App discovery apps report

Table of Contents
1 Introduction 4
2 What are app discovery apps? 5
3 Should you make your app free for a day? 7
4 App discovery: Platform interviews 10
5 App discovery app directory 21
6 Your Next Steps 25

© mobyaffiliates.com 2013 | App Discovery Apps Report.doc 2

1 Introduction

As smartphone and tablet penetration continues to grow at pace, there seems no end to the tidal
wave of native apps being released onto Android, iOS and other platforms app stores. Indeed,
this deluge is worn as a badge of pride by Google and Apple, and is a key component in deeming
whether you have a successful mobile ecosystem (just ask BlackBerry and Microsoft). But while app
developers undoubtedly benefit from the burgeoning market, they’re simultaneously suffering at the
mercy of platform owners, as native app stores effectively monopolise distribution and – in the eyes
of many devs – do a poor job of making apps discoverable.

From mobile ad networks, incentivised networks, ASO, non-native app stores and App Reviews, a
silver bullet for app discovery has yet to be found. However, a number of companies have been
tackling the discovery matter head-on, by creating apps that aim to supplement the app stores
themselves. The rise of App Discovery Apps and Services is a key theme in the mobile advertising
and app promotion industry right now and it seems like this is becoming a major new distribution
channel. Whilst App Gratis in particular has generated a lot of publicity with its huge success and a
$14m funding round App Discovery Apps are becoming a category in their own right with a range of
other major players in this space.
In this guide we’re going to take a detailed look at app discovery apps, explaining what they are and,
as usual, talking to developers and the platforms themselves. We’ve also got a pretty compehensive
list of all the app discovery platforms we could find at the bottom of the article.

For more ways to promote your app check out our Mobile App Marketing Directory


2 What are app discovery apps?
For the purpose of this guide, we’re taking a relatively broad view of discovery platforms, but
essentially we’re sticking to mobile apps that help you find other apps. So this approach will
encompass incentivised app download platforms (where users are rewarded for downloading apps),
pure discovery/deal finder platforms (which aim to offer enhanced search and recommendation
features), daily deal apps (which focus on offering negotiated discounted apps per day), specialised
app disovery platforms and social discovery platforms.
So what are app discovery apps? A few different approaches have emerged:

Daily deals apps

Daily deals apps (or ‘free app a day’ apps) are arguably the most popular form of discovery platform.
These platforms usually negotiate discounts with developers and offer users a single deal per day.
Their success is easy to understand. Users get a cheap or free app and developers get a massive
boost in downloads, pushing them up the charts. It’s an incredibly simple but effective format. The
biggest success story in this area has been AppGratis, which is riding high following a $13 million
investment. Some of these platforms charge devs a one-off cost to get featured, while others charge
on a CPI basis.

Deal finders

The other popular discovery format, and certainly the most ubiquitous (just take a look at our
directory below), is app deal finders. While platforms like AppGratis offer a focused delivery of
discounted apps to users, deal finders help users search across app stores for discounted apps.
This sub-category, typified by the likes ofAppsFire, usually bolts on a variety of enhanced discovery
tools to its core offering, such as personalised recommendations, editorial content, social-sharing
features and enhanced search tools. But their main focus, and benefit over native app stores, is the
ability to notify users whenever an app relevant to their tastes is discounted.

Specialised app discovery platforms

A specialised platform offers enhanced search and discovery functions within a single app vertical.
Examples include Game Finder, which is dedicated to mobile games, and MagicSolver’s range of
discovery platforms that have seasonal themes. A specialised platform can really adopt a variety of
formats to suit users. For instance, Game Finder focuses on discount discovery,
whereas MagicSolver takes a ‘daily deal’ approach. The fragmentation of app discovery does appear
to be gaining traction, as it gets harder for generic platforms to compete with the market leaders.
This will probably lead to smaller generic deal finding apps fading away and being replaced with
specialised ones. Specialisation also allows a greater scope for editorial input and a curated
approach as brands can develop a following from more savvy users.

Incentivised platforms


A few incentivised app download networks have now evolved into apps themselves. These combine
typical discovery features, like daily deals and enhanced search, with incentive based downloads.
The two biggest are Fiksu’s FreeMyApps and Tapjoy’s own web app. Whereas Tapjoy offers a
variety of rewards such as in-game currency and credits for movie apps, Fiksu has taken a more
streamlined route, offering users iTunes and Amazon gift cards for downloading apps. Of course, all
the same controversies over incentivised downloads have followed these platforms into the
discovery space, but with FreeMyApps boasting over 9 million users, it’s well worth a look for
developers.

