Author: Boaz Lantsman

Effective strategies for growing Shopify apps are constantly evolving. Techniques that boosted Shopify app growth last year may not work this year, and some of what’s possible this year was not possible last year. Savvy app developers know they must stay on top of the latest best practices to drive Shopify app growth in this dynamic and competitive ecosystem.

My name is Boaz Lantsman. I help dozens of Shopify apps grow through my Shopify app growth agency, Convert2x. Shopify app developers are generally smart, creative people. They try things. Some of them work. I help them improve in some aspects and learn from what they already do that works in others. We can always measure what’s working through the Shopify app growth platform I’ve co-founded, Prys.

My exposure to some of the most sophisticated and successful apps in the Shopify ecosystem, insider knowledge of their actions, and ability to measure results puts me in a unique position to know what drives growth for Shopify apps.

I will share all I know about effectively growing Shopify apps in 2025. Don’t go anywhere.

The Three Pillars of Shopify App Growth

To grow your app, you need to focus on the three key pillars of Shopify app growth: Traffic, Conversion, and Monetization.

1. Grow Traffic

Know your best keywords. Grow organic and paid search traffic. Develop other effective marketing tactics.

2. Optimize Conversion

Optimize your Shopify app card, app store page, and post-install funnel for conversion.

3. Maximize Monetization

Price, present your pricing, and monetize optimally for maximum ARPU and revenues.

This article covers the first part: Effective ways of growing your Shopify app traffic in 2025.

I’ll soon publish parts 2 and 3 — Conversion and Monetization best practices for 2025. Follow me on Medium or connect with me on LinkedIn to get notified as soon as they’re out.

How to Grow Shopify App Traffic in 2025

To scale your Shopify app effectively, it’s essential to grow top-of-funnel traffic. Focus on the following areas:

1. Identify and prioritize the best traffic sources and keywords.
2. Optimize your app store page for SEO.
3. Scale performance marketing profitably.
4. Expand other controllable traffic sources.

1. Identify Top Traffic Sources and Keywords for Shopify App Growth

Focusing on the best traffic sources and keywords is essential for achieving scalable Shopify app growth. Evaluate each source — whether blogs, partners, or ads — based on its contribution to conversions and revenue.

Prys provides end-to-end funnel tracking, enabling you to see installs, subscribers, and revenue for each keyword and marketing campaign. This data lets you prioritize high-value campaigns and keywords, focusing on those that best contribute to Shopify app growth.

Search volumes are also critical for your keyword strategy. Your #1 keyword may have as many searches as the rest of your top 10 combined. You can see search volumes by checking the impressions/visibility for top keywords in Shopify ads (valid only for [Exact] keywords, not broad).

 

2. Optimize Your App Store Page for Shopify SEO

The placement of an app store page in the Shopify app store organic search results is influenced by various factors, including the relevance of the app’s title, description, and keywords to the user’s search query, the number and quality of user reviews, and ratings — particularly recent ones, the app’s installation rates, “Built for Shopify” badge, the frequency of updates and improvements, and the overall engagement and user experience provided by the app.

You can easily boost your organic traffic for relevant search terms by placing strategic keywords in your app store page listing and related places. The more prominently a keyword is placed, the higher you’ll rank for it in Shopify’s organic app store search results and the more traffic you’ll get.

There are only so many prominent places to insert keywords in your app store listing. It’s critical to prioritize. You want to focus on the most valuable keywords for your app.

Once you have a prioritized list of keywords, you can place them strategically in your app store listing, growing the organic traffic you get from related searches.

Keyword-Related Tactics to Grow Organic Traffic:

1. List your top 5 keywords in your Shopify Partners admin
2. Weave your top keywords into your app store page’s title tag and meta description
3. Your app name allows for 30 characters of top SEO real estate. Combine your app’s name with a top keyword or two.
4. Your app card subtitle is another max 62-character blurb where you can use your top keywords to gain SEO points.

5. Your app URL is another place where you can add a keyword after your app’s name. For example https://apps.shopify.com/avada-email-marketing

6. App introduction is the prominent copy section below your video. You get 100 characters, 20–25 words, for your app’s value proposition. That gives you enough room for several top keywords.

7. Use your general copy and bullets to write your top keywords. Some repetition is ok.

By prioritizing high-value keywords across your app listing, you can attract more organic traffic and fuel Shopify app growth.

3. Scale performance marketing profitably

Performance marketing is a powerful way to drive targeted traffic and scale Shopify app growth. By optimizing campaigns on Shopify and Google Ads, you can reach a larger audience and increase app visibility.

Shopify Ads Optimization

Begin with 15–20 high-value keywords on Shopify and Google Ads. Use a mix of broad and exact match keywords: broad match helps uncover new terms, while exact match targets specific, high-converting keywords. Regularly review search terms, moving effective keywords to exact match and adding ineffective ones to a negative keyword list.

With Prys you can discover additional keywords that drive growth for your Shopify app, resulting in more installs at a lower cost per install.

