The most urgent issue after the launch of any application is its promotion and functioning. And what can help in making the right decisions? - The data or rather analysis of the data. Mobile application analytics is the key to understanding how your application lives, how users perceive it, how much money it brings in, and what needs to be improved, changed, or added.
Today, there are many tools for analyzing mobile applications, and it is often difficult to choose the one that is most suitable for your purposes.
In order to facilitate this task, we offer a small overview of the most popular tools for application analysis. But first, let’s clarify what the analysis tools are.
Types of Mobile Application Analysis Tools
We will focus on two main types since the remaining formulations, in our opinion, are a kind of interweaving of marketing and the work of the application itself:
In-App Analytics
In-app analytics demonstrates to us what our users are doing in the application. These are purely mechanical and behavioral actions. This type of analysis will tell us:
user activity: clicks, purchases made, and completed levels; and
whether it is a new user, plus much more.
With this analysis, you can even see the level at which users stop using your application (if it is a game), what is difficult and what is too easy, and features that users prefer or neglect. All of this will help improve the application, gain more loyalty and increase profit.
There is also an analysis of the effectiveness or performance of the application that is similar to in-app analysis but provides purely technical data such as errors, runtime, failures, crashes, exceptions, data transactions, API, and carrier latency.
Marketing Analytics
This type of analysis will give a picture of how well your application stands out among many similar ones: the number of downloads, comparison with other applications, etc. These data will help you determine which advertisement for your application is most effective and which monetization strategy will be most beneficial.
The tools of this analysis are mainly focused on the following metrics:
Installation - the number of settings and information about how the user found the application
Running - how, when, and where users start your application
Registration - why and how users are registered (if necessary) and why they stop using the application
Content - what users are viewing
Links and invitations - why and where users share links to your application, the number of invited users, and users’ demographics
Purchases - when and what users are willing to buy in the app
Actions - here you can set parameters yourself, for example, what else users like that have made a purchase in the application
All these metrics show how to employ user behavior to maximum benefit. For example, if you see that your app is usually opened during lunch hours, you can increase the display of ads in those hours or pick up ads with the appropriate content.
At the heart of the Firebase platform is analytics, which in a single control panel that gives you the ability to track user behavior and promotion campaigns. You can also export data to BigQuery.
Functions:
Crash reports
Deep link work
Information about purchases
Attribution
Segments
Pros
Support for audiences and attribution by more advanced mechanisms (+ pushes and a more accurate forecast of demography) to work with the target audience in terms of marketing
Some ready-made metrics such as ARPU and ARPPU
Built-in base events such as first_open, app_remove, and app_update
Funnels
Real-time
Cons
Limited segmentation functionality
Too much information on metrics
There is no filtering (for example, by IP to filter the grid of testers, city, or country)
There is no API for data access to generate super steep and very diverse reports like in GA
You will have to do the reports manually via the queries in BigQuery
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and the web
Localytics is an integrated platform that also offers smart targeting and marketing automation. With Localytics, you can make consciously correct actions to manage users throughout their life cycle.
Functions:
Sessions, events, and users
Returns
Attribution
Deleting tracking
LTV
Reports
Annotations
Pros
Easy to use
Opportunity to compare applications by criteria
Unlimited number of applications in the free version
Help for new users
Review of applications immediately after their addition
In premium or corporate versions, you can configure the sending of messages through applications with targeting.
It is possible to create your own CSV file requests (in the premium and corporate versions).
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, and the web
Countly provides a holistic analytical picture, and you can see the entire travel of the user. In addition, Countly offers an open version of its platform for deployment on your servers.
Functions:
Segments
Notifications
User profiles
Involvement
Funnels
Pros
Excellent design and user interface
Real-time
Opportunity to use segmentation and track events
Easy-to-use dashboard
Possibility of placing on your own server
Funnels
The ability to be deployed on-premises
Cons
Segment from within the app
Segmentation parameters must be specified in the application code
Platforms: iOS, Android, TvOS, Windows, Amazon, and the web
The service allows you to analyze the market, competitors, and behavioral indicators in the stacks and optimize the promotion processes.
One of the main advantages is the analysis of customers’ remarketing behavior. You can find out what’s wrong with your application and why users do not return to it. Also, the service monitors the advertising campaigns of competitors; reports of this activity will allow you to draw conclusions and change your own strategy.
Features:
One integrated platform for your data needs
Automatically merge data from all your advertising platforms
Track applications and competition using Store Stats
Pros
One of the most complete sets of tools on the market
Prices: Free for up to 10 applications; standard pricing for additional applications
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, and the web
This marketing-oriented platform also includes analysis of the application store in its “console” and offers a free trial period. In addition, Tune provides tools for social networks.
Functions:
Integrates the system of measures through purchases, discoveries, returns, and user participation
Attribution analysis for accurate evaluation of campaign performance
Analysis of the application repository to increase the number of installations
Pros
Real-time tracking and reporting
Third-party ad management
Excellent organized data
Cons
Does not collect data directly from Facebook since Facebook discontinued the partnership in 2014
The mobile application analysis enterprise Apsalar provides an analytical platform with the following tools: Marketing Attribution, Remarketing Audience, and CRM & Prospecting Audiences.
Features:
A large database of resources with relevant presentations and videos
Offers products and services for applications
Account managers provide support
Pros
Real-time partnership
Automation of marketing (push messaging in the application)
Measurement of LTV
Provides users with a combination of analysis and attribution functions
Analysis of funnels of cross-application
Analytics of several applications
Possible to segment users based on events, funnels, and cohorts
Opportunity to create events
Customizable toolbar
Free tool to evaluate the performance of companies
Prices: $0.05, $0.04, and $0.03 for installation of the application, depending on volume
Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows, the web, Unity, Amazon, and TvOS
As a platform for tracking mobile applications and for analyzing attributes for application developers and marketers, AppsFlyer is trusted and used by the Wall Street Journal, L'Oreal, and Trivago.
Features:
Real-time data to improve ROI advertising
Reports to increase the “lifetime” of users
One universal SDK for ease of integration
Pros
Universal tool
Partnerships with Twitter and Google
No problems with fraud
Custom attribution window
Deletes songs for Android
Localization support: The toolbar is in nine languages, and currency and time zone can be selected
Numerous events in the application that are suitable for different verticals
Ready for activating after installation
Cons
Cannot supplement with ad tracking
What to Consider When Choosing a Platform for Application Analysis
To choose the most optimal platform for yourself, you need to consider the following criteria:
Functions: As a rule, platforms have a standard set of functions, but there are also unique ones for each platform. You should determine whether these unique functions are needed to analyze your application.
Your needs: Your needs are always a fundamental criterion. Determine what kind of analysis you need. If your application is not mass or specific, it’s possible you don’t need a marketing analysis, and it’s more important to analyze the effectiveness of the application. If you need a specific analysis, choose a platform where you can set up metrics.
Complexity: We recommend that you choose relatively simple platforms that are easy to work with. Too complex platforms will affect the performance of your application as they will slow down the analysis.
The price: The levels of pricing are quite different, so pay attention to this parameter since platforms with almost identical functions can be fundamentally different in value; moreover, some are completely free.
Support: Although this is the last example, it is not the last in importance, as timely support from the platform can influence the effectiveness of the application.
In Conclusion
This is not a complete list of services for analyzing mobile applications; for instance, there are also the following tools:
Finally, this is not a list of the “best of the best,” because only you can determine what kind of analytics will be optimal for your application. This is just a list of the most popular tools with universal and useful functions. We hope this information was useful for you.