Mobile App KPIs: Top 12 Metrics to Measure App Performance

Application performance metrics are important tools that help us measure and understand the performance of our applications. By tracking these metrics, we can identify areas of improvement and take steps to optimize our applications for better performance.

Moreover, it also helps decipher the extent to which a digital solution is helping a business succeed and perform. Measuring the metrics with KPI measurement tools allows a business to find out where new improvements are needed. As a result, it becomes super important for any business to have the requisite tools for measuring application’s performance and creating a plan to improve the outcome.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the most important performance metrics and how to track them.

Must Read: Have a Look at The Top Mobile App Development Tools Before you Build your Next Application

12 KPI Measurement Tools for an App’s Performance Analysis

We will divide the most important metrics your business needs into three segments;

1. UX and Performance Metrics
2. Engagement-Related Metrics
3. Revenue-Related Metrics

Let’s go through the most important mobile app performance metrics in each segment.

UX and Performance Metrics

UX or user experience is one of the most important aspects of an application giving the end-users a memorable experience. Having the right UX system in the application means you will be able to impress your end-users and customers easily, allowing them to engage with your application easily.

The right UX structure and system allows an application to have better performance metrics in terms of engagement. Here are the most important KPI measurement tools for UX and Performance metrics. 

• Page Load Speed

  Page load speed is the amount of time it takes for a web page to load. This is important because a slow page load can frustrate users and cause the visitors to bounce off to another application or website. Think with Google says that the app load time can slow down or grow a business. A one-second delay in page loading can impact the conversion rate by up to 20%. There are a few things that can impact page load speed, such as the size of the page, the number of elements on the page, and the server speed.

  So, you need to work on reducing the amount of time it takes before the application is ready for the user to interact. Not every user will have the patience to let the page load via its course. Hence, ensuring that your application has the best page load speed is essential.

  To measure the page load speed, a quick way is to use Firebase. Here, you will get the page load speed and also a comparison with the page load speed in the past. With this information, you can analyze the impact of new components, media, etc., added to the application.

• Screen Dimensions and Resolutions

  The screen dimension and resolutions KPI measurement tools provide the users with a better idea of what needs to be tested. In other words, knowing the screen resolution and dimension of the devices where the application will be used gives a better idea of how to fine-tune the settings.

  Knowing the screen sizes, dimensions, and resolutions gives you the ability to test the performance and ensure the highest quality assurance. This makes the entire development process more focused. However, a challenge here is the sheer number of Android devices and screen sizes. Even the best mobile app developers will find it challenging to test the app’s performance under this metric for all variations of Android devices. Testing the application for an iPhone is relatively easier.

• Operating Systems and Devices

  In this metric, you will find out the devices and operating systems that your target audience is using. The reason to identify this metric is two fold;

  • You will get to know how many people are using Android, iOS, and other types of operating systems. As a result, you can create the application in a way to impress and engage with all types of users.
  • Knowing the percentage of people using one type of operating system and device, you can better adjust the quality of the product to deliver the intended outcome. This allows the developers and designers to satisfy the requirements and preferences of the majority of the users.

  You can understand this KPI measurement tool with session recordings. These are the recordings of thousands of users using the application. You can filter the recordings according to the operating system and determine the performance.

• Crash Reports

  Operating systems are not supposed to crash, but at times, they do because of a wide range of reasons. These crash reports can prove to be one of the best mobile app performance metrics, allowing developers to assess the build quality of the application and make improvements accordingly.

  Some reasons for a crash include product complexity, unexpected user actions, a specific component underperforming, etc. When you generate a crash report, it will specifically notify the exact time of the crash, the problem it caused, and the problem area. Using this information, the mobile app developers team can make improvements in the problem areas and make the process smoother.

Engagement-Related Metrics

User engagement is another crucial element of a mobile application used by developers to assess performance and other aspects. Studying engagement helps developers understand how a user interacts with the application and whether they like interacting with it or not. Moreover, engagement is closely related to retention. Higher engagement means better retention rates. So, a mobile app development company focuses on mobile app performance metrics, including;

• Session Length 

  One session refers to the time a user spends on the application to perform the required actions. A session starts when the user begins using the application and ends when there is no activity for a specific time period. Longer session lengths mean the application is better as compared to shorter session lengths.