Google Ads Optimization

Many top-performing Shopify apps use Google ads to boost traffic. Ads can lead to your app store page or a landing page outside Shopify, though app store pages typically yield higher conversions. There are two reasons to send to a landing page: You have monetization outside of Shopify, or the keyword is too competitive for sending to the app store page.

Shopify prohibits merchants from bidding on and using the ‘Shopify’ brand in the ad copy. There are several workarounds:

1. Ignore, until you get a warning letter from Shopify. It may never come.
2. Run Google ads to your landing page. Shopify has less leverage on that.
3. Don’t bid or use “Shopify”. Use an extensive negative keyword list covering other e-commerce platforms. That way, you are left with only Shopify searches without bidding for the word “Shopify”. We created a negative keyword list of e-commerce platforms you may use.
4. Don’t bid or use “Shopify”. Use the above negative keyword list alongside dynamic ad copy in your ads. Dynamic ad copy inserts the user’s search query automatically into the ad copy. For example, when the search is for “best Shopify apps” your copy will show “best Shopify apps” automatically, without your control.
5. Use one of Google ads automated campaigns. Automated campaigns may use Shopify in the ad copy, but it’s the algorithm. You have no control over it.

Google ads automated campaigns

Google ads offers several automated campaigns. Based on recent research on ~15K Google ads accounts, by Optmyzr, a PPC management platform, Maximize Conversion Value and Target ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) automated campaigns vastly outperform manual PPC and other campaign types in terms of ROI.

Google’s advanced machine learning algorithms use deep-funnel events such as app install, subscription, and payment data for Smart Bidding. Smart Bidding is required to run high-performance Maximize conversion value or Target ROAS (Return On Advertising Spend = ROI) campaigns.

Because Prys’s technology is based on user journey attribution from app store visits to paying customers, Prys can send Shopify Install, subscribe, and payment events, their GCLIDs (Google’s ad click identifier), and the event values to Google ads, enabling Smart Bidding and high-performance automated campaigns. These campaigns can use your Shopify app store page as the landing page.

Sending deep-funnel event actions & values to Google can be the most effective way to grow your app profitably with Google ads. 

Other performance marketing opportunities

Once your Shopify and Google ads are stable test other performance marketing platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Bing, Reddit, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. You can track performance by using Prys.

Three-month performance marketing plan

M1: Launch Shopify and Google ads for your top 15–20 keywords

M2: Check ROI, tune campaigns & add keywords. Set up conversion reporting and run a Maximize Conversion Value test campaign

M3: Tune campaigns & add keywords. Add, test, optimize, and expand other platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, Bing, etc.

4. Expand other sources you control

There are many effective ways to market Shopify apps beyond search marketing. Different tactics work for different apps. Try the tactics that you believe may work. Make sure you can measure if they do.

If you’ve been doing marketing for some time, you’ve accumulated insightful data. Once you connect your app to Prys, you’ll see which Shopify app marketing tactics drive revenues and should be expanded.

6 Shopify app marketing tactics beyond search

1. Cross-promotion with apps outside your category
2. Cold outreach to your target customer profiles
3. Content marketing to attract potential customers
4. Affiliate marketing to expand your reach
5. Influencer partnerships relevant to your audience
6. Email marketing to convert trialists and free users

Summary and Key Takeaways to Grow Shopify Apps

Use these tactics to grow your top-of-funnel traffic and scale your app:

1. Targeted Traffic Sources and Keywords: Use Prys and Shopify ads data to identify valuable keywords and sources, then monitor and adjust based on performance.
2. SEO Optimization: Place keywords strategically throughout your app store listing for organic traffic growth.
3. Profitable Performance Marketing: Focus on your top keywords in Shopify and Google ads. Test Maximize Conversion Value campaigns in Google ads and explore other platforms over time.
4. Expand High-Converting Sources: Experiment with and scale non-search channels that drive significant revenue.

By implementing these Shopify app growth strategies, you can increase app store traffic and scale your business effectively in 2025.

Final words

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 on Conversion and Monetization strategies for Shopify app growth in 2025. Follow me on Medium or connect with me on LinkedIn for updates.

See you soon in the next article: Shopify App Conversion Optimization Best Practices for 2025.

Growing a Shopify app is hard! Competition is fierce. Category giants scoop up most of the merchants. Dozens of smaller apps compete for the rest. With 10 new apps released every day, it constantly gets harder.

How do you grow your app?

You can create content and use influencers for your target audience. Good thinking, but many competitors do the same. It gets saturated.

Outreach to your target merchants can also work. Some of your competitors think so as well. Merchants get bombarded.

SEO? zero-sum game. You gain, your competitors lose. Your competitors gain, you lose.

Performance marketing? Expensive. For some of the top keywords, if you factor in the cost per click and conversion rate to paying customers, you get customer acquisition costs that are out of touch with lifetime values.

It’s tough to grow a Shopify app!

Funnel optimization is the best Shopify app growth hack

The above tactics have one thing in common: They’re about driving merchants to your funnel — what all apps compete fiercely on.

Most Shopify app developers only focus on the merchant acquisition part of growth. They ignore the conversion part. That’s a mistake.

For most Shopify apps, optimizing the conversion funnel is the most reliable way to grow to $100K MRR and beyond.

