2017 was a big year for app development as 489,345 apps came to the US market. With plenty of developers putting their software on the App Store, the market has exploded. Now that we're in 2018, it's a good time to look back and see how the app market changed in a year. AppBi collected data throughout the year, and here's what they found.
The five most prevalent app genres for Apple devices are Games, Business, Lifestyle, Education, and Entertainment. This isn't surprising, thanks to the huge market share of mobile gaming (19.7%). The second largest is business, owning 10.7% of the market. The data here is cemented by the most popular keywords of the year, including "Games", "Free", "Game", and "Mobile".
One of the most interesting data pieces is the increased importance in organic searches. Over 65% of App downloads are coming from searching for an app rather than advertisements or features. According to the press release explaining the data:
"Top placement within that search is more sought after than ever. This demand has seen an uprise in the use of Apple search ads campaigns, leading to price fluctuations based on demand over the course of the year."
The basic gist means that placement for specific keywords is trickier than ever thanks to the increase competition, so it's important to know the competition regarding keywords while you work on your app. What do you think about this data? Do you think 2018 will change things around? Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear your opinion.