New features to better understand player behavior with Player Analytics

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Developer Marketing at Google Play

Google Play games services includes Player Analytics, a free reporting tool available in the Google Play Developer Console, to help you understand how players are progressing, spending, and churning. Now, you can see what Player Analytics looks like with an exemplary implementation of Play games services: try out the new sample game in the Google Play Developer Console, which we produced with help from Auxbrain, developer of Zombie Highway 2. The sample game uses randomized and anonymized data from a real game and will also let you try the new features we’re announcing today. Note: You need a Google Play Developer account in order to access the sample game.

Use predictive analytics to engage players before they might churn

To help you better understand your players’ behavior, we’ve extended the Player Stats API in Player Analytics with predictive functionality. The churn prediction method will return data on the probability that the player will churn, i.e., stop playing the game, so you can create content in response to this to entice them to stay in your game. Additionally, the spend prediction method will return the probability that the player will spend, and you could, for example, provide discounted in-app purchases or show ads based on these insights.

Create charts in the new funnels report to quickly visualize sequences of events

The funnels report enables you to create a funnel chart from any sequence events, such as achievements, spend, and custom events. For example, you could log custom events for each step in a tutorial flow (e.g., tutorial step 1, step 2, step 3), and then use the funnel report to visualize the exit points in your tutorial.

Measure and compare the effect of changes and cumulative values by new users with cohort’s report

The cohorts report allows you to take any event such as sessions, cumulative spend, and custom events, and compare the cumulative event values by new user cohorts - providing valuable insight into the impact of your decisions on your gaming model. For example, you can view users that started the day before you made a change and the day after. This allows you to measure and compare the effect of changes made, so if you doubled the price of all your items in your in-game store, you can see if the cumulative sessions started after the change was lower or higher than the users that started before the change.

Updated C++, iOS SDKs and Unity plug-in to support Player Stats API

We have updated the C++ and iOS SDKs, and the Unity plug-in, all of which now support the Player Stats API, which includes the basic player stats as well as spend and churn predictions.

Be sure to check out the sample game and learn more about Play Games Services. You can also get top tips from game developer Auxbrain to help you find success with Google Play game services.

Create promo codes for your apps and in-app products in the Google Play Developer Console

Posted by Yoshi Tamura, Product Manager, Google Play

Over the past six months, a number of new tools in the Google Play Developer Console have been added to help you grow your app or game business on Google Play. Our improved beta testing features help you gather more feedback and fix issues. Store Listing Experiments let you run A/B tests on your app’s Play Store listing. Universal App Campaigns and the User Acquisition performance report help you grow your audience and better understand your marketing.

Starting today, you can now generate and distribute promo codes to current and new users on Google Play to drive engagement. Under the Promotions tab in the Developer Console, you can set up promo codes for your apps, games, and in-app products to distribute in your own marketing campaigns (up to 500 codes per app, per quarter). Consider using promo codes to reward loyal users and attract new customers.

How to use promo codes

1. Choose your app in the Developer Console.
   
2. Under the Promotions tab choose Add new promotion.
   
   
   
   
3. Review and accept the additional terms of service if you haven’t run a promotion before.
   
4. Choose from the options available, then generate and download your promo codes.
   
5. Distribute your promo codes via your marketing channels such as social networks, in email, on the web, to your app’s beta testers, or in your app or game itself.
   
6. Users can redeem your promo codes in a number of ways, including:
   

1. From Google Play, using the Redeem menu option.
   
2. From your app. They’ll be directed to the Play checkout flow before being redirected back to your app.
   
3. By following a link that embeds the promo code (see tips below).
   

For more details about running a promotion for your app or game, read this article on the Google Play Developer Help Center.

Tips for making the most of promo codes

Some things to keep in mind when running a successful promotion:

• There’s a limit of 500 promo codes per app every quarter.


• You can embed your code in a URL so that users don’t have to enter it themselves (for example, if you’re sending your codes in an email). You can use the URL: https://play.google.com/redeem?code={CODE} (where {CODE} is a generated promo code).


• To use promo codes for in-app products, you should implement In-app Promotions in your app. Note that promo codes can’t be used for subscriptions.


• Review and adhere to the Promotional Code Terms Of Service.

We hope you find interesting ways to use promo codes to find new users and engage existing fans. To learn more about the many tools and best practices you can use to grow your business on Google Play, download our new developer playbook, “The Secrets to App Success on Google Play”.

