App Store Insider: Developer Tricks

Today marks the very beginning of App Store Insider. Here I will attempt to inform you about the inner workings of Apple's App Store. Anything regarding the App Store and its applications is fair game. This week I will start things out simple by breaking down a few tricks developers use to market their applications along with a simple explanation of why some applications have those nifty backgrounds while most others do not. There have been so many examples of applications getting unnecessarily rejected by Apple's peculiar application review system that I couldn't even list them all if I wanted to. The thing is, once the application has been placed at the App Store, developers are given much more freedom to change the application description data than one might expect. The Search You have all seen them before. Application descriptions containing what other applications a developer recommends or has been supposedly been playing, but why would developers want to advertise other developer's applications? It's because developers are manipulating Apple's search tool to work to their advantage. If you have ever wondered why a completely unrelated application appeared in your results when searching for a different one, this is the reason. Developers basically list every high profile application title hoping to gain accidental hits and downloads from searches.

The result is a sometimes frustrating search tool. This sort of behavior has been occurring for months now while Apple has yet to figure out a solution. Editing Application Details And Images Since there isn't an active body constantly watching over application description updates, developers are able to change all sorts of details once their application is accepted to catch the eye of the consumer.  None of these changes affects the title or icon of the application on the device itself, only on the App Store.

• Many developers choose to add related text to the title of the application. If the developer wants to showcase something about the application that makes it special, for example an Emoji enabler, the best place to add that information is in its title. It is the most visible place to advertise something important considering most users don't take the time to check out each application's page.

• Developers are also able to change their icons to reflect sales, updates, or anything else they want to showcase without having to wait for Apple to approve it.

• The App Store supports symbols, characters, and even the beloved Emoji icons to highlight or break apart certain items that the developers want you to notice. Just remember though, Emoji icons aren't able to be displayed on most devices. That's when you will notice those ugly little character boxes.

• Some developers choose to add entire images instead of just application screenshots as well.

All of this information is able to be changed by the developer within a few minutes without any hassle from Apple. The information does, however, take a little while to propagate to all of the servers so it won't be immediately available to the public. Considering how long it takes Apple to approve a single application, I am certain most developers don't mind one bit. Überpages Finally, have you ever wondered why some applications have those super nifty page backgrounds? It's because Apple has contacted that developer about highlighting their application. Developers can't just go about this page beautification process themselves, Apple must request artwork from the them. Once the artwork is submitted, it's up to Apple to do as they please.

Just because Apple has requested the artwork, it doesn't mean they will necessarily use it, but on most occasions they will. In the biz, these sexy pages are called überpages. Apple's vague rules regarding applications once they have been accepted to the App Store heavily benefit the developers. The problem, of course, is getting the application approved in the first place. That's all the information I have for you this time around, but feel free to submit new ideas to cover in future editions. I will be your sponge, taking in as much information as possible from wherever I can and supplying it to you. According to that logic, you kind folks will be the ones squeezing the information out so be gentle. Submit ideas to: tyler(at)appleiphoneapps(dot)com

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