In my opinion it can be a GREAT win to get a positive review on an iPhone app review site.
Would you agree?
Maybe you tried and either got no or bad reviews.
Here are some questions you might have:
- Why is it even important to get reviewed by iPhone app review sites?
- Which sites should I approach for reviews?
- How do I put my best foot forward with these sites?
Why is it even important to get reviewed by iPhone app review sites?
There are a lot of reasons to get your apps reviewed:
- People use these sites!
- App review sites will drive people to your app, generating downloads that will drive it up in the iTunes rankings
- A great quote in a review can be a nice addition to your app description
- Links from your reviews to your app website can help your SEO efforts
- Bigger tech sites (like TechCrunch) can see these reviews
- Apple may find you on one of these sites and promote your app
NOTE: That being said, most of the time app reviews alone will not drive your apps into top ranking. This should just be one of the things in your marketing plan.
Which sites should I approach for reviews?
Here is a list of iPhone app review sites below that I suggest you consider. I’ve listed them from most to least monthly visitors to save you time.
Just to be clear, they may not all be right for you based on the type of app(s) you’ve got. Try also doing a search for “[your category] iPhone app review sites” in Google. You may find other sites that cater more to your app.
| Website | Monthly Visitors |
|---|---|
| www.appshopper.com | 149,421 |
| www.toucharcade.com | 115,083 |
| www.appsafari.com | 75,798 |
| www.iphonehacks.com | 73,201 |
| www.148apps.com | 57,217 |
| www.appscout.com | 49,422 |
| www.appcraver.com | 47,143 |
| www.iphonealley.com/reviews/apps | 41,119 |
| www.apptism.com | 38,054 |
| www.iphoneapplicationlist.com | 32,526 |
| www.appleiphoneschool.com | 28,324 |
| www.appvee.com | 20,301 |
| www.appstoreapps.com | 19,374 |
| www.whatsoniphone.com | 18,667 |
| www.freshapps.com | 15,478 |
| www.iphoneappreviews.net | 14,032 |
| www.iphonefootprint.com | 13,200 |
| wwww.smokingapples.com | 13,092 |
| www.theiphoneappreview.com | 8,977 |
| www.apprater.com | 5,945 |
How do I put my best foot forward with these sites?
It’s important to realize these sites now get flooded with app review requests.
Use everything in your power to put your best foot forward. When submitting by email or through an online form be sure to:
- Read the submission instructions carefully
- Give them all the information they are requesting
- Tell them what is unique/special about your app
- Keep it brief
- Explain how your app is better/different from others like it
- Give them promo codes or something they can give away
- Link to a fact sheet on your product if you have one
- Link to a short (30 sec to 1 minute) YouTube demo of your app
- Include a plate of warm cookies and/or a wad of cash
Hope this helps. Best of luck in getting some great reviews!
Need more help? – You’ll find it in my How to Market iPhone Apps eBook
photo credit: somegeekintn
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Our first iPhone game, Orbital Defence, won quite positive media reviews (averaging 7/10, at a guess), not to mention very positive user reviews on the AppStore, but nevertheless “bounced” off the market. Googling “orbital defence” reveals plenty of info about the game is out there.
From this experience, then, I would have to say getting our app reviewed did not positively influence sales.
@Mark – I would agree app reviews won’t cause your sales to explode. But they can help a bit and they might help you get noticed by a bigger fish like TechCrunch or Apple.
Hi Brook,
I just found your website and am really enjoying it. I have been looking for a resource like this for awhile. Looking forward to digging in!
@Jason – glad you like it!
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