How are apps found in the app store?

[hans112]

I've read and heard about a lot of people who make small or medium size apps that do okay in the App Store. Some just release lots of small apps that make a dollar per day or so. The thing is, it seems to me that a lot of these people do not market their apps at all (especially the once making small apps that make a dollar per day hardly have time to do it for each app).

The question is, how are these small apps found by people? I'm about to launch my first app and would like to know if I can expect any downloads from people that I haven't marketed to.

 

[firewood]

Typical un-marketed small apps no longer make a dollar per day.

My guesses for the apps that make around a dollar per week or per month is: word of mouth from the earliest downloaders, random searches using weird or unpopular keyword combinations (both in the store and on the web for the developers web site), the developers blog, and having an interesting looking icon to people who shop all day.

 

[TouchMint.com]

If you are just talking about finding them through the App Store 99% are found through keyword search. The others through features I guess but it's rare.