The Top App Engagement Metrics to Measure Your App’s Performance

What are app engagement metrics?

Engagement metrics are a subset of user analytics that focus on measuring how often users interact with an app and how long they spend using it. In other words, engagement metrics tell you if people are using your app and how much value they are deriving from it.

Why are app engagement metrics important to measure?

Once you’ve launched your app, your main concern will be how to increase the number of people actually using your service. Downloads is the most visible of all metrics but, behind it, there’s a whole world. Engagement metrics keep you informed about the performance of your app, also from a technical perspective and user experience.

So, why should you always set up a measurement process?

• Engagement is a leading indicator of retention. The more engaged users are with your app, the less likely they are to churn. It is well known that acquiring a new user is 5-25x more expensive than retaining an existing one.
• Engagement can help you identify app stickiness. The more engaged users are with your app, the more likely they are to continue using it over time.
• Engagement can help you assess the health of your app. If engagement is low, it could be an indication that there are problems with your app that need to be addressed.
• Engagement is also a measure of the growth performance. According to OneSignal, reducing churn by only 5% can increase profitability by 75%

How can you measure app engagement metrics effectively?

As for any other project, mobile app development should have a clear success measurement system. The proper metrics grid can help you measure the performance over time and plan changes / updates to solve the problems and overcome common challenges.

When assessing app engagement, there are a few important things to bear in mind:

• Start by defining what success looks like for your app. What are your goals for engagement? 
• Set up tracking and measurement tools early on. This will make it easier to collect data and track progress over time.
• Measure a variety of engagement metrics, not just one or two. This will give you a more complete picture of how users are interacting with your app.
• Make sure to segment your data. This will allow you to see how different groups of users are engaging with your app.
• Don’t focus on downloads because that number can be misleading. Inc. Magazine says that over 90% of all downloaded apps are used once and then deleted.

What are some common app engagement metrics that you can track?

The world of mobile analytics is like a magic hat where you can extract dozens of metrics. The question, then, becomes “how can I select the ones that are really useful?”. While the answer depends on many factors (i.e. scope of the project and industry), there are some common metrics that you should always include in your measurement plan:

• DAUs / MAUs: How many unique users engage with your app daily / monthly?
• Session Length: How long are users spending in your app per session? 
• Session Interval: How much time is passing between app sessions? 
• Screen Views: How many screens or pages are users viewing during a session? 
• Events: What actions are users taking within your app? 
• Retention: How many users come back to your app after their first visit?
• Stickiness: How many users return to your app every month?
• Churn rate: How many users uninstall your app in a certain period of time?

How can you improve app engagement if it's low?

Now that you’ve measured the app engagement rates in your app, how can you improve the numbers? This is critical and it really shows how app store optimization is just a basic requirement: What happens next is what will really make the difference between success and failure. Here are a few things you can do to improve app engagement if it's low:

• Identify the reason for low engagement. Is there a problem with your app? Are users not finding it valuable? 
• Make changes to improve the user experience. This could involve redesigning app screens, adding new social features, or simplifying navigation. 
• Increase app visibility. Make sure users know about your app and what it does. This could involve marketing or advertising campaigns. 
• Encourage app usage. Incentivize app usage by enabling user-generated content and personalized push notifications to get users coming back more often.

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Wrap-Up: Key Takeaways for Measuring App Engagement Metrics

When it comes to transforming an app into a huge customer success, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Even super apps, despite following a more advanced logic, need to improve constantly by learning from data. We can identify, however, a few pillars that should be into any product manager playbook.

• Start by defining what success looks like for your app. What are your goals for engagement? 
• Set up tracking and measurement tools early on. This will make it easier to collect data and track progress over time.
• Measure a variety of engagement metrics, not just one or two. This will give you a more complete picture of how users are interacting with your app.
• Make sure to segment your data. This will allow you to see how different groups of users are engaging with your app.

By following these tips, you can ensure that you're effectively measuring app engagement and taking steps to improve it if necessary. Just bear in mind that app engagement is not a one shot situation; you should rather consider it a long term battle that you can only win by adjusting your strategy based on the data you gather. Because that’s where lies the value of what your actual users are telling you.