Merchants must navigate complex funnels. They start on a landing page or app card and continue through the Shopify app store page, setup, onboarding, subscription, trial, and monetization. Such funnels can easily exceed 20 steps. To become paying customers, merchants must complete all steps successfully. The median conversion rate is less than 1%.

Most Shopify apps convert less than 1% of their Shopify app store page visitors into paying customers.

At the other end of the spectrum, some Shopify apps consistently convert over 5% of their app store page visitors into paying customers. These apps have highly efficient funnels. They can outbid other apps and scale with performance marketing while maintaining positive ROI. These apps with highly efficient funnels grow to become the Shopify app category leaders.

These successful Shopify apps figured out how to optimize their funnel. Their conversion rate is 5x the average. If they figured it out, you can.

Most Shopify apps have the potential to at least double their funnel’s conversion rate.

If you have 10K app store visitors a month generating 100 new paying customers at a 1% conversion rate, doubling your conversion rate to 2% will turn the 10K visitors into 200 new paying customers.

Doubling your funnel’s conversion rate means that you double your new paying customers.

It doesn’t end there. Let’s say you spend $5K/mo on marketing, your marketing gets you 1K app store visits which convert to 10 new paying customers. If you double your funnel’s conversion rate, those 1K visits become 20 new paying customers. Each dollar you spend on marketing now gives you back twice as much.

If you double your funnel’s conversion rate, you also double the efficiency of all your exisiting marketing activities. If that happens, it makes sense to pump more money and grow some of your current marketing activities.

Not only do your existing marketing activities become more efficient when you improve your funnel’s conversion rate. All potential activities do too. Some campaigns that had negative ROI before, now become viable.

By doubling your funnel’s efficiency, you immediately double your new paying customers. In addition, you can increase the budget for your current activities AND launch new ones that have become profitable. 

Almost every app’s funnel can be improved. As long as you can improve yours, it should be at the top of your growth efforts.

You can get 3x+ growth by focusing on your funnel.

Find the underperforming funnel steps

Because a funnel is a series of steps merchants must pass through, funnel conversion rate optimization works as a series of multiplications.

An improvement in any step affects the whole funnel by the same percentage. Improving 25% in step 2 has the same effect as improving 25% in step 7. In both cases, the funnel as a whole improves by 25%.

Multiplications add up quickly. Improving by 25% in 3 funnel steps doubles the overall conversion rate: (1.25)³x=2x.

Focus on the worst-performing steps to maximize impact. Target several steps where there’s significant poential for improvement. 

To find the underperforming steps, you must know where you stand relative to benchmarks for each step.

Prys, a Shopify app growth platform, breaks down your funnel into steps and shows how your app compares to benchmarks of other apps for each step. You can easily see where to focus your optimization efforts and know the potential for improvement.

Fix the underperforming funnel steps

Finding which steps to focus on to optimize your Shopify app funnel is half the job. The other half is fixing them. While specifics depend on which step is targetted, here are some general tips:

Narrow down to small steps

It’s not enough to know that your post-install funnel needs improvement. Is it the monetization flow? Maybe onboarding? If onboarding, which exact steps?

Keep a holistic view

While narrowing down, also maintain a holistic view. If the problem happens on step 3 of 5 in your onboarding flow, maybe you could cut onboarding to 3 steps and eliminate the current step 3.

Make sure everything is measured

Whatever steps you can measure in your flow, do so. That’s particularly true for the problem areas. You need to see the conversion rate of each small step now, and when you test a new flow.

Watch merchant session videos on the problem steps

User videos can be a goldmine of insights – particularly for bugs and UI issues. Make sure you cover the relevant steps with a user session video platform. Watch session videos of merchants that abandoned the funnel in the problem steps. You’ll probably find out quickly why they do so.

Talk to your support team

Your support team can provide great insights into why merchants abandon your funnel in a particular step. Interview your team members and read relevant transcripts. Ask the team how they help merchants solve the issue, and how they propose to solve it as part of the flow.

Learn from your competitors

Don’t be shy. Some of your competitors deal with the same issues you do. Some of them figured out good ways to fix these issues. It’s all available for you to inspect and learn from.

Create an alternative

Take in all you learned and create an alternative. Do whatever you can to validate your new flow before coding it. It would suck badly if you build something that fails. The support team can be your first validators.

Work with experts

An expert Shopify app funnel optimization agency can help you quickly find the problem areas and create optimal solutions. Working with experienced experts can lead to doubling your funnel’s conversion rate in months.

Test the new flow

Run the new flow once it’s ready. Compare the data for the specific step (eg. step 3 of onboarding) and the broader impact (all of the onboarding). Supplement these metrics with merchant session videos and feedback from support.

Summary and takeaways

Optimizing your conversion funnel is your best growth hack. Doubling your conversion rate leads to tripling your sales. Here’s how to do it:

• Identify Underperforming Funnel Steps: Analyze your app’s funnel to pinpoint where merchants drop off.
• Focus on Optimization: Concentrate efforts on improving the conversion rate of these underperforming steps.
• Measure and Analyze: Utilize data to track the performance of each funnel step and test new solutions.
• Leverage User Insights: Watch session videos and gather feedback from support to understand user behavior and pain points.
• Learn from Competitors: Study competitor strategies and solutions to similar funnel challenges.
• Work with Experts: Collaborate with agencies specializing in Shopify app funnel optimization for optimal results.
• Test and Iterate: Implement and test new funnel flows, validating effectiveness before full implementation.

