What is in an App Name: The change from Tripometer to Odometer+

Recently we made the decision to change the name of one of our apps, Tripometer. The reason for the change was to make the name more recognizable when users were searching in the App Store. The new name was Odometer+.

In order to change the name of an app, we are required to submit an app update. Along with the changed name we needed to add some extra features to warrant the "+" naming. We added a history view so that users could see their past trips, as well as a new landscape mode.

We also made sure to localize our app name and description for all available languages which is key in getting market share across the world.

Rankings

We have been thrilled with the success so far! Currently we are ranking #19 in the US Paid Navigation category, which is out of 5586 apps. We are also ranking in the Top 30 for Navigation in a total of 7 countries and ranked in the Top 400 in a total of 23 countries.

After changing the name over 2 weeks ago, our sales have risen over 10,000% and we are finally getting international sales.

Names Are Important

The single most important keyword for your app is the app name. If you are not a big name company that can put marketing dollars into pushing a cool name like Instagram, then you might be better off naming your app "Photo Share & Edit". We have seen direct proof of the app name importance and will be sure to use this for future apps.

Just be sure that you don't squat app names as this is against the developer agreement that you signed.

Can't wait to get back to creating some more cool apps! Stay tuned...