No matter how many hours of work and resources you poured into building an app, releasing it into the App Store does not guarantee success.

We get it - some days it feels like popular apps just magically get millions of downloads, but you know better than that - you know that it takes work. And after you've gotten everyone from your mom, grandma, and best friend's cousin to use it, you want to make sure downloads don't slowly peter off after the launch. 

There are a number of ways that you can make sure that your app doesn’t slowly descend into oblivion. We rounded up some of the best strategies about getting more downloads.

App Keywords

Keywords are how people find you in the App Store once you’re no longer listed at the top of the new, free, or paid category. We’re not sure about Google Play, but Apple has a tendency to delete keywords without letting you know. Always double check that you’ve used all of the words you possibly can and update them frequently to keep up with the changing markets.

Research your keywords, the right ones that are relevant will make all of the difference in reaching a wider audience and bumping your app’s position. Using popular keywords is important but ones with lower competition, or less search margins, will allow you to grow faster within a niche search term. From there, it’s a possibility that your app will continue to grow outside of the lower competition keywords on its own merits.

Social Media

This one is a given. Promotion of your app is just as important as keywords. If people don’t search your keywords, they’ll never hear about your app unless you make it known. The best way to do this is to come up with a strategy. Post frequent updates about new content, reviews, and new versions that are on the horizon. This way you’ll be cropping up for new potential users as well as avid fans.

Discounts

Offering your app for free or for a discount will provide you more visibility. Don’t forget to promote it! There are apps that will do just that, including AppGratis and AppTurbo.

Reviews

While social media is a great way to market and reach new consumers, nothing beats a fantastic review of your app from a well-established tech website or blog. Head over to ManiacDev’s incredibly thorough list of websites ordered by Alexa rankings that do app reviews, including big name sites like Mashable, TechCrunch, and Wired Gadget Lab. This list has all of your bases covered with iPhone, Android, and iPad. Some may even do Windows and Blackberry, but don’t quote us on that!

Analytics

User retention tactics is another, great way of figuring out how to obtain new users. Through analytics, you can see what you’re doing right and wrong when it comes to user experience. That way, every new version of the app will be better catered to the users you want to keep. Google Analytics, Analytics Flurry, and Countly all offer these services in-depth and at different price points.

These five points will help you get more downloads after your first week peak. As long as you’re willing to put the effort into marketing and monitoring the changing tides of user appeal and the markets, you should have no problem growing your app. Consumers are fickle, don’t let your app be the one that gets away.