Need help with your funnel? Convert2x has been helping Shopify apps optimize their funnels since 2018.

Every day, 10 new Shopify apps join the 10K apps on the Shopify app store. Some of them thrive. Months after launching, they pass $100K MRR on Shopify. What is their secret?

A great product? Sure, you have to have a great product to succeed in the Shopify app store. But it’s not enough. There are many more 4.5+ star Shopify apps than there are $100K+ MRR Shopify apps.

If you have a great product, the way to grow your app above $100K MRR on Shopify is to master the three pillars of Shopify app growth: traffic, conversion, and monetization.

1. Grow traffic

Grow organic and paid search traffic for your best keywords. Develop other Shopify app marketing tactics that drive valuable traffic.

2. Optimize conversion

Optimize your landing page or Shopify app card, your Shopify app store page, and your post-install flow for conversion.

3. Maximize monetization

Present your pricing optimally. Differentiate your subscription plans correctly. Consider usage-based or hybrid pricing.

Grow your Shopify app store page traffic

To scale your Shopify app, you must know which keywords and marketing campaigns to focus on.

For organic traffic, it’s critical to prioritize your top keywords based on the value they generate for your business.

To bid correctly on performance marketing keywords, you need to know your value per visitor for each keyword.

To develop Shopify app marketing tactics beyond search marketing, you must know which tactics lead to significant revenues.

Prys is a Shopify app growth platform that merges Google Analytics and Shopify Partners data into user journeys with end-to-end attribution.

You can use Prys for free to get prioritized keywords for SEO, app store visitor values by keyword, new keyword suggestions for performance marketing, and revenues generated from each of your non-search marketing tactics.

Get free traffic through Shopify app store SEO

You can easily grow organic traffic for valuable keywords by placing strategic keywords in your Shopify app store page listing and related places. The more prominently you place a keyword, the higher you rank for that keyword in Shopify’s (and Google’s) organic results. The higher you rank, the more free traffic you get.

7 tactics to grow your Shopify app store page organic traffic:

1. List your top 5 keywords in your Shopify Partners admin
2. Include your top keywords in your app store page’s title tag and meta description
3. Add a keyword or two next to your app’s name in your 30-character app name
4. Place top keywords in your app card subtitle
5. Add a keyword after your app’s name in your app page URL
6. Include your strategic keywords in your App introduction
7. Use your general copy and bullets to work in your top keywords

Grow your traffic with paid ads

Performance marketing expands your reach beyond organic. If you’re just starting with ads, test your top 5–10 keywords on Shopify and Google ads. Fine-tune using negative keywords, and expand your keywords and bids at positive ROI.

Prys shows you your value for each keyword so you know how much to pay per click. In addition, you get suggestions on new keywords to test.

6-month paid traffic growth plan (by month)

1. Launch Shopify and Google ads for your top 5–15 keywords
2. Check ROI, tune campaigns & add 5–15 keywords
3. Tune campaigns & add 5–15 keywords
4. Tune campaigns, launch Bing
5. Tune campaigns, expand Bing
6. Tune & expand campaigns. Test ads on new platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, etc.

Develop effective Shopify app marketing tactics

There are many effective ways to market Shopify apps beyond search marketing. Different tactics work for different apps. Try the tactics that you believe may work. Make sure you can measure if they do.

If you’ve been doing marketing for some time, you’ve accumulated insightful data. As soon as you connect your app to Prys, you’ll be able to see which Shopify app marketing tactics drive revenues and should be expanded.

6 Shopify app marketing tactics beyond search

1. Email marketing to convert trialists and free users
2. Cross-promotion with apps outside your category
3. Cold outreach to your ideal customer profiles
4. Content marketing to attract potential customers
5. Affiliate marketing to expand your reach
6. Influencers relevant to your potential customers

Convert visitors into paying customers

The average app converts around 1% of its store page visitors to paying customers.

Some Shopify apps convert over 5%. These apps have highly efficient funnels, allowing for aggressiveness in traffic acquisition while maintaining positive ROI. They are the apps that have become Shopify category leaders with Shopify MRRs well beyond $100K.

Most Shopify apps have the potential to at least double their funnel’s conversion rate. Doubling your conversion rate means you get twice as many new customers from your current traffic. With this increased efficiency, you can drive more and more traffic to the top of your funnel and convert some of that additional traffic into more and more new customers. A virtuous growth cycle.

Prys shows you where you stand compared to the benchmark of all connected Shopify apps. Seeing your relatively weak steps tells you where to focus on improving your funnel.

Shopify app cards

For traffic originating from Shopify, merchants first encounter your app card before clicking through to your Shopify app store page. Your app card needs to entice users to click.