Blurred bounderies

Of course, the above categories are by no means fixed. There are plenty platforms that mix daily
deals with a general deal searching functions and a minority of others that focus purely on social
recommendations. There are also more unique platforms, such as Hubbl and AppFlow, whose
appeal mainly lies in novel user interfaces. App discovery is a continually evolving space, so expect
more innovations to come.


3 Should you make your app free for a day?
Key stats

WorldCrack reached 701,556 downloads after being promoted as a daily deal on AppGratis, while
mobile game Edge Extended received in excess of 1,500,000 installs
 AppGratis claims to be able to drive between 500,000 and 700,000 installs per day on average
 AppsFire tells us it can generate more than 300,000 installs for a developer in a single day
 FreeMyApps says it has an active userbase of 1.5 million
 AppsFire has been download more than 9 million times
 From what developers tell us, AppGratis CPI averages between $1 and $5
 Hitfox tells us CPIs for its Game Finder platform also average between $1 and $5
 Developers can start promoting apps on AppsFire with a budget of $2500 per day
 FreeMyApps requires $50,000 minimum for a campaign, according to developers we’ve
spoken to, although Fiksu say it can be as low as $5k or $10k
As you can see from the above stats app discovery platforms are big business right now and are
really helping developers effectively promote their apps. It’s no wonder that a company like
AppGratis recently managed to secure a $14 million investment. But while these platforms have
generated some serious results, some devs – especially those on a budget – say they’re struggling
to see the benefits, as promotion costs are too high and affordable platforms simply don’t have the
required scale.

All about the burst

Atlee Cheema, an account manager at mobile marketing agency Fetch, tells us he’s experienced a
great deal of success running campaigns with app discovery platforms (AppGratis specifically), but
he says the market is dominated by too few players.
“My frustrations is first and foremost the lack of app discovery apps,” says Cheema. “At least the
ones with actual reach. Generally it comes down to just a lack of scale. Because it is such an
infrequent event – when you make one of these buys you want it to count. You want to see some
kind of push in the ranking and a lot of these apps just don’t to have the scale to achieve this.”
As Cheema points out, platforms like AppGratis and AppRewards are all about burst promotions,
allowing developers to get enough push to potentially create a snowball effect, taking them into their
vertical’s chart-rankings. Achieving this can turn around an app’s fortunes in an instant (so much so
that the emphasis on chart rankings has been criticised by many in the discovery industry).
Cheema says AppGratis has successfully pushed clients’ apps through the rankings more than
once, but it’s a risk for smaller devs to take, as the burst has to work first time around. You can’t
keep discounting your app with various platforms and you ideally want the promotion early on in the
app’s lifecycle. For all this to work you need scale and that comes at a cost.


Paying your way

We talked to Simon Billing from MeYuMe, a small iOS developer with around six games under its
belt, including NeoDefender 3 and Cannibal Cookout. After a recommendation from a fellow dev,
Billing tried out the discovery platform AppRewardsClub, which follows a similar format to AppGratis
– negotiating discounts with developers and delivering daily deals to its users.
According to Billing, his total investment to promote Cannibal Cookout was pretty low at just $200 for
the promotion, with no additional payments or revenue share after the campaign. He also had to
raise the app’s price from $0 to $4.99 in order to discount it (which is another oversight of such
discount platforms, especially given the abundance of free apps). Billing says the results were
negligible. Week-on-week the game’s daily installs increased from 248 to 329. Furthermore the day
before the deal launched, downloads had already climbed to 329.
“Personally I think App Rewards made no difference at all,” Billing says. “The extra downloads were
due to the price drop – something I could have achieved on my own. I probably wasted $200.
However, in their defence (I like to be fair) I did choose the day that all the big hitters in the app store
chose to reduce the price of their apps for the Christmas break.”

AppsFlow shows off its unique UI

Atilla Beke, another developer we spoke to, also expressed concern over discovery platforms when
it comes to smaller studios. Beke, who runs 3dmagicbox, developers of iOS app PushWizards, said
his campaign with incentivised network TapJoy generated 500 downloads with a $0.50 CPI and but
with some wastage from users uninstalling his app (a frequent problem when it comes to
incentivised downloads). Beke also told us that the FreeMyApps incentivised platform wanted
$50,000 upfront, which puts it out of reach for smaller devs.
“There are not many things you can do as a small dev to be discovered,” says Beke. “Never ever
pay money to somebody, who wants you to make your paid app free! Almost everything that people
try to sell you as marketing, can you do on your own if you take your time and you really want it.”

