SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

www.swiftkey.net

How SwiftKey got to no.1 in Google Play: Using Alternative Approaches

Anne-Catherine Goulby

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

We make typing faster, easier, more personalised

• SwiftKey is the highest-selling paid Android app in the world

• It’s been No 1 in 58 countries without any advertising

• How did we achieve that?

About us

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

Play the Google Ranking algorithm game

And get to no.1 with organic downloads:

• The quality of the app as perceived by users (numbers of stars)

• Sustainable amount of downloads over past weeks

• Downloads growth over the last 30 days

• Frequency with which your app is used

• Swiftkey ticks all this boxes

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

An happy community equals outstanding ratings and reviews

• Membership of our VIP community surged from fewer than 30,000 in 2012 100,000.

• Good reviews on Google Play: an average of 4.6 stars

• Our network won us a Webby Award

Build a loyal community around your product

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

We build very close relationships with top tech writers and personalities:

• We take the time to connect with them and to initiate a conversation with them about our products

• We invite them for closed beta

• We listen to their feedback

• Stephen Fry’s tweet was worth thousands of organic downloads

Spread the word with Key Influencers

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

Autumn sales screenshot here

App platforms and stores are looking for inspiring apps they can use as ambassador of their ecosystem

• Build an app that solves a problem in the platform ecosystem

• Be creative using the technology of the platform

• Speak constantly with App Store Product managers and let them know your needs

• Featuring increase organic downloads by 10% to 15%

Get fully global: getting featured by Google

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

Once at the top…

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

Android is a great platform because of its flexibility but it’s also a daily and costly challenge to run on it

• An app fitting every device, screen size and ram, which requires a costly backend

• Google Play is the main distribution channel, but other app stores to consider, esp. in emerging markets

• Rigorous analytics required to optimize at a very precise level

Deal with Android fragmentation

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• No.1 doesn’t mean monietization

SwiftKey has been one of the fortunate ones, growing big enough to make significant revenue from Google Play, but:

• Some country app stores are very small (e.g. Belgium, Switzerland); you only need 30 sales a day to be no.1

• With a paid app you only make money once; finding the right price is crucial

• Sales are an interesting tool but need to be profitable: the number of downloads should make for the loss

Monetization is not a given

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

Next steps

SwiftKey keeps evolving at the same path as the whole Android ecosystem

• Master data collection and analytics

• Experiment with app marketing (launch, sales, featuring)

• New distribution channels

• Smart advertising based on analytics

SwiftKey is a trademark of TouchType Ltd. Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute

If you’re trying to make it big...

• Find advocates for your product: blogs and reviews matter

• Listen, chat, make it easy for your customers to talk about you

• Capitalize on the free ASO tools to get as many organic downloads as possible

• Measure, measure, measure!

• Experiment, run A/B testing and iterate, iterate, iterate

Take away

TouchType Confidential – Do Not Copy/Distribute