App Store Digest #17: New Apple Search Ads Markets, Featuring Nominations, and Google’s Latest Play Store Video Updates
Welcome to the latest edition of App Store Digest!
We’re diving into last month's updates from the Play Store and App Store! From Apple Search Ads expanding into 21 new regions to Google’s plans for YouTube video integration on Play Store listings, the opportunities to optimize your app’s presence are growing and improving.
We'll also cover Google & Apple App Awards and Google’s new feature to increase user engagement in the Play Store.
Let’s dive in!
🍏 Apple App Store
Apple Search Ads now in more countries
On December 3rd, Apple Search Ads became available in Türkiye and 20 new countries, making it easier than ever to extend your app’s reach. Source.
You can now create campaigns in these new markets in AppTweak's Search Ads Manager:
🌍 Europe: Turkey, Cyprus, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Iceland, Armenia
🌍 Africa & Middle East: Morocco, Iraq, Ghana, Algeria, Kenya, Bahrain
🌏 Asia: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Mongolia
Launch of “featuring nominations”
Live since November 12th, this feature lets you notify the Apple team about:
If you’re featured in select placements on the Today tab, you’ll also receive a notification via App Store Connect. Source.
Apple’s App Awards
The finalists for Apple’s annual App Awards have been revealed. These are apps and games that follow Apple App Store best practices, and from which you can gain insights or ideas.
The winners include games AFK Journey, The WereCleaner, and Zenless Zone Zero while apps included Kino, Runna, and Tripsy. Source.
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🤖 Google Play Store
Additional videos coming to the Play Store
As announced at Google PlayTime, app and game developers will be able to link their store listing to a YouTube channel or playlist, allowing visitors to watch recent videos from within the Play Store.
These videos will allow marketers and developers to showcase their app’s features and gameplay in even more detail, to convince store visitors to download their app.
Documentation for adding one or multiple videos on Play Store listings is now available, meaning their introduction to the Play Store should be imminent.
While currently available only to select partners in the U.S., a global rollout is to be expected in 2025. Regularly check your Play Console to see if you can already take advantage of this new feature, which should be particularly valuable for games and feature-rich apps. Source.
Play Store's latest APK teardown
The latest APK teardown of the Play Store suggests Google may soon release a feature that alerts users about apps flagged as low quality, based on uninstall rates compared to similar apps, limited user data about the app, or fewer active users compared to other apps.
If implemented, this could encourage developers to prioritize app quality to avoid being flagged. Source.
Play Store abandoned carts reminders
Google Play is introducing a feature that reminds users of incomplete shopping carts within apps. This feature should help re-engage lapsed users, encouraging them to complete their purchase even if they haven’t reopened the app.
While there’s no direct way to measure the impact yet, this update is expected to improve monetization, especially for shopping apps. Source.
Google's App Awards
Google Play’s Best Apps and Games of 2024 have also been announced. Similar to Apple's, these awards reward apps and games that contribute to making the store ecosystem amazing. The best overall apps and games on Google Play are Partiful and AFK Journey. Source.
👋 That’s a wrap!
Enjoyed what you read? Any thoughts on upcoming changes in the stores? Tell us in the comments, and be sure to subscribe!
See you next time,
The AppTweak Team