Billing agrees with Beke saying his studio simply “doesn’t have the money” to boost his apps into the
charts and therefore has decided to focus on more organic methods. “I think now the app promotion
market is becoming fragmented and a lot of companies are making rash promises which I don’t think
they are actually delivering on,” he says. “I think even the larger ‘free app a day’ sites are finding that
less and less users are responding to their campaigns. It’s almost as if the users are overwhelmed
on a daily basis with free app offers. Besides, how many free apps can one user actually download
day in/day out.

Learning the ropes

AppsFire CEO Ouriel Ohayon tells us it’s certainly true that using an app discovery platform is
expensive and brands that any platforms who promise “miraculous results with low costs” as “either


liars or cheaters”. But he says his first piece of advice to any developer is to avoid app discovery
services until you understand how app promotion works.

“First learn about the space of app marketing and all the leverages free and paid you can use – for example building
a nice trailer, PR, etc,” he says. “Learn about ad networks and how they operate, learn about competition…. build a
real marketing plan over a quarter. Not just a weekend. Learn about analytics, retention and life time value. Then and
only then come to app discovery platforms.”

For Ohayon there’s “nothing worse” than getting ranked for just a day or two and then seeing your
installs drop off completely. He says developers need to understand how to consistently grow, retain
users and keep them happy, before they shell out thousands pushing their app into the charts.

But the picture isn’t all gloomy for developers on a budget. AppGratis has made an effort to court
smaller devs, bringing in a revenue-sharing model. So instead of charging on a CPI basis
developers split the money from digital downloads and advertising. The platform has been tight-
lipped on the details of this model, but it certainly worked for indie-dev Etermax, which saw its
game WordCrack generate 701,556 downloads after featuring on the platform.
Ohayon also says AppsFire’s CPA ads, which take the form of ‘App of the Day’

recommendations with the discovery platform, are relatively affordable, starting on $2500 per day in
certain countries. “We can generate up to 300 000 new users a day – we did it recently for a bunch
apps,” he says. “Now to avoid any bullshit, which is common in our industry, we do not drive those
300 000 downloads directly: this is the end result of many factors including getting in high ranks. we
do not charge for downloads we don’t generate directly even if you managed to get to a high rank.”

Discovery in the future?

So where will app discovery apps go from here? One development that could change the landscape
is Apple’s recently introduced clause in its app approval guidelines. The clause says Apple reserves
the right to reject “apps that display apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner
similar to or confusing with the App Store.”
All the platforms we spoke said did not believe the above clause threatened their business, in fact
many believe it’s a positive move by Apple. Introducing more stringent guidelines may deter new app
discovery platforms from being developed – and contribute to the lack of options on the market for
devs – but it could also force platforms to figure out more innovative ways to promote apps.
Indeed, now that a few big players have emerged, much of the coming growth in app discovery
could arrive in the form of specialised platforms. It’s surely only a matter of time before well-known
brands in certain verticals leverage their expertise and relationship with users in the app discovery
space. For example, the wealth of gaming publications and websites, that command large
followings, could easily develop curated platforms, as could any trusted music, art or film publication.
Whatever happens, given the continuing deluge of apps, discovery will remain at the forefront of
developer concerns for sometime yet.


4 App discovery: Platform interviews
Below you’ll find interviews with a selection of the biggest and best app discovery platforms currently
on the market. First up is Game Finder’s managing directory Hanno Fichtner, followed by AppsFire
founder Ouriel Ohayon, AppGratis’ founder Simon Dawlatt, and FreeMyApps vice president Glen
Kiladis.

i) Hanno Fichtner, managing director, Game Finder

Where does Game Finder fit into the app discovery ecosystem? How does it help
developers?

HitFox Game Finder focuses on mobile games discovery and acts as a quality filter for the Apple
App Store and Google Play store. Our selection of the best mobile games attracts an audience of
high-quality users with a passion for games and opens a new channel for game developers to
market their apps directly to their target audience.

How do you approach promotion within the app and is it affordable?

