Asking Users To Rate Our App In Google Play But Without Looks Annoying, How?

Getting Started Newbie Questions
#1

hi guys, i have finally finished my first app and published it in google play store around 2 days ago. i dont know much about app marketing but i talked with someone and he said that i should have the pop up box in my app asking people to “rate our app”. I know this kind of stuff is a bit normal for other apps so I’m thinking maybe i should do it too. my dilemma is, i usually feel annoyed with that kind of notification myself so how do I make it to not look annoying?

i’m thinking that when people about to quit my app, a pop up box should appear and asking people to “rate our app”. but it should appear only once for each user. i mean when he already rate the app before or when he choose “i dont want to rate this app”, that pop up box should never appear again for the same person. How do I do this?

and btw, do you guys think i really need this kind of stuff? I dont know if asking people to rate our app will help us get better ratings and i dont know Google’s latest policy on this. I read somewhere Apple doesnt allow this kind of notification because they dont want people to game their rating system but how about Google?

Thanks.

#2

I don’t know. It’s the usual ad thing of being too annoying vs being too passive. 

I don’t know how much notice is taken of ratings, many of them clearly are not straight.

#3

It’s a tricky balance.  Most people who have the popup give three options:

  1. Yes, take me to the rate screen

  2. Not right now.

  3. Never bother me with this again.

If they pick option’s 1 or 3, you should save a small file in their system.DocumentsDirectory that indicates that they have asked to not see that popup ever again.  This could be a setting in your settings file or a separate file depending on how you save things.  Asking at the end, isn’t a bad idea, but I wonder if since I’m exiting, perhaps its because I’m not happy with the app which could lead to bad reviews.

Maybe if you’re doing a game that has levels, you could pop it up after say the 3rd or 4th level.  Another thought is to simply give them a “If you like us, rate us” button on your menu screen and leave the action up to them.

Paul, it’s a pretty common thought that more ratings = higher ranking.  There is a Facebook group dedicated to helping people rate each other’s apps since you can’t use your review codes on iOS for ratings are reviews any more: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/310088005728833/

Rob

#4

Asking at the end, isn’t a bad idea, but I wonder if since I’m exiting, perhaps its because I’m not happy with the app which could lead to bad reviews.

One thing I would add to that, from looking into this previously we found that the best time to ask someone to rate the game is just after something positive has happened. For example it’s better to ask someone just after they have completed a level, rather than if they have just failed a level.

Likewise, it’s best not to ask too early as people won’t want to be disturbed. If your game has 20 levels then consider asking after 10 levels. Sure some people will stop playing before they get that far and so you might not get a review from them, but really you only want reviews from people who enjoy the game anyway.

#5

I don’t know. It’s the usual ad thing of being too annoying vs being too passive. 

I don’t know how much notice is taken of ratings, many of them clearly are not straight.

#6

It’s a tricky balance.  Most people who have the popup give three options:

  1. Yes, take me to the rate screen

  2. Not right now.

  3. Never bother me with this again.

If they pick option’s 1 or 3, you should save a small file in their system.DocumentsDirectory that indicates that they have asked to not see that popup ever again.  This could be a setting in your settings file or a separate file depending on how you save things.  Asking at the end, isn’t a bad idea, but I wonder if since I’m exiting, perhaps its because I’m not happy with the app which could lead to bad reviews.

Maybe if you’re doing a game that has levels, you could pop it up after say the 3rd or 4th level.  Another thought is to simply give them a “If you like us, rate us” button on your menu screen and leave the action up to them.

Paul, it’s a pretty common thought that more ratings = higher ranking.  There is a Facebook group dedicated to helping people rate each other’s apps since you can’t use your review codes on iOS for ratings are reviews any more: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/310088005728833/

Rob

#7

Asking at the end, isn’t a bad idea, but I wonder if since I’m exiting, perhaps its because I’m not happy with the app which could lead to bad reviews.

One thing I would add to that, from looking into this previously we found that the best time to ask someone to rate the game is just after something positive has happened. For example it’s better to ask someone just after they have completed a level, rather than if they have just failed a level.

Likewise, it’s best not to ask too early as people won’t want to be disturbed. If your game has 20 levels then consider asking after 10 levels. Sure some people will stop playing before they get that far and so you might not get a review from them, but really you only want reviews from people who enjoy the game anyway.