The role of mobile apps in digital marketing

A mobile app gives your business a direct line to your most loyal customers: a spot on their home screen where they can order, book, track, collect rewards and get help, plus push notifications that reach them on their phone. That’s why apps can play a key role in digital marketing. But an app only pays off when people find it useful enough to keep, so it’s worth planning carefully.

This guide covers when an app makes sense, how it compares with a progressive web app, and how to get the most out of it.

App or progressive web app?

A native app is built for iPhone and Android and installed from the App Store or Google Play. You get a store listing people can discover, the fullest access to phone features and the smoothest performance for complex experiences. It also means building for two platforms (or using a cross-platform framework), passing store review and keeping up with platform updates.

A progressive web app (PWA) is a website built with modern web technologies so it behaves like an app. People can install it on their home screen, it opens in its own window, it can work offline and it can send push notifications. It runs from one codebase, updates without app store review and can be found through search engines like any website. On iPhone and iPad, web apps added to the Home Screen have been able to receive push notifications since iOS 16.4, and since iOS 26, sites added to the Home Screen open as web apps by default.

A simple rule of thumb: if customers deal with you occasionally, a fast, responsive website or a PWA is usually enough. If they’d use you every week, to reorder, book, check an account or collect loyalty rewards, a native app can earn its place on the home screen.

How to get the most out of your app

An app can boost your marketing and help your business grow, as long as you treat it as a product with a strategy, not a one-off project.

1. Use customer data to make better decisions

Your app shows how customers actually behave: which features they use, where they get stuck and what keeps them coming back. In-app analytics let your marketing and sales teams spot trends over time and shape better offers and campaigns. Connect that data to your other systems, such as your CRM, so everyone works from the same picture.

Collect only what you need and keep it secure: people share more readily with businesses they trust.

2. Make it easy for customers to reach you

An app lets customers connect with your business wherever they are, without having to look you up each time. A well-presented store listing can also introduce you to new people browsing for apps like yours.

Your website still does most of the work of being found in search. Google indexes the mobile version of websites, so make sure your site is fast and mobile-friendly before you invest in an app.

3. Optimise your app store listing

App store optimisation (ASO) helps people find your app and decide to install it.

• Name and subtitle. On the App Store, the app name and subtitle can each be up to 30 characters. On Google Play, the app name can be up to 30 characters and the short description up to 80.
• Keywords and description. Apple gives you a 100-character keyword field, and Google Play allows a full description of up to 4,000 characters. Write naturally: both stores’ rules prohibit misleading or repetitive keywords.
• Screenshots and video. Show the app doing its job. On the App Store, your first screenshots can appear in search results, so lead with your strongest.
• Ratings and reviews. Ask happy users for a rating at a natural moment, and reply to reviews, especially the critical ones.
• Testing. Apple’s product page optimisation and Google Play’s store listing experiments let you A/B test parts of your listing, such as the icon and screenshots. Both stores also let you create custom listings for different audiences or campaigns.

4. Use push notifications with care

Push notifications are an effective way to remind people about your app and tell them about new deals, products and services. They appear on the lock screen or in the notification centre, and users can turn them off, which gives them more control than website pop-ups do.

Permission comes first: on iPhone, and on Android since version 13, people decide whether each app can send them notifications. Ask at the right moment, with a clear reason: “Turn on notifications to know when your order is ready” makes more sense than a request the moment the app opens, and Android’s own guidance recommends asking in context.

Then treat notifications like any other marketing content:

• Keep the wording short and specific.
• Time them well and don’t send too many. Frequent or irrelevant notifications are a fast way to get your app muted or deleted.
• Let people choose what they hear about, such as order updates, offers or news.
• Test and measure them, as you would an email campaign.

5. Respect privacy

Privacy rules shape app marketing. Since iOS 14.5, Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) has required apps to ask permission before tracking people across apps and websites owned by other companies or accessing the device’s advertising identifier. Apps can’t hold back features from people who say no. Apple’s user privacy and data use guidance explains the rules.

Both stores also show privacy details on your listing: the privacy information on the App Store and the Data safety section on Google Play, which developers must complete. Make sure those disclosures match what your app really does, including any third-party tools built into it. Explain your data use in plain language, and check your obligations under Australian privacy law.

6. Focus on long-term metrics

A spike in downloads at launch feels like success, but what matters is whether people keep using the app weeks and months later. Track retention, active users and repeat purchases, not just installs.

Plan for the long haul. Ask customers what they need before you build, launch with the essentials and keep a clear, realistic roadmap for the months and years ahead. Even big brands don’t get everything right at launch, so keep listening and improving.

7. Make signing up and using it simple

This is the basic step many businesses miss, and it can undo everything else. Let people explore before you ask them to create an account, keep sign-up short and make every screen clear, including the settings.

Sign-in with Google or Facebook can speed things up. If you use one of these for people’s main account, Apple’s App Review Guidelines require iPhone apps to also offer an equivalent login option that collects only a name and email address, lets people keep their email private and doesn’t track them for advertising without consent.

Design for every screen size and for accessibility. Before launch, hand your prototype to people who have never seen it: if they struggle with something, your customers will too.

Why is an app important for your business?

1. Better, faster service

An app lets you respond to customers quickly, whether that’s confirming a booking, updating an order or answering a question.

2. Customer loyalty

Apps are a natural home for loyalty programs, saved preferences and easy reordering. Features like product reviews or a store locator add value, and the more useful the app, the more often customers return.

3. Convenience

Every customer needs to contact you at some point. With an app, they can check availability, prices or order status without calling, which is easier for them and saves your team time.

4. Visibility on the home screen

An app icon on someone’s home screen is a quiet daily reminder of your brand. That only lasts while the app stays useful, though: people keep the apps they use and delete the rest.

5. A direct marketing channel

Push notifications let you announce new arrivals, send reminders and share offers at the right moment, without depending on a social media algorithm. Your app works best alongside channels like email marketing, while paid campaigns such as Facebook ads can help people discover it in the first place.

Whether you need a native app, a progressive web app or a faster mobile website first, we can help you work out what fits and build it. See our websites and digital systems service.