The games in our apps are selected based on their quality. Within the app we have several options
to promote games and then discuss CPI’s between $1-5 USD based on platform and country with
interested publishers. So a publisher’s game can be listed for free and promoted risk-free with CPI’s
that fit their budget and capabilities.

What kind of results can developers expect in terms return on investment? Can you share
any examples?

We really trust our userbase of high-quality mobile game players and therefore only work on a
performance basis. Our CPI’s are always pre-negotiated and very competitive for the gaming
market. Our users monetize well and usually far above market average. Developers can also choose
between constant traffic through a listing in Game Finder or go for a boost, which we offer in
cooperation with AppLift.


How are games reviewed and rated? Do you work with developers on this, or do you make
your decisions independently?

We employ our own independent editorial-team. They are dedicated mobile game specialists who
test, review and finally rate games in the three categories – Good, Top and Must-Have – based on
strict guidelines that apply to every game. They also decide on a daily basis which games will be
recommended as the “Must-Have” for gamers. It’s actually a great job to play games all day, the rest
of us tend to become quite jealous from time to time!

Is it getting difficult to make your platform stand out given how many discovery platforms
have emerged?

Our mission in app discovery is very clear: we only focus on quality games. By now we have
selected the top 1% of mobile games and sorted around 1000 titles into specific gaming categories
such as MMO or Hack & Slash. In contrast to most other relevant services, we have a specialised
editorial-team for games in-house which writes reviews and news in German, French and English.
We are passionate gamers ourselves and constantly develop new gaming specific features to make
the user experience even better. For example we offer a daily deals list, price alarms, search-filters
for multiplayer, internet connection or language, social features to see what your friends have
downloaded or bookmarking to allow you to save games and download them later, which is very
useful if you are browsing on 3G and want to save on your data plan. We also introduced fun
features and animations to enhance the user experience.

What’s your opinion on Apple’s recent rules restricting app discovery platforms?

Introducing the new 2.25 guideline was the right move to increase the quality for the iOS App Store
rankings. The guideline was formulated to request exactly this additional and unique value to
augment the App Store. We see the rule not so much about restricting apps like Game Finder, but
really to ensure a high quality of 3rd party discovery channels. It only seems to support Apple’s
ranking system and generate new value for users and developers.
The Google Playstore also has an interesting way of ensuring quality through their ranking algorithm
which is partly based on app usage and uninstall rates as well as ex-post monitoring. It would be
interesting to see Apple going in this direction at some point as well. So overall we don’t expect a cut
on app discovery revenues, but the players in this market will have to adapt.

How do you see app discovery evolving? What can we expect from platforms in the next five
years or so and what are HitFox’s plans?

The pace of new apps being released everyday for iOS, Android and Windows devices is simply
astonishing. Just for games there are more than 200 new titles daily, so the need for proper
discovery mechanisms increases constantly. App discovery platforms also add a lot of value for the
stores, as a lot of additional installs are generated that would not have occurred otherwise. You can


see app discovery channels as affiliates from Apple, Google and Microsoft that drive additional users
to their stores.

The more apps are being published, the higher the fragmentation of specialized discovery services
will become. However, discovery platforms need to satisfy the needs from stores, end users and
publishers alike. As a game developer for example, you will not get many high-quality and paying
users when they have only downloaded your app because it was free for one day! We believe that a
high-quality and specialized userbase is key in this market. You need a channel to place your app in
front of the right audience!

Finally, do you have any advice/tips for developers looking to use app discovery platforms?

Serious app discovery channels cannot afford to promote low-quality apps when they want to keep
their high-quality users. Also, boosting a low-quality app to the charts will only help the app booster’s
revenue, but definitely not the app developer for long-term gains and surely not to develop a
sustainable business. My advice for developers would be to focus internally on developing a top
notch product and then work with experts in the acquisition market who can generate new, quality
users on a performance basis. In this context, developers with apps in several countries should also
not underestimate the benefits of a proper app localization, especially regarding the individual App
Store Optimization. App Store search is a very important channel!

ii) Ouriel Ohayon, founder and CEO, AppsFire

Why do you think App Discovery has become such a problem for developers? Who’s to
blame here?

