Getting featured on Android Market boosts RunKeeper app’s downloads by 637 percent

Have you ever wondered just how much being highlighted as a “Featured” application in any given category within the Android Market increases downloads for an app? According to one developer’s account, being featured could provide more than a 600 percent increase to daily average downloads.

The developer’s of the free fitness-tracking app “RunKeeper” were more than pleased to find out their app was featured in the Health and Fitness category of the Android Market. According to RunKeeper’s blog, the news came at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and three days later the app experienced a 637 percent increase in daily app downloads. It also catapulted from the mid 20s to No. 3 within the Health and Fitness category, and it currently ranks No. 288 in the Market as a whole.

According to Google Product Manager for Android Market Fernando Delgado, Google has a “team of editors and category managers that proactively look at new apps being released on Android Market. If an app is determined to have high potential, it is thoroughly reviewed to make sure it meets the high bar for being featured.”