Landing page for Google ads

If you plan to run Google ads, you must have a landing page. For at least some search keywords, you’ll only be allowed to place ads in Google if they do not lead to the Shopify domain, which disqualifies your Shopify app store page.

Your landing page’s header should prominently feature your app’s value proposition for Shopify merchants. Include a product image, references to Shopify reviews and satisfied customers, and a clear call to action inviting users to start a free trial.

Below the header, showcase your app’s key features, pricing details, user testimonials, social proof, and address frequently asked questions. If your landing page is lengthy, reiterate your value proposition and calls to action throughout the page.

Optimize your Shopify app store page for conversion

The average conversion rate of app store visitors to “add app” click is around 20%. Top converting Shopify app store pages reach over 40%.

Key factors for Shopify app store page conversion:

1. Quantity and quality of reviews

Reviews serve as a reliable indicator of your product’s quality, popularity, and maturity. It’s crucial to maximize your review count while maintaining a high rating. If you’re just starting out, make sure that your product is stable enough to generate positive reviews. Offer readily accessible support, especially during the initial stages. Consider temporarily making your product free to accumulate positive reviews quickly.

2. Informative and persuasive visuals

Ensure that the visuals accompanying your listing exude professionalism and effectively convey your value proposition, key features, and uniqueness. If you choose to include a video, use a thumbnail that effectively communicates your value and features. It doesn’t have to be a screenshot from the video.

3. Persuasive value proposition

When potential customers browse your app store page, they often compare it to similar offerings from your competitors. To stand out, you must captivate their attention with a concise value proposition. While strategically incorporating relevant keywords for SEO, you need to succinctly explain your product’s functionality, the value it delivers, and what makes it unique.

Optimize your post-install funnel

The post-install funnel takes merchants through subscription, setup, onboarding, and in-trial experience and communication. For most apps, this part of the funnel is long, complex, and converts poorly. That makes it a great target for funnel optimization.

Shopify app post-install funnel tips:

1. Get merchants to subscribe right after installing

Apps with a high post-install conversion rate send merchants to subscribe before onboarding. After install, merchants are sent to the pricing page where they need to choose a plan. After selecting their plan, merchants are sent to the subscription page, where they need to agree to your fees and start their trial.

2. Embed your app

Shopify’s embedded apps capability helps conversion by allowing apps to mimic Shopify’s look and feel, and to interact with merchants from within Shopify’s admin panel. In addition, Shopify rewards embedded apps with a badge and higher SEO placement. Going fully embedded is a big jump. Many apps opt to start by embedding the pricing and dashboard pages only.

3. Optimize onboarding

The objective of onboarding is to quickly and easily get trialists to the point where they experience your app’s value for their business. Automate whatever you can and minimize steps. Instead of offering multiple options to merchants at the time of onboarding, decide for them and allow changes later. The less steps and effort, the higher the conversion rate.

4. Perfect the In-trial experience

Once the trial starts, the customer is yours to lose. Use your app’s dashboard to show graphs and stats showcasing your app’s value. Checking data can be very addictive, especially in the beginning when it is accumulating. Use email marketing to keep trialists interacting with your app. Interaction increases familiarity, perceived value, and conversion.

Maximize your Shopify app’s monetization

Bessemer Venture Partners call pricing “The most common untapped growth lever.” 

Pricing affects the conversion rate in two places. First, merchants consider what they’ll need to pay you to decide whether to click “add app” on your Shopify app store page. Then, at the end of the trial, merchants ask themselves if they’ll get enough value for what you’re asking them to pay.

Pricing can be used to grow revenues. Sometimes, you can get away with a large pricing increase that leads to a minor decrease in conversion. Other times, you can move a significant feature up a plan and a chunk of customers will move up with it. In some cases, switching to a usage-based pricing scheme can lead to explosive revenue growth.

Optimize tier-base pricing

Tiers are the most common pricing scheme for Shopify apps. Your pricing plans should ideally represent customer segments, with features and usage limits of each plan matching each segment’s use case and value. They should compare well with your competition.

6 ways to optimize your tier-based pricing

1. Show only the lower tiers in Shopify + link to “all pricing options”
2. Simplify your copy, feature list, and pricing metrics
3. Change your key pricing metric to match your competitors’
4. Move key features and usage limits to a higher plan
5. Raise prices in one tier or more
6. Add/remove a tier

Free plan

Many Shopify apps with tier-based pricing offer a free plan. Shopify rewards apps that offer a free plan with a bump in search results placement, leading to more free traffic. A free tier helps convert the traffic into free active users, who unfortunately are not free for you. Converting free users into paying customers is challenging. It’s much easier to convert trialists of a paid plan into paying customers.

8 ways to maximize free user upgrades

1. Set low usage limits on the free plan
2. Use tooltips in your app to communicate the free plan limits
3. Make features required for advanced use available only on paid plans
4. Help free users discover premium features
5. Minimize the prominence of the free plan on the pricing page
6. Provide a free trial for paid plans
7. Limit support to free users
8. Perfect your segmentation, email, and in-app communication

Try usage-based pricing for your Shopify app

Apps in Shopify categories where usage-based pricing can work should definitely consider it. When merchants subscribe to a service, they do so because the value the service provides them is greater than its cost. This equation is at risk in a recurring subscription. You know what you’re paying but you don’t know what you’re going to get. Whatever you get, you pay the recurring fee.

