6 KPIs & Metrics to Evaluate the Performance of Your Mobile App
Every single thing that you do for your business needs to be calculated in terms of returns earned from it. And the same thing applies to a mobile app. Mobile app development is only the start. It is an important business tool. However, its success needs to be measured in perspective to other business metrics like revenue, retention rate, and customer satisfaction.
A mobile app’s technical and marketing performance is crucial, and it depends mostly on the analytics and metrics. Even if you are developing an MVP and wish it to be as cost-effective as possible, it is essential to have analytics at disposal. It is incredibly critical for your app’s success and future growth, as there are a lot of different ways to get valuable insights and feedback.
There is a definite set of metrics that needs to be followed even in the case of mobile. It assists marketers to differentiate the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of your app. It can even make you discover whether your app is making money. You can even take the help of the metrics to learn how the users are using the app and where you need to improve. It will also tell you how your mobile app performs before you take effective measures to correct it.
However, there is a lot of data that can be gathered like daily active users (DAU), monthly active users (MAU), and return on investment (ROI) that needs to be calculated. If you are new to mobile analytics, it is possible to get confused, primarily when you have not heard these acronyms. If you are one of those who are looking to get information about KPIs and metrics for your mobile app, this write-up is especially for you.
In the forthcoming sections of this write-up, we have provided a list of KPIs and metrics that will help you to evaluate the performance of your mobile app.
Let’s get started.
Downloads & Installs
This metric assists you in understanding the number of people who have installed your app. However, this metric is not enough to know the real success parameters for your mobile app. For example, imagine that your users download the app for a specific marketing campaign and then never use it. Or even worst uninstall it instantly. In any case, the number of app installs is essential due to the simple reason that it sets the foundation that can make it easy for other metrics to track and scrutinize.
It is possible to track app downloads and installs by quickly setting up install tracking through Google Analytics for both iOS and Android. This is how you can do it.
App Acquisition
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The very next thing that you need to learn after knowing how many people download the app is by determining where precisely these downloads came from. One way to learn that is by app acquisition metric. With the help of the app acquisition, it is possible to determine the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and channels.
It assists in making the best use of the marketing spend. A prime example of that is, in case you are running multiple ads or campaigns, with the help of this metric, it is possible to determine what is working and what is not. This way, you can devote your time to finding a solution to the problem areas.
The best way to track app acquisition is through Google Analytics. Alternatively, you can even employ a business analytics platform Mixpanel instead.
Active Users
It is important to note that not all users who download your app are going to be your active users. Active users regularly open and engage with your app. This metric helps you determine the engagement level and usefulness of your app to your users. So, the question now is: “What exactly can be classified as an active user?” It is typically contingent on the analytical tool that you are using.
According to Google Analytics, an active user is someone who has opened and engaged with your app within the last 30 days. There are two types of Active users: Daily Active Users (DAU) and Monthly Active Users (MAU).
DAU can be defined as the number of users who have a session with your app a minimum of 1 time in a day. On the other hand, MAU is the number of users who have a session at least once every month.
Stickiness
The stickiness metric is the frequency at which users come back to your app. You can get the stickiness ratio by dividing the DAU by the MAU and then multiply the result by 100 to get a percentage.
You can track app stickiness by using the formula given below:
Stickiness = (Daily Active Users / Monthly Active Users) x 100
Remember, a higher percentage means better performance. It means that more MAUs are staying at your app for a long period to convert into DAUs.
Average Daily Sessions Per Daily Active User (DAU)
Average daily sessions per DAU reflects the number of times average users open and engage with your app daily. The next question is, “What is the ideal number when it comes to average daily sessions per daily active user?” The answer is, it depends. Social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook want their users to have a higher number of daily sessions on average. In comparison, other apps do not need to be used as much to become successful. They can perform even with a lower number.
The best way to track average daily sessions per DAU is by using the formula given below:
Average Daily Sessions Per DAU = Number of Daily Sessions / Number of DAU
Average Session Length
With the help of this metric, it is possible to determine the exact time spent by a typical user while interacting with your app in a single session. It assists in letting you know how engaged are your users. A prime example of this is an eCommerce app. With the help of average session length, it is possible to determine whether the users are browsing the products for a pretty long time, or are they closing the app after a few seconds.
The best way to track the average app session length is by employing Google Analytics or any other analytics tool. To read more about the best way to apply Google Analytics to track the average app session, click here.
Final Thoughts
It might look quite easy to dive into mobile analytics; however, you need to fully comprehend what you are looking for before diving into the data. Set clear goals for your app and select the most critical metrics that matter as your industry. Concentrate on key areas that will help you to achieve your goals. Determine the metrics before taking the help of mobile app development services from an ingenious company to develop a creative mobile app.