App discovery has always been a problem. Way before mobile. Back when apps were just websites
and people were accessing the web only via their computer. Directories like Yahoo made some
order until both the technologies were ready for search but also people’s mindset was ready for
more than directories. Then Google came in.
In the world of Apps, Discovery is critical in the same way. Users need to find something that interest
them and developers need to find users who will stick to their app. Here is the problem with the App
store: they are huge, built the same for everyone, lack transparency on quality and are painful to
browse. So users suffer from the discovery experience. The developers are also part of the equation
and most of them are spending not enough time trying to solve the discovery problem they face.


They believe that buying some ads will be enough, or hope to get featured by the App store…When
it is a continuous and very hard task to manage even before the app is live.

AppsFire’s deal finder platform


The discovery issue is critical because it is the very first marketing problem developers have to face.
App stores don’t make it very easy to solve (not mentioning they don’t provide too much information
about how an app is discovered in a store) and developers don’t invest enough time to optimize their
visibility in a consistent way.

How does AppsFire approach this problem?

For the past 3 years we ve been trying to build a user experience that is vastly superior to the one
the app stores are providing. Quite modestly we believe we’ve been building by far the best
experience to find apps. And that did not happen overnight.

It all starts with a great user experience: First appsfire is personal: every users receive
recommendation based on his tastes. Then we bring a a catalog of apps that is highly curated,
beautifully organized, very very very fast to browse and search (our search is insanely fast and
accurate), which brings at once all the key elements to make a decision and enhances the discovery
experience by giving light on things you can’t find in the App Store, like the daily deals, the history of
an app, the videos from Youtube, the comments from Facebook or Twitter. Appsfire does not try to
show you every app. We’re more a “boutique” than a “store”
And we don’t try to fool users: we really focus on bringing light on the very best apps, not just apps
who would pay us. We help users in spotting clones, fake deals (apps artificially in discount). Being
transparent is critical and when we’re getting paid we clearly mark the ad so the users know this is
an ad and we avoid any confusion.

Behind the scenes there is a massive work on trying to make sense of the App Store, we call it ‘App
genome’: it is a continuous improved and curated version of the App Store database. It took us years
to build it and we have quite a unique asset in the space, one that even our competitors envy

The end result is a delightful discovery experience, one that make people stick, constantly talk about
it in social networks and recommend it here and there. Appsfire has been downloaded well over 9
million times and grows without spending a dime of well over half a million new users every month.

What kind of results can smaller developers expect when promoting apps via your CPA
network?

We are focused on delivering high quality users in volumes. We can generate up to 300 000 new
users a day (we did it recently for a bunch apps). Now to avoid any bullshit, which is common in our
industry, we do not drive those 300 000 downloads directly: this is the end result of many factors
including getting in high ranks. we do not charge for downloads we don t generate directly even if
you managed to get to a high rank


App discovery seems to be getting pretty crowded. How does AppsFire stand out?
Is it? It used to be but over time most who tried failed and are gone. It is a very hard problem to
solve. Appsfire is worried about only one thing: being the best app discovery solution in the market
for users and developers. Competition comes and go. Right now we’re seeing more effort from
companies who are building mostly ad solutions and place the developers at the centre, versus a
true discovery solutions organized around the users first where advertising is not the first motivation.

What do you think apps stores and app discovery will look like in 5 years? How is this space
evolving?

Impossible to say. it will mostly depend about two things: how the stores themselves will
change/improve and how the apps themselves will be developed and whether native will still
dominate or not. But one thing is certain discovery will always be a critical problem to solve

What’s your take on Apple’s decision to ban apps that offer a similar service to the App
Store? Why have they done this and has it affected AppsFire?

Apple’s wording is vague and accurate at the same time. They don’t want apps, any apps to promote
other apps in ways that can confuse users or in ways that are too similar to the app store. What
Apple wants to avoid basically are services that bring low value.
Appsfire, as mentioned, is more a boutique than a store: and the experience is highly unique and
differentiated. We also invest a lot in quality and this is something where we standout compared to
the endless number of “app catalog” apps which have a very limited usage.. So for now we’re fine.
But with Apple, you never know what can happen.
What we believe is that Apple and Google and others will always need quality app guides. They
don’t mind having music guides and movie guides in iTunes. It should be the same with Apps. It is
good for users and good for them too What Apple want to avoid are abuses and low quality
approaches


iii) Simon Dawlat, CEO, AppGratis

AppGratis has been one of the big success stories in app discovery. How is it helping
developers?

