AppsMobile apps playbook
Many app installs start with a store search or a store feature. Outpost gets your App Store and Google Play listings working, plans pre-registration and launch, and adds the web presence that brings people to the stores.
01 · DISCOVERY
Many people find apps by searching or browsing inside the App Store or Google Play, so the store listing is your homepage. The two stores work differently: Apple indexes a separate keyword field, while Google Play gives you pre-registration, store listing experiments and up to 50 custom store listings for different audiences. Outside the stores, apps are found through web searches for a problem ("app to split rent"), creator videos, review sites and launch platforms, all of which end at a store page.
Search or see the app recommended → compare the icon, rating and first screenshots in results → open the listing → install → hit a trial, paywall or onboarding → get asked for a rating at a good moment. Most of the decision happens on the listing and in the first session.
02 · CHANNELS
Ranked 5 (essential) to 1 (optional) by the research for this industry.
Title, short description or subtitle, screenshots and ratings decide both ranking and conversion. Each store needs its own copy, because Apple and Google index text differently.
Pre-registered users get a push notification at launch, and eligible devices install the app automatically on launch day. Campaigns last up to 90 days.
Google Play store listing experiments and Apple's product page optimization test icons and screenshots with real store traffic for free.
Problem searches on Google ("app to track…") and AI assistant answers lead to web pages, not store listings. A fast page with store badges bridges the two.
Product Hunt and AlternativeTo add launch-day attention and lasting pages for apps people can download now.
BUSINESS MODEL · LIVE
The same channel can be a strong fit for a paid game and a poor one for a free one. Each line below is a rule or rating from Outpost's knowledge base, with its source; your own plan is built from your answers.
F-Droid accepts only free/libre open-source apps, strictly forbids proprietary tracking or advertising libraries (e.g. Firebase, Play Services), and flags remaining ads, tracking or non-free network dependencies as anti-features.
Apple rejects apps designed predominantly to display ads, limits display ads to the main app binary, requires interstitials to be labelled as ads with easy close/skip buttons and a way to report inappropriate ads, and bars third-party ads and analytics in Kids Category apps (except limited contextual ads from services that human-review creatives).
F-Droid accepts only free/libre open-source apps, strictly forbids proprietary tracking or advertising libraries (e.g. Firebase, Play Services), and flags remaining ads, tracking or non-free network dependencies as anti-features.
Google Play bans unexpected full-screen interstitials, full-screen interstitials that cannot be closed after 15 seconds (opt-in or non-interrupting ones, such as after a score screen, may run longer), ads that mimic app or system UI, and lock-screen monetization (unless the app is a lock screen); rewarded ads the user opts into are exempt.
Apple auto-renewable subscriptions must provide ongoing value, last at least seven days, work across all of the user's devices, and clearly describe what the user gets before asking them to subscribe.
F-Droid accepts only free/libre open-source apps, strictly forbids proprietary tracking or advertising libraries (e.g. Firebase, Play Services), and flags remaining ads, tracking or non-free network dependencies as anti-features.
AlternativeTo classifies apps as Free, Freemium (free version can 'perform the main purpose of the app'), Free for personal use or Commercial (time- or usage-limited versions count as Commercial), offers an 'Only Open Source' filter, rejects Coming Soon, closed/private beta, invite-only and Early Access apps, and will probably accept open betas.
r/AlphaAndBetaUsers requires a testable product (no email-only or registration-for-launch pages) and reciprocal testing.
On the App Store and Mac App Store, unlocking features, subscriptions, in-game currency, premium content or a full version must use Apple In-App Purchase, and apps may not use their own unlock mechanisms such as license keys.
Since iOS 26.5 (terms published 18 June 2026), Brazilian iOS apps may use alternative in-app payments or link out to the web: App Store commission is 21% (10% for Small Business Program members and for subscriptions after year one) plus 5% if Apple processes the payment, link-out sales within 7 days carry a 15% (or 10%) store-services commission, and alternative marketplaces carry a 5% Core Technology Commission.
Google Play user choice billing (an alternative billing system offered alongside Google Play billing, with a 4% service-fee reduction on those transactions) is available in India, and in Indonesia and Brazil under the pilot.
Since Japan's Mobile Software Competition Act took effect in December 2025 (iOS 26.2), iOS apps in Japan can be distributed through Apple-authorised alternative marketplaces and can offer alternative payment processing or web purchase links alongside Apple IAP; App Store commission is 10% or 21% plus 5% for Apple IAP, web-link purchases pay 15% (10% for reduced programs), and apps outside the App Store pay a 5% Core Technology Commission.
