Having the right analytics tools to hand for your mobile app is crucial if you want to monitor performance, troubleshoot issues and optimize every aspect of your user experience.
There are plenty of solutions out there to achieve this, and so the challenge you’ll need to overcome is working out which tool is best for your needs.
To give you a helping hand, here are some factors to consider when weighing up mobile app analytics tools, particularly if you are interested in alternatives for Hotjar which go above and beyond what the most popular platform can offer.
Behavioral analysis features
One of the main reasons that mobile app analytics is appealing to developers is because modern tools allow them to delve into user behavior and get insights into whether or not a piece of software is being harnessed as intended.
This means that you need to look for services that can drill down into the different ways that users are engaging with your product, and leverage these findings to inform any changes you make.
From tracking how users navigate the different elements of an app, to checking up on how they use specific interface elements, to looking into the amount of time they spend with your software, a well-chosen tool will let you analyze the behavior of users in as many ways as possible.
Feedback facilities
It’s not always an issue to only rely on passively collected data on user behavior, but it can also be helpful to actively ask people what they think about your app to get feedback on where you are going right and what needs improving.
Some analytics tools will let you integrate surveys and user feedback forms as part of the app experience, which can in turn result in positive changes and streamlined decision-making on your part.
Reporting capabilities
It’s not just the type of data that’s collected, but how it is recorded and presented to you, which makes a difference regarding the quality of the mobile app analytics experience.
For example, you might find it handy to have access to a tool that can track event logs and even generate crash reports automatically, so that minor snafus and major issues alike are all noted and made accessible to you for review.
Visualizations also come into play here, as you want the analytical powers of the tool to go hand in hand with user-friendliness for you as a developer. If data is expressed visually in easy-to-digest formats, it will be all the better.
Real time functionality
Ideally your analytics tools won’t just be good for after-action reporting, but also for providing real time updates on how an app is performing from moment to moment.
This is obviously useful post-launch in the case that your software is offered as a live, online service. User satisfaction will stand or fall according to how well the app performs in this context, and being able to respond to issues on the fly, rather than only finding out about them later when you see a sudden dip in conversions, is clearly desirable.
Cost-effectiveness
It doesn’t matter if a mobile app analytics tool has every feature under the sun, because unless it is affordable and represents value for money for your needs, it won’t be suitable.
Thankfully because this marketplace is so competitive, as mentioned earlier, you can choose mainstream packages as well as up and coming alternatives and get a decent amount of bang for your buck, so long as you are willing to do your research and compare the pricing structures.