Usage-based pricing ties the fee directly to a key metric that can be measured and that has direct value for the merchant. The more value, the more payment. Zero value vs payment risk.

If your app provides significant measurable value, usage-based pricing can help increase your conversion rate by reducing the merchant’s risk. At the same time, usage-based pricing can grow your average revenue per customer because customers accept increased fees in return for increased value.

Try hybrid pricing for your Shopify app

Hybrid pricing means you have a tier-based recurring fee and a significant usage-based component. A recurring fee assures a revenue stream from customers. The usage-based component allows the recurring fee to be set low, minimizing friction. The incremental component, to which merchants are less sensitive, helps increase the average revenues per customer. In many ways, it’s the best of all worlds.

Summary and takeaways

To scale your app to $100K MRR and beyond, you need to master traffic, conversion, and monetization.

Traffic

Use Prys to know your top keywords and marketing campaigns. Maximize SEO for your top keywords. Grow performance marketing at positive ROI. Develop additional Shopify app marketing tactics.

Conversion

Focus on the most underperforming funnel steps. Optimize app card, landing page, and Shopify app store page. Above all, optimize your post-install funnel.

Monetization

Optimize tier-based pricing to grow revenues. If you offer a free tier, optimize conversion to a free trial of a paid plan. Consider usage-based or hybrid pricing.

Your Shopify app store page is at the top of your conversion funnel. The more merchants you feed into it, the more new customers you‘ll get.

If you grow your app store page’s traffic you’ll raise your new customer growth rate and scale your app. 

To double your app store page traffic you need to:

1. Know which traffic sources and keywords to focus on
2. Optimize your app store page for SEO 
3. Scale performance marketing profitably
4. Optimize your landing page 
5. Expand other traffic sources you can control

By implementing these tactics, you can scale your Shopify app store page traffic and customers aggressively.

1. Know which sources and keywords to focus on

It’s easy to start getting low-quality visitors when you try to expand your traffic aggressively. To maintain traffic quality, it’s vital to know the most valuable traffic sources and keywords for your app.

Knowing which traffic sources are most valuable will help you focus on expanding the right marketing and business development campaigns. Does your blog lead to actual revenues? Which partners send traffic that leads to significant revenues?

For search-based sources such as organic and performance marketing, it’s imperative to know keyword performance. By identifying your top-performing keywords, you can strategically integrate them into your app store page listing, driving organic traffic. Additionally, you can leverage paid traffic from Shopify and Google ads to expand your reach and maximize your results.

But which keywords should you focus on? You want the most valuable keywords for your app: popular search terms that convert well for your app, result in significant revenues, and that are not too competitive.

Prys is a new Shopify app growth platform that lets you check value, revenues, and paying customers for each keyword. You get immediate suggestions on both organic and paid keywords for free.

Some keywords are intensely competitive. Others less so. SASI, a free app commonly used to track app placement in Shopify categories, has a feature that lets you monitor your and your competitors’ position for top keywords. You can see who’s placed above you, check out their app store listings, and asses your potential to move up the list.

2. Optimize your app store page for SEO

The placement of an app store page in the Shopify app store organic search results is influenced by various factors, including the relevance of the app’s title, description, and keywords to the user’s search query, the number and quality of user reviews and ratings – particularly recent ones, the app’s download and installation rates, the frequency of updates and improvements, and the overall engagement and user experience provided by the app.

You can easily boost your organic traffic for relevant search terms by placing strategic keywords in your app store page listing and related places. The more prominently you place a keyword, the higher you’ll rank for that term in Shopify’s organic app store search results, and the more traffic you’ll get for it.

There are only so many prominent places to insert keywords in your app store listing. It’s critical to prioritize. You want to focus on the most valuable keywords for your app.

You can use Prys to find the most valuable organic keywords to focus on.

Once you have a prioritized list of keywords, you can place them strategically, growing the organic traffic you get from related searches.

Top keyword-related tactics to grow organic traffic:

1. List your top 5 keywords in your Shopify Partners admin
2. Weave your top keywords into your app store page’s title tag and meta description
3. Your app name allows for 30 characters of top SEO real estate. Combine your app’s name with a top keyword or two.
4. Your app card subtitle is another max 62-character blurb where you can use your top keywords to gain SEO points.

   5. Your app store page URL is another place you can add a keyword after your apps name. For example https://apps.shopify.com/avada-email-marketing

   6. App introduction is the prominent copy section below your video. You get 100 characters, 20–25 words, to introduce your app. That gives you enough room to work in several top keywords alongside your value proposition.

     7. Use your general copy and bullets to work in your top keywords. Some repetition is ok.

3. Scale performance marketing profitably

If you’re just starting with ads, test your top 5–10 keywords in Shopify and Google ads. Over time, fine-tune and expand your keywords and bids at positive ROI: value per visitor> Cost per click.

You can use Prys to get suggestions on paid keywords to focus on, including the value per visitor for each keyword from each platform. Your value per visitor tells you what is the maximum cost per click to be profitable.