Through a simple business model we help both big publishers and smaller developers and regularly
drive between 500,000 to 1 million downloads for an app in one day. We only include high quality,
relevant apps in our platform and are therefore helping the end users to pick out the best apps in
App Store. We don’t do incentive-based downloads and we never force an application upon a user

How viable is your platform for smaller, independent, devs on a budget?

We help small developers with a limited budget by offering them an affordable revenue-sharing
arrangement.

How does the team decide what apps you promote? What kind of quality controls do you
have?

We put great value in only recommending apps with a high quality, because the last thing we want is
for our users to feel spammed. Every app is hand-picked and tested thoroughly by a staff of 40 full
time employees based in Paris. These guys hand-pick and review the best free apps for our 10
million users out there. We also have local editors from 12 different nationalities covering different
markets to make sure it fits global users in different countries

Like the app stores themselves, app discovery is getting pretty crowded now. Are you
worried about the increasing competition in this area? How does AppGratis stand out?

Our company is currently growing at the speed of light and, being a leader in the app discovery
industry, we are planning to double both our staff and our revenue as part of our international
expansion this year. We don’t worry too much about the competition, we simply offer what we
promise: Free apps with no additional advertisements, no subscriptions or anything else that the
user didn’t ask for.
What’s your opinion on Apple’s recent rules restricting app discovery platforms? Do you
think this poses a threat to AppGratis?


I don’t see this as a threat to AppGratis. Apple is always aiming for the highest quality possible and a
change might protect high quality app discovery platforms like ourselves, by preventing the AppStore
being invaded by low-quality copy cats. I believe AppGratis actively adding to the quality of Apple’s
ecosystem.

How do you see app discovery evolving? What can we expect from platforms in the next five
years or so and what’s AppGratis’ plans?

One of the next steps (for 2013) is to put even more effort into adapting our app recommendations
based on the users preferences to make them even more accurate and relevant. It’s an industry that
is evolving extremely quickly and we obviously need to stay on top of both the consumers and
developers needs. We are also working towards becoming present on more platforms, like Android
for example.

Anything they should look out for?

Avoid incentivized downloads, as that often involves un-motivated users that will not engage with
your app. Also be wary about app discovery platforms that communicate false user figures. The user
figures need to match the actual result that these platforms can deliver.

iv) Glenn Kiladis, vice president and general manager, FreeMyApps

Why did Fiksu decide to launch FreeMyApps and how does it work?

Fiksu saw a huge demand by app publishers for high volumes of new users that will download and
engage with a newly launched app. FreeMyApps exposes apps to more than 1.5 million monthly
unique users on both iOS and Android. These users eagerly install new apps, and, as the apps are
downloaded, they climb app store ranks. In turn, new organic users begin downloading the apps
when they see it on the Top Rank Charts, which supports the rank achieved from their initial mobile
marketing spend on FreeMyApps.
FreeMyApps users receive credits for downloading free apps and then redeem those credits for gift
cards such as Google Play and iTune. FreeMyApps also offers social media campaigns, which boost
visibility of a developer’s app through social channels. We also cultivate and engage with the


community through contests and “shout outs” and gives the social community access to the newest
apps. FreeMyApps is mainly used to promote Freemium titles. The platform also provides a solution
for paid apps, which is a great alternative to putting an app on sale for free. For example, users
could buy a $.99 app and earn enough credits to redeem a $1 Amazon.com gift card.

FreeMyApps’ gift card incentives.


How are you getting around the Apple ban on incentivised downloads?

First and foremost, Apple does not have a ban on incentivised marketing as a concept — that’s been
around in many consumer-facing businesses for years. American Express Rewards is an example.
Apple is against companies that “game” the App Store using bots (fake iPhone emulators running on
servers and faking downloads). FreeMyApps has a passionate community of real iOS and Android
users looking to discover great apps and games. This community is evident through FreeMyApps’
massive growth across its Facebook and Twitter communities.

Second, for iOS, FreeMyApps is a mobile Web HTML5 application, not an app in the App Store. And
third, users are rewarded with credits that can be exchanged for iTunes and Google Play gift cards.
This means that our solution pumps money back into the app ecosystem, as the gift cards are most
often used to buy more apps or in-app purchases.

Why did you go down the incentivised route, rather than some of the other app discovery
methods out there?

Rewards-based marketing is a foundation of building truly great B2C businesses. It’s a great way to
get people to interact and try new things. Plus, it works. While the true long-term usage rates are
lower than they are for organic users, the costs are also much lower, so the cost per loyal user is
comparable or better, and when you consider the additional free organic downloads generated by a
jump up the app store ranks, it truly delivers.

