6 Tips for Uploading Your Android App to the Google Play Store

From meeting the guidelines to final testing, take your Android app from development to launch. 

Even the best-developed mobile app needs a launch strategy. That launch strategy, in turn, has to match up with the requirements of the platform on which it lives. 

To say that the Google App Store is crowded might be an understatement. Every month, nearly 100,000 new Android apps start their life in the store, vying for the attention of millions of users. 

For your Android app, that means making sure that you have the right steps in place to upload your app and start engaging your audience. These 6 tips can help you accomplish just that, from a final QA test to choosing a pricing and category that attracts the right audience.

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Tip #1: Consider Google Play Policies Throughout Development

To maintain quality and consistency, Google has published a set of guidelines for any apps available in its Google Play Store. Apps that don't follow these policies risk not just warnings, but simply being unavailable to users. Examples of Google Play policies include:

• Respecting intellectual property rights
• Restricting inappropriate content for various audiences
• Maintaining the privacy of user data
• Monetization and ad policies
• And more

Building your app in compliance with these policies is not optional. Your developer should be familiar with them from the start of the process and feel empowered enough to challenge you on any development directions that could potentially violate them in any way. Before the final update, it helps to run a final check to make sure that your Android app doesn't even accidentally violate any of Google's guidelines.

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Tip #2: Perform a Final QA Test Before Finalizing the App

Speaking of final checks: every app deserves one final quality assurance (QA) test to make sure it functions as well as it possibly can before the final launch upload. With nearly half of all mobile apps uninstalled within the first 30 days of download, this test may be the difference between frustrating your audience and engaging them enough to keep using it. 

This final QA test should include:

• Basic usability testing
• Functionality and bug testing
• Security vulnerabilities
• Performance testing for speed, memory use, etc.
• Interruption testing

Again, a true development partner can help here. They'll know what areas to test and how to perform an efficient test without delaying the timeline or breaking the bank. Ongoing testing throughout a more agile development process can also help to prevent unexpected surprises at the launch deadline. 

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Tip #3: Optimize Your Android App for App Store Visibility

You might be familiar with the concept of app store optimization (ASO), which describes everything a brand can do around the app itself to maximize visibility, downloads, and engagement from Android users.

That starts with selecting the right category for your app. This Google Play Store category overview can help you decide what makes the most sense, with relevant statistics to show what company your product will keep. 

But ASO goes far beyond your category. The app listing should include relevant keywords and visuals that represent the in-app experience. The title of the app matters, as does the ability to highlight ratings and reviews from happy users. 

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Tip #4: Consider Your Pricing Strategy Prior to Upload

If you're looking to monetize the app itself rather than using it as a vehicle for a physical product or service catalog, choosing your pricing strategy will be crucial. Free, freemium (free with paid features), and tiered pricing are just some of the many options you have. 

Ideally, you've made this decision long before the upload. That means you now just need to take the final step: align your strategy with Play Store pricing guidelines and make the right entries in the system. An experienced app developer can help you not just choose the right strategy, but take this final step as well.

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Tip #5: Build a Proactive Feedback and Reporting Structure

Once your app is live and has the right ASO, you will get downloads. What happens after those downloads is up to you.

Even the most well-tested apps may still run into bug issues. Users may not use or love the app in the way you thought they would. And make no mistake: they will share their thoughts, whether it's with you or with the greater public.

At worst, they'll leave a negative review, which can depress your app search rankings and reduce credibility. It pays to be proactive, building a structure into the app that allows users to easily share feedback directly with you--along with a strategy to address feedback promptly and on an ongoing basis.

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Tip #6: Schedule Regular Check-ins for Needed Updates

Developing and launching an app should never be a one-and-done process. Even as you prepare for the initial upload, it pays to already have a long-term strategy for updates and maintenance in place. 

The feedback you receive from users may cause you to fix bugs as well as change, add, or even remove features. Google may update or add to its Play Store policies, which happens multiple times per year. And of course, your business may evolve and expand over time, which your app will need to reflect. 

Work with your Android developer to develop an app maintenance and update strategy as you prepare for its launch. That way, you have a roadmap in place that allows you to maximize your chances of long-term success in the app store and beyond.

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How to Make App Store Optimization an Ongoing Priority

A great Android app has to hit multiple checkpoints. Sure, the actual product has to be great. But it also has to function as desired, leverage its listing to appear prominently on the app store, meet and exceed all of Google's guidelines, and follow a pricing strategy your users will respond to.

In other words, the app launch is about far more than simply uploading the app into the Play Store environment. Instead, you need a strategy up to and beyond the launch that puts your app, and by extension your business, in the best possible position to succeed.

Partnering with the right mobile app development company can make all the difference in achieving that goal. You need a true partner who is not only an expert in Google Play rules and optimization but can also work with you on an app custom-designed for audience needs and pain points. Schedule a 30-minute consultation with Milo Mobile to see how we can help.