Google ads monitoring — Prys

Once your Shopify and Google ads are in a stable place, copy your Google campaign to Bing. After Bing, you can test other performance marketing platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Reddit, Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter.

Six months performance marketing plan

M1: Launch Shopify and Google ads for your top 5–15 keywords

M2: Check ROI, tune campaigns & add 5–15 keywords

M3: Tune campaigns & add 5–15 keywords

M4: Tune campaigns, launch Bing

M5: Tune campaigns, expand Bing

M6+: Tune & expand Shopify, Google and Bing campaigns. Add, test, optimize, and expand other platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram etc.

4. Optimize your landing page 

If you plan to run Google ads, having a landing page is a necessity. For certain search terms, Google may only allow you to run ads that don’t lead directly to the Shopify domain. This restriction excludes using your Shopify app store listing as the destination for users clicking on the ads.

Your landing page’s header should prominently feature your app’s value proposition, highlighting its affiliation with Shopify. Include a product image, references to Shopify reviews and satisfied customers, and a clear call to action inviting users to start a free trial.

Below the header, showcase your app’s key features, pricing details, user testimonials, social proof, and address frequently asked questions. If your landing page is lengthy, reiterate your value proposition and calls to action strategically.

The call-to-action buttons on your landing page can send visitors to your app store page, where they can install your app by clicking “add app.” However, this induces an additional step (landing page to app store page to add app click), which may reduce your conversion rate. To streamline the process and avoid the extra click, you can provide merchants with a direct installation link bypassing the app store page.

5. Expand other sources you control

Some of the quality traffic most apps get comes from sources other than search-related. Some sources, such as direct visits, are pretty impossible to expand. Others can be developed.

It’s critical to check each of your sources, including in detail, to see what works. Referrals are a good example. If you’ve accumulated some referral partners over time, knowing which partners lead to actual revenues tells you which relationships to nurture, expand, and try to replicate.

Summary and Takeaways

Use these tactics to grow your top-of-funnel traffic and scale your app.

1. Targeted Traffic Sources and Keywords: Identifying valuable keywords and sources is critical for expansion. Use tools like Prys and SASI to prioritize and monitor organic and paid keywords.
2. SEO Optimization: Grow organic traffic by strategically placing keywords in app store listings, titles, meta descriptions, subtitles, and introductions.
3. Profitable Performance Marketing: Begin with ads targeting top keywords and expand gradually while monitoring ROI. Start with Shopify and Google ads, and expand into Bing, LinkedIn, Facebook, and others over time.
4. Optimize Landing Pages: Landing pages, vital for Google ads, should convey a value proposition, showcase products, include reviews, and feature a clear call to action. They can link to the app store page or offer direct installation links.
5. Expand other converting Sources: Assess non-search sources that send traffic to your app store page. Scale those that lead to revenues and allow for expansion.

Implementing these strategies can help you grow your Shopify app store page traffic and scale aggressively in 2024.

Each time merchants need to perform an action — as simple as clicking a “next” button — some won’t. In a funnel context, not clicking a “next” button means dropping out of the funnel.

The funnel of the typical Shopify app consists of around 20 steps from app store visit to paying customer. With so many chances to drop out, it’s no surprise that the average app store page visit to paying customer conversion rate is 1.5%, and the median is under 1%.

Most Shopify apps convert less than 1 out of every 100 app store page visitors into paying customers.

At the other end of the spectrum, some Shopify apps consistently convert over 5% of their app store page visitors into paying customers. These apps have highly efficient funnels, allowing them to be aggressive in traffic acquisition while maintaining positive ROI. These are the apps that grow to become Shopify category leaders with Shopify MRRs well beyond $100K.

These successful apps figured out how to optimize their funnel. Every app can.

Most Shopify apps have the potential to at least double their funnel’s conversion rate.

Doubling your conversion rate not only means you get twice as many new customers from your current traffic, but you can also use the increased conversion efficiency to drive more traffic to the top of your funnel and convert some of that into additional new customers.

Doubling your funnel’s conversion rate can lead to tripling your new customers.

My name is Boaz Lantsman and I’ve been optimizing SaaS low-touch conversion funnels for 15 years. For the past 4 years, I specialized in Shopify app funnel optimization through my Shopify app growth consultancy, convert2x. I’m also the co-founder of Prys. The stats mentioned are based on Prys’s beta user apps.

In this 3-part series, I’ll share the secrets of the best-converting apps and show you how to double your funnel’s conversion rate.

In this first part, we’ll focus on the landing page to app install flow. Part 2 will delve into the app install to start trial flow, including onboarding. And in Part 3, we’ll cover the start trial to paying customer flow.

Without further ado, here is part 1 of how to optimize your Shopify app funnel: from landing page to Install.

Know which keywords to focus on

Before we delve into the landing page, let’s discuss a crucial aspect of your Shopify funnel’s effectiveness: the traffic you attract. The more targeted the traffic, the higher the conversion rate.

