Developers need to cross-publish their apps

Mobile developers are beginning to realize the need to publish their applications on multiple platforms to reach different audiences, drive downloads and increase revenues. Many of the industry's most successful app publishers make extensive use of this strategy; however, more developers should consider this approach, according to new research from Distimo.

The firm noted that there are 1.3 million applications available in the six leading app stores for U.S. mobile customers, but that inventory actually represents 980,000 titles. This means that each application is published, on average, 1.3 times.

The firm examined cross-publishing patterns for the top 300 apps in each of the leading app stores and found that the top apps make extensive use of cross-publishing opportunities. The top 10 cross-store publishers include Rovio Mobile, OMGPOP, Gameloft, Electronic Arts, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ; MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), SeptoLab, Disney and Adobe Systems. The app stores included in the study were the Apple App Stores for iPhone and iPad, the Amazon Appstore, BlackBerry App World, Google Play and Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.

Distimo found that some stores are more interconnected by cross-published titles than others. As would be expected, the study found a very high rate of cross-publishing between the Apple App Stores for iPhone and iPad: 75 percent of iPhone apps are also available for the iPad and 89 percent of iPad apps are also available for the iPhone. It found that about 33 percent of iPhone apps and 32 percent of iPad apps are also available through Google Play.

Distimo

Click here to zoom in on this chart from Distimo.

Google Play apps are cross-published equally to the Apple App Store for iPhone (37 percent) and Amazon Appstore (37 percent). Amazon Appstore products are most heavily cross-published to Google Play (59 percent), followed by the Apple App Store for iPhone (49 percent) and iPad (44 percent). BlackBerry App World and the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace are much less interconnected than the other stores.

For more:
- read the Distimo blog

Related articles:
Top 5 marketing tips for budget-conscious developers
Distimo: Amazon Appstore developer revenues exploding
Analysis: Cross-Platform Tools--100+ vendors in a crowded market