Sudden spike in downloads as soon as app becomes "Ready for Sale"

[MacMan988]

Hi, My iOS app got approved from the App Store review few days back. I noticed that there was a sudden spike in downloads as soon as it was released (I haven't done any marketing yet) and then downloads dropped down to almost 0.

I wonder how these traffic was generated. Are they adding new apps to a specific chart in App Store or something? Any ideas?

 

[iizmoo]

You show up under new app released for a short amount of time. It depend on how many apps get released in that category, but eventually yours get push down until customers no longer see it on the easily accessible list. At that point you gotta hope for lots of good ratings or sales to push it up the popularity based chart.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

In addition to what iizmoo mentioned, your app will appear at the top of websites like AppShopper and other App discovery websites for a short time. Same phenomena, but it occurs in places that you might not immediately think of.

 

[firewood]

If it's a free app, there appear to be bots and tire-kicker-users who download any and all new apps, as found on various RSS feeds. After these types have downloaded their fill (takes a few days), and without any marketing (paid or viral), the numbers drop back to organic and random discovery.