8217;t properly test and implement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Ratings<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Spacious-App-Store-Rating.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2654 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Spacious-App-Store-Rating.jpg\" alt=\"Spacious App Store Rating\" width=\"351\" height=\"623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Spacious-App-Store-Rating.jpg 577w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Spacious-App-Store-Rating-237x420.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 351px) 100vw, 351px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In general, only apps with a 4 star rating or above will be&nbsp;featured. Apps with no ratings don\u2019t seem to get featured either. The rule seems to be that you need at least 5 reviews before they will consider you.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>House keeping \u2013 Update your app and&nbsp;perform App Store Optimisation (ASO) frequently<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-5.jpg\" alt=\"image1 (5)\" width=\"350\" height=\"622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-5.jpg 577w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image1-5-237x420.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/image2.jpg\"><br \/>\n<\/a>There is strong evidence to suggest that apps with frequent updates&nbsp;are more likely to be&nbsp;featured as Apple considers these to be better maintained. As for App Store Optimisation (ASO), your app description&nbsp;also needs to be relevant to the local audience.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you want to be featured in Hong Kong of China, for example, a Chinese language description is a must.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note: Apple App Store and Google Play Store operate differently in the way they feature apps.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t already, download the Spacious\u5343\u5c45 app below!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/app\/real-estate-by-spacious-search\/id889041542?uo=5\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2657 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge-595x176.jpg\" alt=\"Apple App Store Download for Spacious\u5343\u5c45 Hong Kong\" width=\"221\" height=\"66\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge-595x176.jpg 595w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge-768x227.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge-960x284.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge-696x206.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/App-Store-Download-Badge.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 221px) 100vw, 221px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=spacious.home\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2658 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Google-Play-Download-Badge-595x176.jpg\" alt=\"Google Play Download for Spacious\u5343\u5c45 Hong Kong\" width=\"220\" height=\"65\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Google-Play-Download-Badge-595x176.jpg 595w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Google-Play-Download-Badge-768x227.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Google-Play-Download-Badge-696x206.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Google-Play-Download-Badge.jpg 817w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello friends! We received a lot of emails and messages in the past week asking how we managed to get the Spacious mobile app featured on the Apple App Store again. We thought we would&nbsp;write a blog post on how we did that for everyone to read. Firstly, we should say we\u2019ve been featured 3 times by the Apple App [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2636,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hong-kong-property"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacious.hk\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}