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
{ 18 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!
Nice post. I did not know all these sites and the quantity of visitors they have.
In our case we are in the App Store since march testing changes of the apps that use our web service. We will start the marketing campaigns as soon as the next release is ready and approve.
The tools in this site are very useful!
Thanks.
@Guillermo – you are welcome!
Brook,
Have your book and love it. Question: We are submitting our app to the review sites. Running into sites asking for an expediting fee. I see nothing in your book that addresses that possibility. Do you have a strong opinion on this including if yes, what’s reasonable?
Thanks
Rich and Lisa
@Rich – that’s not a simple answer. LOTS of people are strongly against paying for reviews. I’m actually not as long as: 1) I’m getting value (a faster review) or 2) many times they offer you additional exposure. I wouldn’t pay a lot and only when it appears to be of real value. Hope that helps.
Great post. Oh, and we’d love to have our iOS games review site listed here also.
@ Ru – thanks. Had never seen your site before. For those of you making iOs games, check out: iFanzine.com.
One of my favorite sites is http://bit.ly/guQOSj
great reviews of all iPhone apps. and content. I highly recommend this site
@ James – thanks for the recommendation.
I have to hand it to you, Brook. You offer some great advice regarding review sites. I’ve been reviewing apps geared towards moms these past 6 months and have come across many developers not knowing where to being when it comes to marketing. Thanks for putting the information out there for them!
Thank you for your article. It’s very helpful.
Could you please advice where you get mountly visitors for these sites?
@ Tina – thanks!
@ Pavel – I get monthly visitors from compete.com – good luck!
Also checkout http://www.mobileappbreakfast.com – daily iPhone App Reviews delivered to your inbox.
@ AMA – thanks for the resource.
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