How viable is your platform for smaller, independent, devs on a budget?

The FreeMyApps platform is viable on independent developers’ smaller budgets, but to get the most
out of it, app developers must be willing to spend upfront to climb the ranks, then continue
campaigns at a smaller scale to maintain rank. FreeMyApps also supports developers who prefer to
set a small daily budget for their campaigns.

Are you worried about the increasing competition in this area?

FreeMyApps is buoyed by a large, extremely engaged audience of 1.5+ million active monthly users,
120,000+ on Facebook, and 170,000+ on Twitter – the depth of that audience and organic growth is
hard to replicate. That said, in just over a year of running FreeMyApps, we’ve seen several
competitors disappear from the market. Companies that try and jump in underestimate the
complexity and time it takes to build a truly rich discovery, engagement, and rewards platform that
delivers results and gives developers virtually real-time reporting, as their marketing campaign is in
process.

What can we expect from platforms in the next five years or so and what’s Fiksu’s plans?
We see app discovery evolving in the following ways:


 Increased focus on social channels. Fiksu, the parent company of FreeMyApps, just
announced a key initiative with Facebook as a mobile app marketing optimization partner.
 Engagement. We are building out the platform to drive a deeper level of user engagement for
our app publishers and developers.
 Social sharing. Social sharing adds the ability to share a download or action with friends on
social media channels, instead of just sharing a link to our site

Anything they should look out for?

Only use services with a reliable tracking solution and great reporting. We take data integrity very
seriously here at FreeMyApps and Fiksu. Some platforms will claim installs delivered by other
services, and some developers end up paying double for the same user – or worse, a user that did
not even come through a paid mobile app marketing campaign.


5 App discovery app directory
Game Finder – Mobile game discovery platform created by German company HitFox. Acts as a
“quality filter” allowing users to search for only the best mobile games.
AppGratis – Focuses on giving users one free app per day. One of the more popular platforms out
there, which recently received significant VC funding.
MagicSolver – Creator of Free App Magic. Also has a few seasonal themed-app discovery apps
based around Valentines Day, Halloween, Christmas and other events.
AppDaria – The Leading App recommendation app in Latin America with localised apps for
individual markets
FreeMyApps – App discovery platform from Fiksu. Allows users to earn iTunes gift cards as
rewards for downloading free apps.
App Turbo - Another app discovery platform coming out of France with over 12m downloads of its
app
AppFlow – App discovery app that first launched on Windows Phone and is now available on
iPhone. Uses a unique visual UI to let users visually inspect.
Hubbl – App discovery platform that uses a space-themed interface to help users find apps. Takes
its name from the Hubble Telescope.
Kinetik – Social platform that helps app consumers share apps and get recommendations via social
networks. Also allows devs to connect with users and promote apps.
Discovr Apps – Discovr has a range of apps that help users disocver music, people, movies and
other apps. Only available on iPhone at the moment.
Zwapp – iOS Platform that helps you find and share apps with your friends. Very social-orientated,
lets you recommend apps to friends.
App Hero – Offers users personalised app recommendations based on interests and preferences.
Also features a social aspect letting you see apps your friends have downloaded.
AppAware – Recommends a daily spread of Android apps for users. Also uses a friend system to
recommend apps. Currently only on Google Play.
Playboard – Provides recommended apps and a personalised app store for users, letting you
customise channels and see editorially handpicked apps daily. Android only.
Best Apps Market – Android-only apps market that focuses on the top free apps and games.
Feature apps picked by reviewers and experts.
1Mobile Market – Android-based platform that focuses on free apps. Lets users find apps that
interest them via a variety of categories. Doesn’t look like it offers much over Google Play.
AppDesTages – German app discovery platform that offers a new free app every day. Only on
Google Play and only in German (but links to English apps).
App Freeway – iOS-only app discovery platform that showcases five leading apps weekly and
delivers them to users for free. Developed by Kankado.
Free App Magic – Discovery app from UK developer Magic Solver. Available on App Store and
Google Play.
App Free – Offers free paid apps and offers apps at discount prices. Also allows users to track apps
to find out when they reduce in price or become free.


