Featured Apps

Definition

Featured Apps are apps selected by app store editorial teams for prominent placement in browse surfaces — such as Apple's "App of the Day," "Game of the Day," editorial stories on the Today tab, Google Play's "Editor's Choice," and curated collections. Being featured is one of the highest-impact discovery events in ASO, often resulting in massive Download Velocity spikes and sustained ranking improvements.

Unlike search rankings (algorithmically determined) and chart positions (velocity-driven), featuring is primarily an editorial decision made by human curators at Apple, Google, and Amazon.

How It Works

Types of featuring:

How editorial teams decide:

Apple's editorial team evaluates:

• Design quality and UI polish
• Unique or innovative functionality
• Accessibility features
• Privacy practices
• Cultural relevance and timely themes
• App Store listing quality (screenshots, description)
• Developer track record

Google's editorial team considers:

• App quality and Android Vitals performance
• Design following Material Design guidelines
• Feature innovation
• Appropriate content ratings and policy compliance
• Localization quality

Apple App Store

• Contact Apple editorial: submit through App Store Connect "Promote Your App" feature
• No guaranteed featuring — editorial team decides independently
• Regional featuring (can be featured in specific countries)
• Today tab stories can drive massive traffic for days
• In-App Events can receive editorial promotion

Google Play Store

• Apply through Google Play Console "Reach out to Google Play" form
• Editor's Choice is an ongoing badge, not a time-limited feature
• Android Excellence program (periodically curated collections)
• Google promotes apps that use latest Android features/APIs

Amazon Appstore

• Less prominent editorial program
• Fire TV home screen placement decisions by Amazon team
• Prime-exclusive features can drive discovery

Formulas & Metrics

Feature impact estimation:

Long-term feature impact:

The velocity spike from featuring improves Category Ranking and Search Result Ranking, which creates sustained organic improvement even after the feature ends. Typical pattern:

Pre-feature baseline → Feature spike (5-20x) → Post-feature plateau (1.5-3x baseline)

Best Practices

1. Build for featuring before requesting — ensure your app meets design quality standards, follows platform guidelines, and has a compelling unique value proposition.

1. Submit feature requests strategically — align with seasonal events, cultural moments, platform priorities (e.g., new OS features), or major app updates.

1. Prepare for the spike — ensure servers can handle increased traffic, onboarding flow is optimized, and Rating Prompt strategy is ready to capture positive ratings from new users.

1. Maximize the tail effect — the velocity spike from featuring improves rankings. Optimize metadata and creative before featuring to maximize long-term benefit.

1. Localization enables regional featuring — teams in different countries feature different apps. A well-localized app can be featured in markets where competition for editorial attention is lower.

Dependencies

Influences (this term affects)

• Download Velocity — featuring creates massive velocity spikes
• Category Ranking — velocity spike improves chart position
• Organic Installs — featuring is a high-impact organic driver
• Brand Awareness — featuring increases brand visibility significantly
• Top Charts — velocity from featuring pushes chart position

Depends On (affected by)

• App Quality — editorial teams evaluate quality for featuring decisions
• Star Rating — minimum ~4.0+ rating expected for featuring consideration
• App Icon — design quality is an editorial consideration
• Screenshot — listing quality matters for editorial evaluation
• Editorial Curation — editorial team's independent decision

Related Terms

• Editorial Curation
• App Discovery
• Browse Optimization
• Download Velocity
• Top Charts
• In-App Events
• App of the Day

Sources & Further Reading

• Apple: Getting Featured on the App Store
• Google Play: Promote Your Android App
• AppTweak: Impact of Being Featured