web-presence

# Web Presence Every app has a public web page at `apps.apple.com` that ranks in Google — most developers never work that surface. Pair it with an owned landing page and the deal-site ecosystem and the open web becomes a free acquisition channel that compounds with everything on-store. ## When This Skill Activates - "Make my app findable on Google" / no results for the app's own name - Building or reviewing a product landing page - Planning a temporary price drop or sale - The store-growth audit flags P6.6 (web presence) or P7.5 (deal sites) ## Surface 1: The apps.apple.com page is a Google citizen The store page's Google snippet draws from your **app name, subtitle, and description opening** — one more reason the first description paragraph must be benefit-led plain language (see `app-store/app-description-writer`). - ✅ Search your app's name + category terms on Google periodically; if the store page doesn't rank for your own brand, something is wrong (usually a generic name — see `product/app-namer`). - ✅ Ratings, price, and In-App Purchase labels appear in the snippet — per-storefront ratings mechanics apply (`app-store/ratings-mechanics`). - ❌ Treating the store URL as un-shareable internal plumbing. It's often your best-ranking page; link to it from everywhere (with `?pt=` provider token for attribution where you need source data). ## Surface 2: An owned landing page + Smart App Banner One page, one job: convert a web visitor into a store visitor. - Structure: name + one-line promise → 2–3 screenshots or a short capture → social proof → a prominent **Download on the App Store** badge (Apple's official artwork, linked with your attribution token). - **Smart App Banner** — one meta tag; Safari renders a native install/open banner: ```html <meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=YOUR_APP_ID, app-argument=https://yourapp.com/from-web"> ``` ✅ The banner shows **Open** for installed users — deep-linking into the app, down to specific in-app content via `app-argument` — and **View** for everyone else, opening the App Store in one tap. ❌ Custom "download our app" interstitials — the native banner already does this for free. - **App Store Marketing Tools** (tools.applemediaservices.com) — use for referral links, QR codes, and localized badge assets instead of hand-rolling them. - The landing page is also where pre-launch waitlists live (TestFlight public link — see `product/beta-testing`) and where press/link-in-bio traffic should land, because you can measure it before it enters the store funnel. - App Clips can front the landing page with an instant experience (`generators/app-clip`). ## Surface 3: The deal-site ecosystem Deal aggregators scrape App Store price drops automatically — no submission needed, just drop the price. Price drop → aggregator listing → download spike → **chart climb** → organic downloads that outlive the sale. Velocity is the product; the discounted revenue is the cost of the campaign. - ✅ Drop meaningfully (50%+ or free-for-a-day reads as a deal; 10% doesn't scrape well). - ✅ Time drops to compound: with an in-app event, a seasonal moment, or the announced On-Sale badge surface (see `generators/in-app-events`), and have the next release ready so climbers land on a fresh listing. - ✅ Prompt for ratings during the spike window — sale users rate too, and the count sticks after prices recover. - ❌ Permanent-discount theater (always "90% off") — scrapers and users both learn to ignore it, and review teams notice manipulated anchor pricing. - ❌ Dropping the price of a subscription app's *download* — use offer codes instead (`generators/offer-codes-setup`). ## Output Format Audit report: ``` Google: brand query rank · store-page snippet quality (name/subtitle/desc opener) Landing page: live? banner tag? attribution token? waitlist path? Deal readiness: pricing model compatible? last drop + result? next planned window? ``` Each gap routed: copy fixes → `app-store/app-description-writer`; page build → this skill; price-drop plan → this skill + `monetization` pricing. ## References - https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/promoting-apps-with-smart-app-banners - https://developer.apple.com/app-store/marketing/guidelines/ - https://tools.applemediaservices.com/ (official badges & link builder) - Related skills: `app-store/app-description-writer`, `generators/app-clip`, `product/beta-testing`, `generators/offer-codes-setup`, `growth/store-growth-audit`