  In addition to session length, developers also check session depth. This tells how closely a user gets to the intended action. So, if the user is engaging with a marketplace application like Amazon, the developers at Amazon will check how close a user gets to making the purchase.

  The data and measurements for these KPIs are accessible from Google Analytics.

• Churn Rate

  Another good KPI measurement tool is the churn rate. This is the rate describing the number of users abandoning the application after initial usage. The motive is to keep this number as low as possible. There are several reasons users won’t engage with your application, including;

  • Application crashes or lag in performance.
  • A limited number of updates
  • Lack of gamification, which is becoming a general trend today.
  • Navigating the application is a bit challenging.

  All these issues can lead to a decrease in user engagement as the application is not providing the desired value to the users. As you measure the app’s performance with KPIs like churn rate, it shines a light on the core issues that need to be corrected. To calculate the churn rate, divide the number of customers by the number of churns.

• Retention Rate

  Retention rate is the number of users that come back to the application after using it for the first time. A higher retention rate means more people are using the application, which translates to a higher value provided to the users.

  You can find the retention rate by dividing the number of monthly active users by the number of application installs.

• Number of Active Users

  Every mobile app developers team needs to take into account three types of users;

  • Daily Active Users: This refers to the total number of mobile users that are logging into the application every day.
  • Weekly Active Users: This represents the number of users that log into the application every week or during a specific week.
  • Monthly Active Users: MAU is the number of people logging into the application in a month.

  The key here is to work in a way that these three metrics are increasing. A business owner will always want more users engaging with their application and ultimately reduce the cost of customer acquisition.

Revenue-Related Metrics

Another segment of KPI measurement tools you need to consider is related to the revenue earned. When building and managing an application, everything is not about money, but money is an important part of the process. Hence, we have a few revenue-related metrics that even the best mobile app developers cannot ignore to consider to measure performance and results. 

• Average Revenue Per User

  ARPU represents the average amount of value or cash generated by every user engaging with the application. The revenue is no just considered in terms of the in-app purchases; it also includes ad impressions, clicks, subscriptions, downloads (paid), and other forms of monetization.

  When you multiply the ARPU with the total number of users using the application, you will get a rough idea of the application value and the importance of the users. To calculate the ARPU, you can divide the number of users from lifetime revenue.

• Time to First Purchase

  This KPI measures the amount of time it takes for a user to make their first purchase through the application. It can be a product that they are buying or taking a premium subscription or something that involves the user paying money to the business for the first time.

  Business owners need to implement strategies targeting a reduction in this time. The better they are able to work and achieve the goal, the better it is for them to gain more traction.

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

  The cost of acquiring new customers is another mobile app performance metrics businesses consider. It is the money businesses spend on advertising to get new customers or users for their applications. In addition to the costs involved, this metric also considers the time required to acquire new customers.

  To identify the CAC, we need to divide the gross revenue in a given time period by the sales and costs (marketing) involved in the process during the same time period.

  The key is to implement measures that lead to a reduction in the CAC and increase the number of customers coming to the application.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

  This shows the magnitude of revenue mobile application users have brought to the business throughout the time they are using the application. This is one the most comprehensive KPI measurement tools developers and businesses use. With this number, you can identify the loyalty of a customer and help you determine the loyal customer base.

  Once you have the list of loyal customers, it becomes easier to target them with more personalized techniques and provide targeted benefits. To identify the CLV of a customer, multiply the profit per year with the average duration of the relationship with a customer.

Conclusion

All the mobile application KPI measurement tools are crucial for business owner and mobile application developers. These inform and convey the business owners how well their application is performing and what more they need to do to see a desirable change in the metrics. Some metrics warrant the mobile app developers team to improve the application’s structure, configuration, etc. while others inspire businesses to implement new marketing methods.

Overall, the impact a KPI has on a business owner and in decision-making is significant. These are the KPIs for app store optimization, to check the performance, to know the costs, revenue, and much more. As long as you understand the areas these KPIs measure and impact, it is easier to devise targeted strategies for seeing the intended change.