How do people search for apps?

I personally find the apple app store overwhelming with its hundreds of thousands of options. There are third party search engines that are arising that I enjoy using instead, http://www.mevvy.com is first in my list, this app store is highly curated and the apps they showcase seem to be top notch, there are also articles you can read that feature the use of apps, another is http://appappeal.com, in this case there are more apps to choose from, the site is fast but a bit confusing in its layout.

I mostly find them through the App Store iPhone application. I hit the featured page, the top 25, and, time permitting, I'll hit the categories that interest me. I also occasionally learn about a new app via the various blogs I follow (through Google Reader + Reeder).

Primarily through App Store search.  Because of this, you should make sure that you are using keywords that get good traffic and you should track how you are ranking for each keyword.  You should also make sure that your first app screenshot catches people's attention, have an icon that tells people exactly what your app is about and write a description outlining the benefits of downloading your app.

Most end users search for apps in the app store and most app purchases are impulse purchases.  There are some apps that promote driving downloads, but this lift is largely artificial because once you get to the top of the deck (if you make it there) there needs to be a strategy in place to drive organic downloads. I have seen (and found in my own real life experiences) that end users are your most important sales tool.  Ensuring you have a way to communicate with your users, have them refer friends and, above all else in the App Store ecosystem, make sure they leave reviews are critical steps.  If your app is one among many that will populate when a user types in a search term, users are likely to download the app that has the most user feedback. Check out www.gnomeescape.com - I am an advisor to the company, but after more than 15 years of publishing mobile apps I was impressed at what they offer.  Their service focuses on driving reviews and user feedback for your application - it is something they specialize in, because developers often have the hardest time with the organic side of marketing (which, in my opinion is the most valuable).  Apps that are featured on their site typically generate hundreds of reviews in a matter of days - all from honest users with US iTunes accounts.  The company was founded by ex-mobile game developers who understand the challenges of the market and wanted to help their peers succeed.  It's worth dropping a line to learn more.

Search Developers these days focus a lot on App Store Optimization (ASO). The primary way in which users find a new App is via the iTunes search bar. Say you are looking for a fitness App, you will definitely go right into iTunes, type "fitness" into the search bar, browse through the initial results, check the ratings, scan the reviews and if you like it, go ahead and have it installed. Keywords play a huge role in the way Apps rank for search terms. Proper keyword research and optimization is crucial for ASO. Social Believe it or not, Twitter and Facebook can drive a large number of people to your iTunes App URL. Be more social, stay updated, tweet and share articles related to your interest and acquire followers that will help you spread the word about your App. Word of Mouth Once a fan, always a fan. If you have a customer who is extremely satisfied with your product, they would recommend to family and friends. This is the most effective way. And this requires that your App truly be satisfying. Blogs App review sites are just huge. Get featured on one of them and you will instantly notice an increase in sales. Your marketing plan should include getting featured on as many App review sites as you can.

App Searching is a very broad term, in the abstract sense. As mentioned you are looking for a marketing strategy for your app. Here are a few suggestions that might help. See which is your target audience & your app category and then track the search trends, rather than tracking search trends as a whole. Search trends can vary a lot depending on the target audience and who your customer is. Rather than going for the whole cake i suggest you build it up gradually. Focused marketing will help u a lot, and you will convert better. Here are a few tools which might give you a push start to your campaigns. Social: Set up your blog, facebook and twitter channels. Use http://AppSurfer.com to showcase your app on your blogs. Your users will be able to use your app there itself. This will create a stir. It is always good to give your customer what they exactly want. Search: Currently from an SEO point of view, you use your google play link to promote your app on social channels. Having static screenshots and the same old app video, doesnt get you deeper in the social channels. On AppSurfer or your blog your users can try your app. Thus your users would love to share an interactive link further on their social channels. This will help you reach a larger audience and also your link will start getting ranked higher in search engines. And then once you have some data you can start analyzing customer trends for your app, which will be directly related to your app and form a focused SEO strategy. This will help you perform better.

How people find the app? Was it in an app store? Did they use a search engine? Were they intrigued by something a friend or family member said or decided to try it out for themselves? Did they find them in one of their social media channels? According to the latest research by industry thought leaders, all of these methods are how people were primarily finding apps, especially search. The problem for developers is two-fold: there are literally millions of apps available, and there seems to be no good system in place for helping people to find what they are looking for in an intuitive way.Well according to my opinion App Store Optimization is one of the most important factor that mostly app publishers/developers miss. In this article - http://goo.gl/qDrFr3, we’re going to take a look at what factors influence app discovery, as well as track what developers can do to influence this process positively.

Most of the apps are discovered from the app stores, for sure. But i disagree to some of the comments that the majority of the apps are found by"search". People use search box in 2 scenarios. 1. They have a need that they can describe by keyword(s). 2. They already can type in all or part of the app name.  The high % of search numbers from Nielsen cover both the scenarios. Before the user exercise the second scenario, they already know about the app. When people type "angry birds" in the search box, that doesnt mean they are   discovering the app called "angry birds" using the search engine. They merely use the search bar to get to the download page. I believe what is more relevant (in the context of marketing plan) is, how do people discover apps? Yes, search could be one tool for people to discover apps, but search implies the user's need is already established. If your app is SEO'd for whatever keywords to describe the need, yes the search could be a good tool to help users discover your app. But the app store search sucks. It is more of a tool to get to the download page of an app that you already know of rather than a discovery tool. Often times, people do not have a clear need established or understood when it comes to apps. We cant even imagine all things possible with apps. Ideally they would rather explore, browse, filter by various controls and try the ones that matches their needs or lifestyle. Unfortunately, app store exploration is too shallow and it stops at the first page. It favors the already successful apps that show up on the top charts and trending list. Thats why a lot of apps are downloaded from the first page even though there are possibly more suitable apps beyond. They dont give the control to user to uncover the hidden gems. (I dont mean to self promote here,  http://www.airomo.com is probably the best to discover by exploration.) In summary : There is no analytical way to promote apps today with linear performance results for the $ spent. Majority of the apps are found at the app stores but the app store discovery sucks. So you are left to utilize non-app store means such as blogs, social media, viral marketing etc. to influence/drive downloads at the app stores.

There are many ways how people search for Apps. The most important method is by searching through the App Store. Searching in App Directories like - http://TheApplover.com etc Video Reviews on Youtube