In this guide
Google Play Console and App Store Connect name and define their metrics differently, and the names change. For example, Play Console help defines "Store listing visitors" as users who visited your listing without having the app installed on any device, and "Store listing acquisitions" as visitors who then installed. It reports a click-through rate (the share of visitors who clicked Install, Open or Pre-register) that replaces its legacy "Conversion rate" metric. The ideas below are general; for App Store Connect, read the current App Analytics help, and match every number to the exact definitions before you compare across stores.
The funnel in four steps
Think of the store as a funnel. Each step has a number:
- Impressions. Your app was shown somewhere: in search results, a browse list or a recommendation.
- Product page views. Someone opened your listing.
- Installs (downloads). Someone got the app.
- Retention. Someone came back after install. It is not an ASO metric, but it tells you whether the listing promised the right thing.
The two ratios that matter
- Tap-through rate (views divided by impressions): does your icon, title and first lines make people open the page? Mostly shaped by icon, title and rating shown in the result.
- Conversion rate (installs divided by page views): does the page convince? Mostly shaped by screenshots, description, rating and price.
Beware: some consoles define "conversion" from impressions or from unique visitors, not from all views. Read the definition.
A worked example (round numbers for illustration only)
Say a week shows 1,000 impressions, 200 page views and 40 installs.
- Tap-through: 200 / 1,000 = 20%.
- Conversion: 40 / 200 = 20%.
Now suppose you change the first screenshot and next week impressions are 1,000 again, views 200, installs 50. Conversion rose to 25% while tap-through stayed flat. The change affected the page, not the search result. This reading only works if the impressions and the period were comparable.
If instead impressions doubled while the percentages stayed the same, you gained visibility (a keyword, a feature, a season), not persuasion.
What to watch weekly
Keep it to five numbers in one sheet:
- Impressions
- Page views
- Installs
- The two ratios above
- Your change log (what you edited, and when)
Look at four-week trends, not single days. Weekends and seasons move the numbers; see seasonality.
Common mistakes
- Comparing absolute numbers across two stores or two countries.
- Calling a 3-day change a result.
- Changing title, icon and screenshots in the same week.
- Treating rating as a metric you can steer directly. Rating comes from real users; do not buy or trade it.
- Reading small samples as facts. A handful of installs says very little.
How this connects to the rest
To test a page change properly, use the store's own experiment tools or a clear before/after window; see A/B testing your store listing. For rank tracking, see tracking keyword rankings without tools. The big picture is in the ASO guide.
Low conversion often means the listing and the app disagree. Ask for private, structured feedback on both.
Related: seasonality in app store installs, check your app name before launch, hub App Store optimization and launch.