Apple moved to a new age-rating system; developers had to answer the updated age-rating questions by 2026-01-31 to avoid an interruption when submitting app updates.
An App Clip's uncompressed, thinned main bundle may be at most 15 MB for iOS 16 and 10 MB below iOS 16; 100 MB is allowed only for iOS 17+, digital-invocation-only clips used where reliable internet is likely.
App privacy details (the 'nutrition label'), including the data practices of third-party SDKs, are required to submit new apps and app updates to the App Store.
App Review requires final builds with working URLs, and demo account details (with the back end switched on) if the app has a login; incomplete bundles and builds that crash are rejected (Guideline 2.1).
Read from Outpost's knowledge base on Nov 8, 2026; every line links its source.
03 · YOUR FIRST MONTH
A sample month. Your own plan is built from your audit, stage and goal, and paid options only ever appear as optional boosts.
Week 1 · days 1–7
Week 2 · days 8–14
Week 3 · days 15–21
Week 4 · days 22–30
04 · WHERE TO BE LISTED
Costs are as published by each destination when the research was reviewed; check before you pay for anything.
apps.apple.com
The iOS channel. Metadata and review replies can be managed through the App Store Connect API.
$99/year
play.google.com
The main Android channel, with pre-registration, experiments and custom store listings.
$25 one-time
galaxystore.samsung.com
Samsung's own Android store for Galaxy devices; a secondary channel.
Not published; check current terms
f-droid.org
The catalogue for free and open-source Android apps without proprietary tracking.
producthunt.com
A launch day and a lasting product page for apps people can install now.
alternativeto.net
People looking to replace a known app browse alternatives across platforms.
Free (optional priority review fee)
reddit.com
Finds early testers for a testable build, if you test others' products in return.
05 · SEARCH DEMAND
Primary search
how to market an app
320searches a month
DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026
Learning: answer with guides
Learning: answer with guides
Learning: answer with guides
Comparing: show why you
06 · AVOID
Apple indexes a hidden 100-character keyword field and Google Play reads your descriptions. Identical copy underperforms in at least one store.
Google Play pre-registration notifies everyone who signed up and can install on launch day. Skipping it throws away the easiest launch-day installs.
New personal Google Play accounts must run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 days before production. Teams who find out late lose two weeks.
Ratings show in search results on both stores. A prompt after a success moment and replies to low-star reviews protect conversion.
07 · WHAT OUTPOST DOES
Rewrites both store listings from your confirmed facts, fitted to each field's limit in the App Store and Google Play, with advice on screenshot order.
Gives you each rewrite as a kit to paste into App Store Connect and the Play Console.
Hosts a coming-soon page with a waitlist on your blog address, each signup confirmed by email, while you prepare TestFlight and Google Play's closed test.
Runs before-and-after experiments on your website pages and reads the results honestly, saying 'not enough data yet' when that's the case.
Builds web pages for your app's use cases so Google and AI assistants send people to your store listings.
Every action Outpost takes gets a receipt: the live URL, a timestamp and what it drove, or “nothing yet”.See how receipts work
08 · QUESTIONS
If you can support both well, yes, because launch platforms and press work better when everyone can install. If not, launch where your audience is and use the other store's pre-registration or a waitlist to build demand.
A strong store listing, Google Play pre-registration, store experiments, a simple landing page, a Product Hunt launch and AlternativeTo listing. The only unavoidable costs are the store fees ($99/year Apple, $25 once for Google Play).
Yes. You can create up to 50 custom store listings, targeted by country, search keywords, pre-registration, lapsed or churned users, and other segments.
A lot. Ratings appear in search results, and Apple says they can influence ranking. Ask at a moment of success and reply to the lowest-star reviews first.
Store experiments give answers within weeks if you have enough traffic. Ranking improvements usually take longer, and web content takes months to compound.
10 · EVIDENCE
Every fact on this page comes from one of these sources.
Up to 50 custom store listings and targeting options
What can be tested; one default or up to five localized experiments at once
Up to 90 days; launch push notification; auto-install on eligible devices
12 testers for 14 days for new personal accounts
$25 one-time fee
Keyword field; ratings can influence ranking; keyword field limited to 100 characters
Testing icons, screenshots and previews
$99/year
Testable products only; reciprocal testing
Last reviewed . Search volume: DataForSEO Google Ads, US/en, Oct 2026.
FREE WEBSITE AUDIT
Paste your website. Outpost reads it, scores your visibility, finds your competitors and shows the first fixes, free. Then the playbook above becomes your own campaign, measured in installs.
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