I do not think that changing the category caused this. I did change the category of one of my apps myself as well (From Tools/Utils. to Transportation and back a couple of times over a period of a week) and it showed up just fine in AppAnnie.
Also the app that I mentioned in that other thread never changed categories. They did change the name of the app though and the account name. Even if some bug caused it, that app is still getting like 1000+ reviews per day. So people have no trouble finding it. Even though AppAnnie says it does not rank anywhere.
Crossing of these “canonical” i.e. special barriers maybe something that Google Play algorithms watch out for (though one would expect there to be a non-harsh limit based algorithm that just smoothly adjusts to your download number etc. - in addition to the usual download rate, ratio of install to uninstall rate etc.).
However there is one are where it WILL immediately affect - user perception.
I have noted in my own behavior that when looking at an app - if it has 500,000+ downloads, I take that as an added positive for the app (because there are fewer such apps) - while apps with 100,000+ downloads are more common. Perhaps it suggests also to users that the app has gotten the required longevity for it to have been shot down or examined critically by users (and perhaps by Google).
With 100,000+ downloads - there CAN be examples of apps which reach that very fast - due to promotion etc. - and it may still not be clear if there are any issues with the app - with 500,000+ download apps that is slightly more difficult i.e. app must have been on the store long enough etc.
I have an app that has just crossed the 500,000 mark (i.e. it’s listing went from 100,000+ to 500,000+) - I haven’t noted any great impact on it’s rankings yet - but will know in a couple of days.
My own feeling would be that the 500,000+ (or correspondingly the other 1000,000 and 50,000 and 5,000 etc. marks) may have value to rankings because it may improve the “conversion ratio” (i.e. slightly more people install the app after seeing it’s Google Play listing).
A multiplicative impact of any slight improvement in this “conversion ratio” would improve your download rate (though perhaps install/uninstall ratio may remain same or be lower if you begin to attract “weaker” or less convinced users).
I think I posted something like this before - don’t remember what the thread was - but anyway - this might be useful to some very new developers (though will be old hat for many folks here).
An understanding of DAU, Active User base and other stats on the Google Play market
For a fixed daily download rate you will eventually reach a plateau in the “Active User Base” …
Looking at the daily installs/uninstalls:
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Daily installs (this depends on your visibility from keyword search, promotions on facebook, twitter etc.)
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minus the daily uninstalls from today’s downloads (this will be a fraction of daily installs - let’s say you lose 60% of new installs same day - this depends on the desirability of your app)
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minus the daily uninstalls from old users - essentially this is the “attrition” from your “Active User” base (it will be a fraction say 1% of your Active User base of 50K users - equals 500 users uninstalling your app due to various reasons - cleaning out the phone etc.) Obviously the GREATER your “Active User” base - the GREATER will be the absolute uninstalls just from your Active User base !! (this is an important point to remember - as it DIRECTLY leads to the “plateau” I mentioned for your “Active User” base - since eventually your active user base becomes so large that the losses from it SWAMP any gains you make from new installs)
Looking at the Daily Active Users (DAU) - those using your app daily:
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new installs (same as Daily installs above) - say you have 1500 installs a day (this is directly dependent on your app’s “discoverability” via keyword search - and on your promotion via facebook, twitter and any paid ads or house ads etc. you run to promote your app)
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returning users (this will be a fraction of your “Active User base” - say 1% of your 50K Active User base returns to your app on a single day - equals 500 returning users) - obviously your “Active User” base is important since a certain (small) fraction of them will be returning to your app on a single day (thus having a high “Active User” base gives you a good source of visitors or eyeballs for your ads - and thus helps ad revenue). Of course if you are using “push notifications” (Airpush/Sendroid etc.) - then you supposedly earn on this WHOLE “Active User” base - since push notifications are going out to ALL those 50K Active Users !! This is the essential difference between “in-app” advertising and “out-of-app” advertising like push notifications (and to some degree icons ads etc.).
As you acquire users, eventually the inevitable losses or “attrition” from your Active User base will start to become so large that your daily NEW additions barely cover for it - therefore for most apps with a fixed daily install rate the “Active User” base will eventually plateau i.e. no longer be rising but remain stagnant say at 50K users.