An updated app guide and new video tips to help you find success on Google Play

Posted by Dom Elliott, The Google Play Apps & Games team

Last year, we introduced our first playbook for developers, “The Secrets to App Success on Google Play”, to help you grow your app or game business, which has been downloaded more than 200,000 times.. Many new features have since been announced on the platform – from Store Listing Experiments and beta testing improvements to App Invites and Smart Lock for Passwords.

Get the second edition of “The Secrets to App Success on Google Play”

Hot off the press, you can now download the second edition to learn about all the new tools and best practices for improving the quality of your app, growing a valuable audience, increasing engagement and retention, and earning more revenue.

Get the book on Google Play in English now or you can sign-up to be notified when the booklet is released in the following languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Deutsch, español (Latinoamérica), le français, português do Brasil, tiếng Việt, русский язы́к, ไทย, 한국어, 中文 (简体), 中文 (繁體), 日本語. Based on your feedback, the guide was updated to work seamlessly in the Google Play Books app. If you prefer, you can also download a PDF version from the Android Developers website.

New videos with tips to find success on Google Play

To accompany the guide, watch the first two episodes in a new ten-part video series of actionable tips you can start using today to achieve your business objectives. Subscribe to the Android Developers channel on YouTube and follow +Android Developers to watch the new videos as they’re released weekly.

Two new videos will be released each week in the ten-part series


on the Android Developer YouTube channel.

Let us know your feedback

Once you’ve checked out the guide and the videos, we’d again love to hear your feedback so we can continue to improve our developer support, please let us know what you think.

Minimum purchase price for apps and in-app products reduced on Google Play

Posted by Alistair Pott, Product Manager, Google Play

Available in more than 190 countries, Google Play is a global platform for developers to build high quality apps and successful businesses. But every market has its own unique challenges and opportunities. Purchasing behavior, in particular, varies significantly between markets. So to provide developers with more flexibility, we've worked to adapt Google Play pricing options to better suit local consumers and make content more accessible.

Following a successful pilot in India earlier this year, today, developers have the option to reduce the price of their premium titles and in-app products in 17 more countries to these new minimum thresholds:

Countries affected:

• Brazil: R$ 0.99 (was R$2.00)


• Chile: CLP $200.00 (was CLP $500.00)


• Colombia: COP$ 800.00 (was COP$ 2000.00)


• Egypt: E£2 Previous (was E£7)


• Hungary: Ft 125.00 (was Ft 225.00)


• Indonesia: Rp 3,000.00 (was Rp 12,000.00)


• Malaysia: RM 1.00 (was RM 3.50)


• Mexico: MXN$ 5.00 (was MXN$ 9.90)


• Nigeria: ₦40 (was ₦195)


• Peru: S/. 0.99 (was S/. 3.00)


• Philippines: ₱15.00 (was ₱43.00)


• Poland: zł1.79 (was zł2.99)


• Russia: руб 15.00 (was руб 30.00)


• Saudi Arabia:﷼ 0.99 (was 4.00﷼)


• South Africa: R3.99 (was R10.00)


• Thailand: ฿10.00 (was ฿32.00)


• Turkey: ₺0.59 (was ₺2.00)


• Ukraine: ₴5.00 (was ₴8.00)


• Vietnam: ₫6,000 (was ₫21,000.00)

You can lower the price of your apps and games right away by visiting the Google Play Developer Console and clicking on “Pricing & Distribution” or “In-app Products” for your apps.

We hope this change allows you to reach more people around the world so that you can continue to grow your business on Google Play.

Support for 100MB APKs on Google Play

Posted by Kobi Glick, Google Play team


Smartphones are powerful devices that can support diverse tasks from graphically intensive games to helping people get work done from anywhere. We understand that developers are challenged with delivering a delightful user experience that maximizes the hardware of the device, while also ensuring that their users can download, install, and open the app as quickly as possible. It’s a tough balance to strike, especially when you’re targeting diverse global audiences.


To support the growing number of developers who are building richer apps and games on Google Play, we are increasing the APK file size limit to 100MB from 50MB. This means developers can publish APKs up to 100MB in size, and users will see a warning only when the app exceeds the 100MB quota and makes use of Expansion Files. The default update setting for users will continue to be to auto-updating apps over Wi-Fi only, enabling users to access higher quality apps and games while conserving their data usage.


