Presentation given at PubCon Internet Marketing Conference in November 2010. You can use analytics within a mobile app to track goals and conversions as in a normal website. With additional effort, you can also get keyword referrals from the Android Market to track which keywords are most valuable.

1. Analytics in a Mobile App
Presented by:
Nathan Mellor
CritterMap Software

2. Why do Analytics in Apps?
• Track conversion goals for various business
models
– Paid Apps, Ads, Subscriptions, Affiliate
programs, Traffic to website(s).
• Check usability and user Acceptance of App
• Track discovery of app and who uses it
• Get ideas for more content, features, and
other apps.

3. Mobile Analytics
Options
• Website For High End Devices
– High End device like Android, Iphone, Palm Pre
– Can be tracked as a normal website with Google Analytics
• Website for Low End devices
– No javascript
– Needs Server side code.
• Interaction with a native IPhone or Android
Application
– Can be tracked as if the app were a website
– Requires the Google Analytics SDK for that platform

4. Strengths and limitations
• Tracks Page Views
(custom pages)
• Tracks tagged referrals
(through Android Market
only)
• Tracks Events and event
data
• Can track Map Overlay,
languages, and
networks.
• Doesn’t allow custom
user attributes
– This *would* be really
useful
• Referrals from your
own website often
untracked
• No search keywords
from Android Market (
without additional
work)

5. Implementation
Android SDK
tracker =
GoogleAnalyticsTracker.getInstance();
// Start the tracker in manual dispatch
mode...
tracker.start("UA-YOUR-ACCOUNT-
HERE", this);
tracker.trackEvent(
"Clicks", // Category
"Button", // Action
"clicked", // Label
77); // Value
tracker.trackPageView("/testApplicationH
omeScreen");
• Include library and a few
select lines of code
• Note: SDK has bad
memory leak.
– Replace “this” with
getApplication()
• Make up your own page
views
• Make up your own Events

6. Analytics Profile
Mobile App as a site

7. Android App
Page Views
• Page Views are chosen in
code
– Could be screens of
your app
• In this example, pages
are different map types
chosen by users.
• /preview/mytopo is
viewing a map online
• /offline/mytopo is
viewing a map saved on
storage card.

8. Android App
Events
• Event category, label,
and action are chosen
in code just as in
javascript
• Important: urlencode
event labels
• In this example, Place
Name Search is
recorded as an event
• Top searched
locations are here.

9. Android App Discovery
Tagging Android Market Links
• Tagged Urls are encouraged
• http://market.android.com/details?id=com.crittermap.back
• This url will take you directly to Android Market Listing
– Tags will pass through
• But *ONLY* if you click it on an Android device
• Same url will give you an “Oops! This link appears to be
broken.” if used on your PC.
• These can be encoded in a barcode.

10. Paid campaign Option #1
Ad campaign links to Market Listing
• Referral information will track
if urls tagged.
• Limited sales copy – 325
characters in listing
• Users can take immediate
action

11. Paid Campaign Option #1
Adwords Ad new features
• Adwords on Android can
change referral link to
‘Download Android App’
• Potential to stand out
from other ads
• User can take immediate
action
• But Adwords Approval
team seems unaware
of this feature

12. Paid Campaign Option #2
Adwords Ad to Landing page to Market
Listing
• Referral information needs to
be passed on to Android Market
(cross domain)
• More sales copy – but needs to
be mobile optimized. Try it Now!Try it Now!
Use your Android
GPS for outdoor
navigation!
Use free topo maps!
Try it yourself for 16
days!

13. Android App Referral Tracking
• Numbers indicate that many/most visitors to the website
will just search the market rather than follow a link
• Referer is constant once app is installed.
• Direct Request
dominates
• These are
referrals from the
Android market.
• Search terms not
available 
without
workaround

14. Android App Referral Tracking
With proprietary keyword solution
• Androidmarket/device
is a campaign
source/medium
• Keywords from Market
Search (2.2 and above)
• Some keywords indicate
previous exposure to
brand
• Most developers do not
have this information.
• Learn more at
crittermap.com.

15. Android Market Keywords
Benefits
• Combine keywords with conversion data.
• Choose which words are most valuable for your
huge 325 character app description
• Use the keywords in content creation for your
site
• With a keyword solution, you can judge the
relative value of keywords from the Android
Market and market accordingly

16. Android App analytics
Conclusions
• With standard installation, Android App Analytics is
sufficient for conversion tracking and usability
• You can also track referrals from a webpage or paid
campaign.
• With a keyword solution, you can judge the relative
value of keywords from the Android Market and market
accordingly

17. To Learn More. . .
• Join my newsletter at
www.crittermap.com
• Contact me at @Nathan_Mellor