The Indus Appstore App Launch: What Developers and ASO Specialists Need to Know

The company PhonePe announced the launch of the new Indus Appstore platform, which can compete with Google Play due to beneficial opportunities for developers.

The new platform is not yet available to users, but developers can already upload their applications. The RadASO team analyzed the difference between Google Play and the Indus Appstore for developers and the main pros and cons of the new store.

Top-8 Main Features of the Indus Appstore

1. Availability. It was created in India for Indian developers. However, you can register and upload your app on the platform from any country.
2. It’s free. The registration on the platform is free, so any Android developer can log in and place several mobile apps individually or as a part of an organization.
3. Beneficial terms. As of October 2023, there is no commission for in-app transactions, which means that all profits from purchases are kept by the developers. For comparison, Google's commission is 15-30%.
4. Cost-effective. Developers won't pay a listing fee for the first year. Then there will be a "nominal" annual cost.
5. No additional development. Developers can upload the same app file to the Indus Appstore as they would in other stores. Common APK, AAB, and APKS file formats are supported. 
6. No language barriers within India. Free translation services are available for developers in 12 Indian languages:  Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Oriya, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese, and Urdu. Users will be able to use the new app store in their preferred Indian language out of the 12 available.
7. Not only screenshots. Developers have tools available to promote their mobile apps with videos.
8. Support. Local Indian support is available 24/7.

Find out more interesting facts about the Indus Appstore in our article Top-6 important facts about the new PhonePe Indus Appstore.

How to Upload the App on the Indus Appstore

1. Registration.

1.1 To create an account you need to fill in certain fields:

1.2 Confirm your email by clicking on the link in the letter that will be sent to the specified email.

1.3. Log in to your developer account. 

2. Uploading an app to the Indus Appstore includes the following steps:

2.1 Select List New App in your account:

2.2 Enter the name of the app, upload an icon, select the type of app, category, and age of users:

There are 37 categories available on the Indus Appstore (for comparison – there are 32 on Google Play). The new that is not available on Google Play are: 

• augmented reality;
• family;
• kids;
• watch apps;
• watch faces.

17 gaming categories are the same in both app stores.

2.3 Enter a short and a full description of the app, and upload screenshots:

2.4 Localization. At this stage, you can fill in a title, a short and full description of the app for 12 available English languages, and upload localized screenshots. You can request a free translation using the Indus Localization Support button:

2.5 Fill in the information about the developer and data security:

3. Upload the app.

4. Add video.

5. Verify the app (it will appear on the store then).

Main Differenced between the Indus Appstore and Google Play (main aspects for ASO specialists)

We’ll discuss below the requirements for metadata and graphics of the Indus Appstore, and the differences between them and Google Play terms.

Metadata

Use the most relevant keywords for the app in the Title. The name should reflect the core of the app, and describe its features and functions.

Short description – highlight the main advantages, benefits, and features of your app. 

Description – create the most detailed description of the app, conveying its main point to users. The description should be clear, precise, and correct in terms of the app's functions.

These three fields are indexed in Google Play. It remains to be determined how it is in the Indus Appstore and which fields have the greatest impact on rankings.

Comparison of the available number of characters in the fields in both stores:

Graphics

In addition to the textual description of the application, you have to upload graphic elements, including the icon and screenshots.

Icon

Choose an image that reveals the main point of the app at a glance. It has the maximum impact on conversion.

Screenshots

Screenshots are aspects, that impact the app conversion.  They should be high quality, informative, and represent the main functions and interface of the application.

The requirements of the stores to mobile applications differ slightly, but the Indus Appstore offers more flexible conditions for developers. It is still hard to predict whether the new store will become a worthy competitor for Google Play, at least for Indian developers. The RadASO company will continue to discover and analyze the new app store.