Marketing your App to stand out in the App Catalog
The App Catalog user base is limited to members of the public safety community -- first responders such as police officers, EMTs, firefighters, state and federal agencies. So you will want to target these specialized users with a different marketing strategy than you would use in a traditional app store such as the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Stand out in the App Catalog.
Distinguish your app within the App Catalog with its specific relevance to the public safety community from the beginning. You’ll drive adoption by the public safety community. And beat the rush of developers across the nation who will soon begin to fill the App Catalog with their public safety solutions.
Leverage search engine optimization (SEO).
The App Catalog search engine searches several fields for the search terms. By inputting strategic metadata into your submission, App Catalog users will more easily find your app that is relevant to their line of work. Our search engine searches the following fields:
- App name
- Short description
- Long description
- Search keywords
Good example of SEO strategy.
When entering the metadata associated with your app, strike a balance between writing engaging, targeted descriptions and including popular search terms:
Long Description: “Keep your community safe with the new and improved First Responder Alert app! If there is a fire, earthquake, tornado, or other public safety incident, alert the first responder community in your area by sending a text right from your phone! Alerts will be sent to the fire and police stations in your area!”
Bad example of SEO strategy.
Bad SEO techniques such as keyword stuffing will actually lead to increased visibility of your app in search results, but will then disincline the user to interact with your content and find information that may convince them to download your app.
Long Description: “public safety community, first responder, fire, police station, earthquake, tornado, disaster, incident, response”
Make filters work for you.
The homepage of the App Catalog allows users to choose four filters (from the following selections of Categories and Branches/Disciplines) that curate their App Catalog experience:
- Categories
- Public Safety (Communication) Tools
- Device Security
- Secure Connections
- Cloud Solutions
- CAD Solutions
- Video Surveillance
- In Building Coverage & Mapping
- Situational Awareness & Detection
- Cyber Security & Fraud Detection
- Forensic Intelligence
- Public Safety Community
- Branches/Disciplines
- Wellness and Safety
- Law Enforcement
- Fire and Rescue
- Emergency Management
- Hazmat
- Dispatch
- Critical Infrastructure
- Platform (desktop only)
- iOS™
- Android™
- Device Type (mobile/tablet only)
- Mobile
- Tablet
In your app submission, be sure to tactically select which Categories and Branches/Disciplines are appropriate for your app.
We recommend selecting up to three relevant Categories and 3 relevant Branches/Disciplines.
A good example would be:
Category: Cloud Solutions, Video Surveillance, In Building Coverage & Mapping
Branch/discipline: Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, Critical Infrastructure
Poor examples would be:
- Selecting too many. More than three unrelated Categories and Branches/Disciplines will yield your app in many search results, but it is unlikely that users will click on the App Summary Card from the search page to navigate to the App Details page.
Category: Public Safety (Communication) Tools, Secure Connections, Cloud Solutions, CAD Solutions, Situational Awareness & Detection, Cyber Security & Fraud Detection, Forensic Intelligence, Public Safety Community
Branch/discipline: Law Enforcement, Fire and Rescue, Emergency Management, Dispatch, Critical Infrastructure
- Selecting too few. Selecting only one, or too few, Categories and Branches/Disciplines will not expose your app to enough potential users.
Category: Forensic Intelligence
Branch/discipline: Emergency Management