Apps Hits for iPad – Helps users find apps quickly by providing a more list-like user interface
compared to the App Store. Lets you search by ranking and price.
Appbzr – Disovery platform that emphasises finding cheap apps and apps on sale. Searches for
price drops every hour and provides personalised recommendations.
Appcast – Lets you search app store rankings across 62 countries and across iPhone/iPad/Top
grossing/Top free categories.
App Deals – App discovery platform for Windows Phone users. Offers one free or reduced price (for
a limited time) app per day.
Appiday – iOS discovery platform that aims to find discounted and free apps on a daily basis for
users. Provides push notifications.
Appminer – App discovery platform from Bitrino. Constantly “mines” the App Store for price
changes and deliver the cheapest deals to users. Also lets you set price targets.
App-o-day – iOS discovery platform that picks one app per day and negotiates a free deal for its
users. Also offers early reviews on apps.
Appsfire – Platform for iOS and Android that lets developers promote their apps, boost engagement
and increase their user base. Used by brands such as EA and Spotify.
AppsGoneFree – iOS discovery platform that filters the top rated apps and notifies users when they
go on sale or become free. Also has an editorial team that reviews each app.
Appzapp – Another iOS app that aims to instantly inform users when another app goes on sale. Can
notify via push or email.
Crosswa.lk – Discovery platform for iOS that lets users see what apps their friends are using,
quickly rate apps and receive recommendations.
FreeAppFinder – App discovery platform from the German company RapdiRabbit Apps. Highlights
whenever paid apps drop to free.
FreeAppTracker – Another platform that monitors when apps drop their price or go free. Lets you
share deals via Facebook and Twitter.
FreeGamesDailyBestApp – Focuses on delivering a curated selection of free games on a daily
basis and lets you track price drops. IOS only.
FreeAppADay – As the name suggest, platform that delivers one free app per day. Also features
game reviews and trailers.
GameChannel – App discovery run by gaming platform OpenFeint. Highlights a variety of
discounted and free games across the OpenFeint network.
BigFishGames – Discovery platform that highlights a variety of mobile game discounts. Available on
both Android and iPhone.
HotAppFinder – Another discovery platform from RapidRabbit. This one gives users a detailed look
at what apps are trending and generating the most downloads.
HotAppDeals – Monitors what apps have been recently made free and dropped in price. Also allows
sharing deals via social platforms.
I Like Free Apps – Lets you check for the latest free apps on the App Store. Features daily updates
to track price changes.
Kinetik – Focuses on delivering personalised recommendations based on your social network
activity. Currently only on iOS.


MonsterFreeApps – Delivers daily free app deals to users. Says it saves its users over $60 per
month in app fees.
Pandora Box – Lets you create favourite lists to track app prices and provides notifications
whenever apps become free.
Tapjoy – Incentivised app download network that also has an app discovery web-app. Users get
rewards for downloading apps and get daily deals and other offers.
OpenAppMkt – Android and iPhone-compatible market that distributes web-apps built in HTML5.
Unlike the traditional 70/30 split, developers keep 80% of app sale revenue.
Biskero – Mobile content store that focuses on distributing Flash games and apps to mobile
devices. Works primarily across Android and Nokia handsets.
Appolicious – Editorially-curated app directory that helps developers get their apps rated and
discovered. In association with Yahoo.
AppCity - French app store that claims over 340 thousand users. Distributes apps across iPhone,
Android and BlackBerry platforms.
Soci.i0 – Android-focused content store that provides apps, e-books (along with its own ebook
reader), videos and music. Bills itself as an Android ‘mobile mall’.
1Mobile – Android app store that focuses mainly on games and claims over 60 thousand total apps.
AppBrain – App and website that helps users discover Android apps across the official Google Play
store and other indie stores.
Tegra Store – App store run by graphics chip company Nvidia. Highlights videogames that are
designed for use with Nvidia’s Tegra smartphone chip.
Amazon Appstore – Amazon’s app store has been remarkable popular since the company
launched its Kindle Fire tablet device. Currently boasts over 30,000 apps, and claims a higher paid
app download rate than Google Play.
MiKandi – Android-only app store that focuses on adult-themed applications.
AndroidPit – App store and website run by the Berlin-based Android website AndroidPit. Includes
apps selected by editorial team.
That’s it for now – you can find more mobile app marketing services in our Mobile App Promotion
Directory


6 Your Next Steps

For more information about mobile app promotion head over to mobyaffiliates.com


App discovery apps report

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