@ CTIA: The Business Of Making An App Stand Out

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@ CTIA: The Business Of Making An App Stand Out

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Apple’s App Store is attracting thousands of new applications a month, and millions of downloads, but one of the biggest problems with that kind of growth is discoverability—the ability for customers to find what they are looking for, especially beyond the Top 20 lists. The challenge is not being overlooked by companies, which are seeing it as a new business opportunity. In fact, at least two companies at CTIA this week are announcing programs to help get products in front of customers.

AdMob, a mobile ad network, announced yesterday the “iPhone Download Exchange,” which allows application developers in AdMob’s ad network to allocate a portion of their ad inventory to an exchange to help each other drive downloads. The idea is for its network of companies to help drive traffic to each other through advertisements.

The second announcement is coming from Redmond, Wash.-based Mobui, a mobile app development agency. Today, it is unveiling “AppsWeLike,” a referral network that let’s iPhone developers and publishers recommend other iPhone apps. Mobui is providing the code, which can easily be inserted into any iPhone app, to anyone who wants to use it for free.

Developers have incentive to use the code because when consumers download an app from a recommended list, they get a commission through the iTunes referral program, which equals to 5 percent of the retail price. At this time, Mobui does not intend on taking a cut, although that could change. CEO John Burry said his clients, which include Viacom (NYSE: VIA) and TiVo (NSDQ: TIVO) among others, were looking for a way to promote its own family of applications. He said a free application could have the feature and still potentially have a revenue stream.

By Tricia Duryee