Even though you can make your app bigger, it doesn’t always mean you should. Remember to keep in mind the following factors:

• Mobile data connectivity: Users around the world have varying mobile data connectivity speeds. Particularly in developing countries, many people are coming online with connections slower than those of users in countries like the U.S. and Japan. Users on a slow connection are less likely to install an app or game that is going to take a long time to download.


• Mobile data caps: Many mobile networks around the world give users a limited number of MB that they can download each month without incurring additional charges. Users are often wary of downloading large files for fear of exceeding their limits.


• App performance: Mobile devices have limited RAM and storage space. The larger your app or game, the slower it may run, particularly on older devices.


• Install time: People want to start using your app or game as quickly as possible after tapping the install button. Longer wait times increase the risk they’ll give up.

We hope that, in certain circumstances, this file size increase is useful and enables you to build higher quality apps and games that users love.

Games developer, Dots, share their Do’s and Don’ts for improving your visibility on Google Play

Posted by Lily Sheringham, Developer Marketing at Google Play


Editor’s note: A few weeks ago we shared some tips from game developer, Seriously, on how they’ve been using notifications successfully to drive ongoing engagement. This week, we’re sharing tips from Christian Calderon at US game developer, Dots, on how to successfully optimize your Play Store Listing. -Ed.

A well thought-out Google Play store listing can significantly improve the discoverability of your app or game and drive installations. With the recent launch of Store Listing Experiments on the Google Play Developer Console, you can now conduct A/B tests on the text and graphics of your store listing page and use the data to make more informed decisions.

Dots is a US-founded game developer which released the popular game, Dots, and its addictive sequel, TwoDots. Dots used its store listings to showcase its brands and improve conversions by letting players know what to expect.

Christian Calderon, Head of Marketing for Dots, shared his top tips with us on store listings and visibility on Google Play.

Do’s and Don’ts for optimizing store listings on Google Play

Do’s	Don’ts
Do be creative and unique with the icon. Try to visually convince the user that your product is interesting and in alignment with what they are looking for.	Don’t spam keywords in your app title. Keep the title short, original and thoughtful and keep your brand in mind when representing your product offering.
Do remember to quickly respond to reviews and implement a scalable strategy to incorporate feedback into your product offering. App ratings are important social proof that your product is well liked.	Don’t overload the ‘short description’. Keep it concise. It should be used as a call-to-action to address your product’s core value proposition and invite the user to install the application. Remember to consider SEO best practices.
Do invest in a strong overall paid and organic acquisition strategy. More downloads will make your product seem more credible to users, increasing the likeliness that a user will install your app.	Don’t overuse text in your screenshots. They should create a visual narrative for what’s in your game and help users visualize your product offering, using localization where possible.
Do link your Google Play store listing to your website, social media accounts, press releases and any of your consumer-facing channels that may drive organic visibility to your target market. This can impact your search positioning.	Don’t have a negative, too short or confusing message in your “What’s New” copy. Let users know what updates, product changes or bug fixes have been implemented in new versions. Keep your copy buoyant, informative, concise and clear.
Do use Video Visualization to narrate the core value proposition. For TwoDots, our highest converting videos consist of gameplay, showcasing features and events within the game that let the player know exactly what to expect.	Don’t flood the user with information in the page description. Keep the body of the page description organized and concise and test different structural patterns that works best for you and your product!

Use Google Play Store Listing Experiments to increase your installs

As part of the 100 Days of Google Dev video series, Kobi Glick from the Google Play team explains how to test different graphics and text on your app or game’s Play Store listing to increase conversions using the new Store Listing Experiments feature in the Developer Console.

Find out more about using Store Listing Experiments to turn more of your visits into installs.

The App Developer Business Kit: Now available in 10 languages

Posted by Sean Meng, a Product Marketing Manager on the AdMob team

Today we’re excited to launch The App Developer Business Kit in 10 more languages. The website includes tips for new app developers on building, promoting and monetizing your app. Check out the Business Kit in your language:

• French


• German


• Italian


• Japanese


• Korean


• Portuguese


• Simplified Chinese


• Traditional Chinese


• Spanish


• British English

To help you make decisions about growing your app business in other regions, we’ve added 6 new market reports providing great insights about app users in Italy, Spain, Germany, Brazil, France, and Russia. Did you know that Brazilian smartphone users engage with ads more frequently than users in the US and Japan? Or that while nearly 2/3rds of French users exclusively download free apps, only 31% of Brazilian smartphone users do? Check out statistics like these about exciting regions around the world here.

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