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App Ratings
The numeric star ratings (1-5) that users leave on app store listings, serving as both a ranking signal and a critical conversion factor.
App ratings are the 1-5 star scores that users assign to your app. They appear prominently in search results and on your listing page, making them one of the most visible and influential elements of your App Store presence.
Ratings and Rankings
App store algorithms factor ratings into ranking calculations. Apps with higher average ratings and more total ratings tend to rank better for competitive keywords, all else being equal. A rating drop from 4.5 to 3.8 can cause measurable ranking declines.
Ratings and Conversion
Users check ratings before downloading. Research shows that apps below 4.0 stars experience significantly lower conversion rates. The threshold effect is most pronounced between 3.9 and 4.0, where a small rating improvement can produce a large conversion increase.
Managing Ratings
- Use
SKStoreReviewController(iOS) to prompt satisfied users at the right moment - Time prompts after positive experiences, not during onboarding or error states
- Fix bugs that generate negative ratings as quickly as possible
- Reset ratings when launching a major update (iOS allows this per version)
- Respond to negative reviews to show you care and sometimes prompt rating updates
Current vs All-Time Ratings
iOS shows the current version rating by default, with an option to see all-time. Google Play shows the all-time average. This means a bad app update can tank your visible rating on iOS quickly, but you can recover by resetting with the next version.