The only way to improve this is to either:
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increase daily new install rate (i.e. more new users revisit your app - which means improve “discoverability” etc.)
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reduce the daily uninstalls from new installs - for this you have to make the app “catch” the user’s attention so they don’t uninstall it immediately - or just make it a better app (another way would be - if you were using paid ads to promote your app would be to target the right users for your ads - targeting the right users means you not only get better response to ads - but also those types of users retain your app for longer)
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reduce attrition from your “Active User base” - one way would be to drive new content to the app - so it remains relevant or changing so users feel there is value in keeping your app on their phone, or just creating a higher quality app.
The daily new install rate - depends directly on your app’s “discoverability” via random search by users, and also depends on how you are promoting the app (targeting the right audience using facebook, twitter and webpage, youtube etc.). This second part is what is related to “virality” i.e. multiplicative rise in visibility due to social interaction.
Searchability etc. generally remains nearly the same over time (unless your keywords happen to match some event in the world - a new movie comes out related to your topic etc.). In a way similar to virality - but here the audience changes due to an external event to happen to synch with what your app was already doing for some time - so it is viral, however the viral currency will expire as soon as that movie leaves the movie theaters or loses prominence in the public mind.
On the other hand, a “viral” app which comes out of nowhere will be tapping a pre-existing sentiment in the public - or will strike a chord with some preexisting sense in the public.
Social mention will thus lead to more social mention/discovery - in a multiplicative dominoes effect - until it reaches a saturation point - at which point another viral idea may begin to replace it in the public mind - example being "Gangnam Style rising and then eventually fading as soon as “Harlem Shake” videos started appearing on youtube - Gangnam Style suddenly becomes “not current” - just a little hiatus is enough to disrupt the sense of “currency” which drives the “is it worthy to mention this or will I look like am I late to the party mentioning Gangnam Style” type of thing.
Since when users mention something to others - they usually tend to want to be seen as novel (or relevant to what others are saying) - this is in the general scheme of the public and not necessarily how scientists or computer scientists or programmers may think 
As a last point, one thing which will not increase “Active User base” but WILL improve DAU is if you can improve “reengaement”:
- increase reengagement so your existing Active Users revisit your app more often (this could be rewarding of currency or even “out-of-app” push notification about new award in the app - though that will piss off some users) - however these measures will increase “eyeballs” and thus ad revenue - but will not necessarily increase your “Active User” base
A further wrinkle on this - as reported by many developers - new users tend to earn MORE for you than returning users - since new users want to explore the “More Apps” button to see if it differs from other apps and so on - while returning users will tend to tune out “already seen” stuff (another reason to constantly be changing your app layout, or adding new updates features etc. ?).
Another factor is how Google Play “ranks” you in your category (Entertainment), for various keywords (as taken from your Description etc.) - multiply this by the number of countries (since Google seems to replicate this on a country by country basis).
This directly affects your searchability/discoverability.
So you have a vicious/virtuous cycle - if you are discoverable and get good downloads, rising downloads, low uninstall rate, good ratings - Google will start to rank you higher.
As you rise in the rankings - you begin to experience an (what I am beginning to think is) EXPONENTIALLY more eyeballs (especially in the top 20 apps in each category, keyword combination etc.). Remember this is all “statistical” i.e. your app’s outcome depends on thousands of user’s invididual actions, and responses to keywords etc… (mind boggling how individual developers are exposed to such comlex human interaction - the marvels of the internet !!)
So your app quality etc. etc. - affect rankings - and rankings affect FURTHER increase in downloads.
You can quickly see that this is a system DESIGNED for virality - or “survival of the fittest” or some such.
Examining re-issuing of apps (to get a “second try” at tackling the Google ranking algorithms)
This is why we have examined in this thread above - about the possibility of “trying again” - i.e. renaming an app, or “renaming old to beta” and then reissuing app as final version.
I had earlier mentioned some apps I had seen do this - I think it was Driver, Driver 2 or some such apps.
The advantages:
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the developer gets rid of all the bad reviews that accumulated from their first days of learning Android and issuing badly behaving versions of the app (bad reviews). For even though comments from earlier days are easily lost - as new ones take their place, the 5,4,3,2,1 star ratings are NOT lost. So if you have accumulated 1000 ratings - it is awful hard to change your overall rating from the new better ratings NOW coming in for your new app version. With 1000 ratings, each day’s 10 ratings will only raise your total rating from 3.5 to 3.51 or some such fraction.
