How to Harness the Power of Analytics to Boost Mobile User Engagement

• Posted on August 5, 2019
• |
• 6 minutes read

You have newly launched a mobile app for your business. You have invested a lot of time in your mobile app development, designing the UI, getting it tested, and marketing it to your potential target audience. You just made your app live on Android and iOS after ensuring it is bug-free. Now, the most pressing question you have for the first few days is, “are people using it, and how?”

Fig: Mobile users downloaded 205 billion mobile apps in 2018 and it is expected to reach 258 billion by 2025.

However, 25% of users abandon an app after its first use. It is therefore critical to keep your app users engaged all the time after the app download. After you acquire users and get them to download your app, it is vital to engage and retain them.

Once you have your great app idea turned into reality, mobile app engagement and mobile app retention are two key metrics that determine the success or failure of an app. Though every business and brand will have their own individual definition of engagement and retention depending upon the nature of their business and app, in simple words.

• App engagement – determines how engaged and active mobile users are on the application, and
• App retention – determines the number of app users who return to use the app within 3 months of their first session.

So, if you are wondering of ways to find out how well your app is performing and how well people are engaging with your app, the answer is: “data”.

A set of data analytics and performance metrics help you understand how, when and why your users interact with your app.

Mobile app analytics obtain insights from users’ behavioral data, determine intent from the extracted information, and help in taking desirable action to drive mobile app engagement, conversion, and retention.

Key Mobile App Metrics to be Measured

To fully understand how your mobile app is performing, the following key metrics need to be taken into consideration.

Number of App Downloads

It is the number of times your mobile app gets downloaded from the App Store. It is the most basic data of mobile app analytics that shows you the effectiveness of your app promotion and marketing campaigns. The number of app downloads and installs lays the foundation for all other app metrics. This number can be easily tracked for both Android and iOS by using Google Analytics.

Number of Users

The number of people that actually use your mobile app is one of the key metrics that decide the success of your app. You can monitor data such as Monthly Active Users (MAU) and Daily Active Users (DAU) from Google Analytics. The captured data can then be filtered on the basis of the users’ gender, location, age, device type and many more.

Active Users

Not everyone who downloads your app will actively use it. Active users are people who regularly open your app and interact with it. According to Google Analytics, an active user is the one who has opened and engaged with your app in the past 30 days. The more active users you have, the better it is for your app.

App Stickiness

The stickiness metric shows how many users remain in your app for a longer period of time or how often they come back to use your app. It shows what features in your app are attracting users and what needs to be removed. The higher the app stickiness percentage, the better the app engagement is. The stickiness ratio can be calculated using the following formula:

App Stickiness = (Daily Active Users / Monthly Active Users) x 100

Session Intervals

This metric shows how often your users open the app and determines how interested your users are in your app. It is ideally the interval between the new and last session. With this data, you can make out the interest levels of your mobile users and get possible clarity on the improvements required in your app.

Average Session Length

The session length tells you how long your users engage with your app in a single session. In other words, it is the time between the opening and closing of the app. This metric is vital, as it shows how engaging your app is and what keeps the users glued to your app. Google Analytics allows you to track this metric in simple steps. It also gives you data about the users whose average session length is low, in order to create separate engagement strategies to engage such users.

Screen Flow

Screen flow analysis reveals how your users engage with your app screen-by-screen. It shows the total number of visits on each screen, the navigation path followed by each user and the screens where maximum users engage and exit. It also gives you information about the areas where the engagement rate is the highest and the problem areas or screens where users exit the app. Google Analytics has a feature to trace the screen flow.

Retention Rate

Retention rate is the number of users you are able to retain after a certain time period of their inactivity with your app. This is a very important data, as it shows the number of users who returned to your app again. The insights drawn from these analytics can be used to determine what sort of marketing activities and app features work best for you. The formula to calculate mobile app retention rate is:

App Retention Rate = (Number of users retained at the end of time period / total users at the beginning of the time period) x 100

App Churn Rate

The churn rate tells you the number of users who have completely stopped using your app. It measures inactivity for a given time period. Exactly opposite to the retention rate, app churn rate can be determined by the formula:

App Churn Rate = 1 – App Retention Rate

Average Revenue per User

Your mobile apps can have monetization channels in the form of paid downloads, in-app purchases, subscriptions, ad clicks, etc. These channels help in generating revenue for your app. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is the revenue generated from a single user through these channels. It tells you the overall revenue a single user generates for your app.

Average Revenue per User (APRU) = Total app revenue in a given time / number of users in a given time

Return on Investment (ROI)

The ROI demonstrates the index of the money you get in return for the money you invest in building and maintaining your app. It shows how well your app engagement, features, and marketing pays off.

Feedback Rate

Take timely surveys and feedback from your mobile app users to know how your app is performing. Ask them to rate your app or write reviews or suggestions for improvement. Use the responses to take preventive steps and make changes in your app to improve user engagement.

Ratings in the App Store

The ratings for your mobile app in the app store are one of the most important metrics to be considered. People always check an app’s ratings before proceeding to download it from the app store. It is therefore indispensable to maintain a fair user rating for your app.

How to Use the Data Mined to Enhance User Experience for Mobile App Users?

Now that you have all the necessary data and metrics, you need that give you a clear picture of how engaged your mobile app users are. Use this data constructively to boost user engagement and make the most out of your mobile app. Here are the various ways in which this can be done.

An appealing onboarding process

The on-boarding process is your chance to make a striking first impression for your app users. Make the onboarding process simple and convenient for your app users, so that they do not abandon your app in a short span of time. Take them on a tour of the various features and functionalities of the app to make their signup process easy. Also, build the UI of your app to be simple yet flawless.

Push notifications as reminders

Push notifications are the most effective ways to keep your users engaged and to retain inactive users. Craft your push notification messages differently for your various segments of users based on the data generated from analytics. This way, you will be able to capture the attention of inactive users and keep your existing users engaged.

Personalized user experience

Personalization is the key to effective user engagement. Give your users offers and notifications based on their preferences and interests. When you send relevant messages to your users, there are more chances that they will keep using your app.

Incentives to motivate users

One simple rule to keep your users engaged is to give them benefits and draw them towards your brand. Motivate your app users by giving them incentives and rewards in the form of deals, coupon codes, discounts, and bonuses.

In a nutshell…

Applying the right data and making the most informed decisions can help you in keeping your app engagement and retention rates always high. The more data you obtain, the newer ways there can be to increase the value of your brand and improve customer loyalty.

Digicorp has been actively following mobile app analytics to understand their app performance and improve, based on the metrics. The metrics also help you understand what works and what doesn’t in-app features, and enlighten mobile app developers to build better and engaging mobile applications. Get in touch with our experts to know how you can implement mobile app analytics in your mobile app development strategy.