New 50 character title iOS guideline and much more App Store Optimization news…

This is Gabe Kwakyi, CEO & Co-Founder of Incipia, with a guest roundup of the biggest news in app store optimization for September.

September Summary:

1. 9/1: Google Play showcases betas.
2. 9/7: New 50 character title iOS guidelines and a major app cleanup; Pokemon Go reaches $500 MM; Apple releases “notify me” app button; Google confirms more Play Store ad slots and no more branded cannibalism.
3. 9/13: iOS 10 and new subscription reports for iTunes Connect released.
4. 9/15: Sensortower says 51% of all apps at risk of being purged for inactivity; Apple expands Limit Ad Tracking.
5. 9/16: iPhone 7 released.
6. 9/20: Clash Royale boots Pokemon Go for #1 Grossing Spot; Adwords rolls out event-optimized bidding.
7. 9/22: Sensortower says there are now 1,650 apps in the iMessage store.
8. 9/28: iOS 10 reaches 48% adoption; Apple search ads platform now open for setup; Google brings the Play Store to Android Wear.

September 1st:

The Verge reports that Google Play will open up the ability for developers to recruit beta testers and build awareness buzz by nominating their app betas to show in a special unreleased sub-section of the early access section of the play store.

September 7th:

1. Apple releases new guidelines that app titles may be no longer than 50 characters, down from 225, recommending 23 or fewer characters. Many prominent apps, including Google Maps fall victim to Apple’s update and cease ranking for keywords found beyond the 50 character limit. App Annie research finds that 20% of studied apps will need to update their name to be compliant, and “only half of apps analyzed met Apple’s recommended length of 23 or fewer characters.”

2. App Annie reports that Pokemon Go becomes the fastest app to reach $500 million in sales, achieving this feat in 60 days.
3. TechCrunch reports that Apple has begun supporting a “notify me” button that allows upcoming apps which have yet to launch, to capture App Store real estate and allow users to register to receive news when the app launches.
4. Google revamps the way Play Store ads work by 1) no longer showing an ad before an app’s organic result for a branded search and 2) adding a second play store ad (seen testing by ThomasBCN on 8/10).

September 13th:

1. Apple begins a gradual rollout of iOS 10. Among the bevy of updates, some most relevant to ASOs include:

• A new app store specifically for iMessage apps and stickers.
• Ability for developers to tap into Siri.
• Rich notifications for apps.

2. Apple releases updated subscriptions reports in the iTunes Connect Sales and Trends dashboard.

September 15th:

1. Research from Sensortower indicates that 1.08 million apps (51% of all iOS apps) are at risk of being purged by Apple’s raid on abandoned or unsupported apps.

2. Apple expands the prevalence and focus on “Limit Ad Tracking,” sending app marketers into a panic over being unable to attribute post-install metrics to marketing efforts to users with LAT enabled.

September 16th:

Apple releases the iPhone 7. Users decry Apple’s decision to take away the familiar and universal headphone jack in favor of a slimmer design and stereo sound. The 7 also includes 2 main cameras, a faster processor, longer battery life and wireless “AirPod” headphones.

September 20th:

1. Pokemon Go loses the #1 US grossing spot to Clash Royale after spending 74 consecutive days there, putting it in 3rd place of all apps for number of consecutive days topping the US grossing chart.
2. Google rolls out in-app purchase/subscription-optimized universal ad campaigns to all Adwords advertisers, as well as support for images in UAC ads shown on Google’s display network.

September 22nd:

Sensortower posts about the growth of iOS 10 iMessage apps and stickers. Most sticker packs are paid and most iMessage apps are games.

September 28th:

1. Macrumors proclaims iOS 10 adoption rates are near 50% just over 2 weeks of launch. Despite the exciting new updates iOS 10 makes, Macrumors suggests that installation issues may have slowed from blazing fast iOS 10 adoption rates seen out of the gate, ending up slightly below the +2 week adoption rate of iOS 9 one year ago.
2. Apple opens the search ads interface up for developers and marketers to log into and set campaigns up in, pegging October 5th as the date to actually set search ads live
3. Google brings the Play Store to Android Wear 2.0.

That’s all for September!

Thanks for reading. Be sure to:

1. Click the green heart below to share this list with your friends and get your dose of App Store news at the end of October.
2. Reach out to Moritz Daan on Twitter if you have spotted anything new or have a cool feature to announce for your tool.
3. Follow Incipia for more news on app design, development and marketing.

Thanks, that’s it from us for this month!

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Let’s discuss in the comments, and like always: if you have noticed anything related to ASO, please let me know on Twitter or reach out to [email protected].

Previous ASO Monthly editions:

1. May 2016: App Store broken + 5 localized store listing experiments…
2. June 2016: Announcement search ads…
3. July 2016: Google Play Store testing with 2nd ad…
4. August 2016: Simplified screenshot submission… (by Peter)