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the developer gets another chance to get the 1 month promotion Google runs for new apps - i.e. another shot at figuring in the “Top New Apps” list for that month - of course, after that month there will be a steep drop. However if the app was earlier well tuned to be found (discoverability) via keyword search etc. - it will still be found (esp. if the title is nearly the same and the description is nearly the same)
The disadvantage:
- the developer loses access to all the downloads they have accumulated (if they have 500,000+ downloads that itself is a powerful indicator to a new user that this app has been thoroughly looked at and probably is free of viruses etc.) - the new app has to start from 0 downloads
A variant of this would be to keep the old version (possibly rename it to “Beta” just prior to releasing the new version/app). Then release the new app with the same name as you used to use (if you liked the keyword optimization results of your earlier app version and it’s placement in rankings etc.).
An example of a re-issue of an app
Very recently someone pointed out a perfect example to me:
Walking Dead (app) on Google Play
The Walking Dead: Assault - Google Play Top Apps | App Annie
The Walking Dead: Assault
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skybound.TWDA
(If folks follow up on the progress of this app, please post here - as I may not be watching it that closely)
It is a paid ($2.99) app on Google Play.
I am told it was earlier released with many version updates - now they have pulled down all the other updates - and have released it as a new app (July 19, 2013).
Let’s see how this one fares …
Looking at it’s current rankings - as reported by appannie.com:
The Walking Dead: Assault - Daily Ranks | App Annie
One can see that it is seeing phenomenal interest - this means either that it is fitting right back in the slot that the earlier version app occupied.
I checked some other “Walking Dead” apps - to see if perhaps the “Walking Dead” name inspired that high ranking - but a pick of 10 random “Walking Dead” apps none of them had any rankings as reported by appannie.com
This would raise the possibility that if ANOTHER publisher releases an app with the title Angry Birds and with the EXACT same description (they may get banned for this) - would initially experience the SAME type of growth - as the algorithms may not know the difference (assuming they are not biasing results by publisher or that certain keywords “should belong” to certain publishers etc.).
I just stumbled upon this thread. Seriously needs summarizing. Lots of good points there. Its so long that I couldn’t read all of the posts. Anyone can easily release a book for android marketing by using the tips given in this thread.
Well one thing is for sure, the rankings are more or less completely by country. In other words: there is not one app store; there are as many app stores as there are countries.
It’s a lot easier to get into the top rankings in a small country like Denmark than it is to get into the top rankings in the US or UK. I’ve been hoping that my (limited) success in various European countries is eventually going to get me into the US rankings, but I don’t know if that’s even possible. I get about 20 downloads per day in the US and I think they’re almost certainly from searches.
How many downloads you get from European countries vs US?
Yesterday for instance I got a total of 336 downloads, 29 from the US, 14 from Japan, most of the rest from Europe. On average I get about 300 total downloads, 20 from the US and most of the rest from Europe. According to appannie I’m on about 20-25 top lists depending on which day and it’s mostly in countries Europe.
Posted a post in this thread:
http://forums.makingmoneywithandroid.com/advertising-networks/2072-my-description-being-copied-google-play-2.html#post14556
that maybe related to the discussion here.
Basically it is possible that one could do an “App” to “App 2” transition - and if Google was doing the reasonable thing - they would deal with it in a way that would not require advertisers to do such jugglery - mainly by perhaps rating more on the recent ratings and recent download trends.
Total download may also be a part - but I suspect user-preference for apps which already have 100K+ or 500K+ downloads as an indication of their stability/virus-free nature - may be one of the reasons why if any filip is gotten when apps cross the 100K+ or 500K+ mark.
After all 100K or 500K should not be relevant to smoothly varying algorithms - however the 100K+ and 500K+ etc. transitions ARE visible at the user end - since for the longest time the app will stay at 100K+ - then when it crosses that it starts being listed as 500K+ - so if there is any advantage to crossing those milestones - the changed user response to that number maybe a more likely source for higher downloads etc. …