To improve traffic quality, it’s vital to prioritize the most valuable keywords for your app. By identifying these keywords, you can strategically integrate them into your app store page listing, driving organic traffic. Additionally, you can leverage paid traffic from Shopify and Google ads to expand your reach and maximize your results.

But which keywords should you focus on? You want popular search terms that convert well for your app and that are not too competitive.

Prys (early access sign-up) lets you check the value you get from each search term based on your historic data and gives you immediate suggestions for both organic and paid traffic. You can use Prys for free to prioritize your keywords.

Some search terms on the Shopify app store are highly competitive, while others are less so. SASI, a popular free app used to track app placement in Shopify categories, offers a lesser-known feature that allows you to monitor your placement and that of your competitors for top search terms. You can see who’s placed above you, check out their app store listings, and asses your potential for moving up the list.

Should you use a landing page?

Gave that away already, didn’t I? If you plan to run Google ads, you must have a landing page. For at least some search terms you’ll only be allowed to place ads in Google if they do not direct to the Shopify domain, which eliminates your Shopify app store listing. In addition, there are some searches (eg your brand vs competitor) where a dedicated landing page would serve you better than the app store page.

Your landing page’s header should include your app’s value proposition mentioning Shopify, a product shot, some reference to your Shopify reviews and customers, and a clear call to action to start a free trial. Below the header, show your top features, pricing, user quotes, and other social proof, and FAQ if needed. If your page is long, repeat your value proposition and calls to action throughout.

From your landing page, you can direct traffic to your app store page, where merchants can install your app by clicking “add app.” However, this adds an extra click, which can lower your conversion rate.

If you want to cut the click and send merchants to install your Shopify app without visiting the app store page, you can provide them with a direct installation link. Shopify has a specific format for these links, which you can generate using the app’s unique identifier. You can present these links as a popup, after the “start trial” button click, or an open field asking the merchant for the shop’s URL next to the button.

Shopify app cards

For traffic originating from Shopify, merchants first encounter your app card (examples below) before clicking through to your Shopify app store page. Your app card needs to rank high in search results and entice users to click. The most important elements for click-through rate and placement are the app name & subtitle and reviews.

Your app name weighs heavily on your search results placement. The 30 characters allowed are the among best SEO real estate you have. As shown in the screenshot above, top-ranking apps incorporate their primary keywords into their 30-character names, and you should do the same.

Your app card subtitle is another max 62-character blurb where you can outline what your app does using your top keywords, and weave in a short value proposition to maximize the click-through rate.

See below the same screenshot, highlighted for the search term: ‘upsell’. Apps with top organic results do not shy away from including and repeating their top keywords in their name and subtitle. It works.

Optimize your Shopify app store page for conversion

The primary objective of your Shopify app store page is to convert visitors into clicks on the “add app” button. The average conversion rate of app store visitors to “add app” click is around 20%. Top converting Shopify app store pages reach over 40%.

Several key factors contribute to driving conversion on the Shopify app store listing:

Quantity and quality of reviews

Reviews serve as a reliable indicator of your product’s quality, popularity, and maturity. It’s crucial to maximize your review count while maintaining a high rating. If you’re just starting out, make sure that your product is stable enough to generate positive reviews. Offer readily accessible support, especially during the initial stages. Consider temporarily making your product free to accumulate positive reviews quickly.

Informative and persuasive visuals

Ensure that the visuals accompanying your listing exude professionalism and effectively convey your value proposition, key features, and uniqueness. If you choose to include a video, use a thumbnail that effectively communicates your value and features. It doesn’t have to be a screenshot from the video.

Captivating value proposition

When potential customers browse your app store page, they often compare it to similar offerings from your competitors. They scan through the app store pages, looking for the most compelling listings that pique their interest. To stand out, you must captivate their attention with a concise value proposition. While strategically incorporating relevant keywords for SEO, you need to succinctly explain your product’s functionality, the value it delivers, and what makes it unique.

Clear and friendly pricing

Your pricing structure should align with the needs and usage patterns of your typical customers, as well as the value they derive from your app. Ideally, pricing tiers should cater to specific segments, with features and usage limits tailored to each segment’s requirements and perceived value. Maintain simplicity to ensure that your customers easily understand the pricing structure. Additionally, ensure that your pricing remains competitive compared to other offerings in the market.

Key Takeaways:

• The average conversion rate from a Shopify app store page visit to paying customer is low, but with optimization, it can be doubled.
• Doubling your conversion rate can lead to tripling your new customers.
• Focus on valuable keywords to drive organic and paid traffic to your app store page, using tools like Prys and SASI to track keyword performance and competition.
• A landing page is required for Google ads. Consider providing a direct installation link to streamline the app installation process and reduce friction.
• Optimize your app name, subtitle, and app store page to enhance visibility and attract clicks, incorporating keywords and emphasizing your value proposition.
• Reviews, informative and persuasive visuals, and competitive pricing are crucial factors in driving conversions on your app store page.
• By optimizing these elements, you can significantly increase your conversion rate to app installs and attract more paying customers to your Shopify app.

This is part 1 of the Shopify app funnel optimization series. In parts 2 and 3, you’ll learn how to optimize the install to start trial flow, and the start trial to paying customer flow.