Why do users stop using your app and how do you keep them from leaving?

Lowdown is a weekly series that brings you tips and tricks on how to best use AdMob to grow your app business, directly from members of the Google AdMob team.

Keeping users on your app is just as difficult as getting downloads. What kind of users abandon you? Why do they stop? What needs to change to keep them engaged? These are all critical questions that are hard to find clear answers to. Fortunately, Google Analytics for mobile apps and a methodical, metrics-driven approach can help. We�d like to introduce you to two key reports within Google Analytics that will help guide you towards increased retention.

Finding Design Flaws: Behavior Flow Report

Users might have stopped using your app because of design flaws. Behavior Flow report, a type of report within Google Analytics, can help you identify sticking points and take targeted action.

The Behavior Flow report measures the various screens or events that users visit within your app and provides you with the percentage of people who go on to engage other screens or drop off altogether. This makes clear:

• What screens users are seeing
• Which ones are most popular
• How long users stay on each screen
• How they navigate from one screen to the next

This information can help you in a number of ways. For example, if you had a game app and each of your game�s levels used a different screen, you could track what percentage of people pass through each level. If there�s a level that has massive user drop-off, that may indicate that the level is too hard. Further, you may find that the exit rate on the �Game Over� screen is particularly high. This could mean that the image or text isn�t incentivizing users to play the game again. You can learn more about this report in the �Know your Flows� section here. 

Finding Technical Flaws: Crash and Exceptions Report

Aside from design flaws, technical flaws could be causing your users to give up on your app. This where the Crashes and Exceptions reports comes in handy. In this report, data can be broken out by app version, operating system, and device brand, so you can evaluate your app�s technical performance in different environments. To take it one step further, you may want to consider how much crashes are costing you. You can do this by creating two segments: one for sessions with crashes and another without. Then compare the eCommerce conversion rate and average order value of the segments to see if these metrics are lower in sessions with a crash. More information about Crashes and Exceptions can be found here.

A metrics-driven approach can help you prioritize your team�s next steps. With our integration of Google Analytics for mobile apps in AdMob, we are making it easier to discover trends and take action that will tie directly to your most important goals. Visit our website to learn more about how AdMob can help you understand your users. Until next time, be sure to stay connected on all things AdMob by following our Google+ page.

Posted by Sarah Xie

Mobile Strategic Partner Manager