App cross-promotion uses one app's audience to grow another, either within your own portfolio or through partnerships with complementary apps. It works best when the promoted app genuinely fits the audience, appears at a natural moment, and uses native placements rather than intrusive ads. Measure installs, retention, and any impact on the source app's engagement, and follow store policies on ads, incentives, and links.
Why cross-promotion works
Users who already trust one app are more receptive to related apps from the same developer or a trusted partner. Cross-promotion reaches relevant audiences at low cost, especially for publishers with several apps or games. It also strengthens portfolios: a user who installs two of your apps is often more valuable than two separate users.
For small developers, partnerships with complementary apps offer free reach. A recipe app and a grocery list app, or a running app and a nutrition app, serve overlapping users with different needs. Featuring each other benefits both when the fit is genuine.
Promoting your own portfolio
Publishers with multiple apps can promote them in natural places: a more apps section in settings, contextual suggestions when a user needs something the other app provides, or interstitials between game sessions for game portfolios. On iOS, the SKOverlay and SKStoreProductViewController APIs let users view and install another app without leaving yours.
Prioritize relevance over volume. Promoting every app to every user feels like spam and can hurt engagement. Use user data to suggest the app most likely to help each user, and limit how often promotions appear.
Partner cross-promotion
Find partners with overlapping audiences and similar quality standards. Agree on placements, timing, and measurement, such as a featured spot in each other's apps, newsletters, or social channels. Partnerships work best when both sides send similar value, or when one side receives payment or other benefits.
Make sure partners' privacy and data practices are acceptable to you, and avoid sharing user data without consent. Clear agreements prevent misunderstandings about placements and duration.
Placement and creative
Native placements, such as a recommendation card that matches your app's design, usually perform better and annoy users less than full-screen ads. Explain why the promoted app is relevant: Plan meals with our grocery list app is more persuasive than a generic banner.
Use deep links or store links that open the promoted app's store page or, if installed, the app itself. Our deep linking guide explains how. Make sure the destination store listing is strong, because cross-promotion traffic still needs to convert; see app store conversion rate optimization.
Store policies and user trust
Follow store rules on advertising, incentives, and links. Apps should not require users to install other apps to use features, and should not reward users for installing other apps in ways that breach policy. Apple's guidelines restrict apps that primarily promote other apps, and Google's policies govern ads and disruptive behavior.
Respect user experience. Promotions that interrupt key tasks, appear too often, or mislead users can lower ratings and engagement in the source app. Treat cross-promotion as a recommendation, not an ad blast.
Measure impact on both apps
Track installs from cross-promotion with campaign links, and compare retention and value of cross-promoted users with other sources. Also measure the source app: did engagement, retention, or revenue drop because of the promotion? A promotion that wins installs but hurts the source app may not be worth it.
Use holdout groups to measure true impact where possible. Our guide to attribution and organic uplift explains how to estimate incremental effects honestly.
Cross-promotion for game portfolios
Game publishers use cross-promotion heavily, because players who enjoy one game often try another in a similar genre. Common placements include end-of-level screens, reward offers for trying a new game, and a games tab in settings. Rewards must follow store rules, and promotions should never block gameplay or feel like forced ads.
Match genres and audiences carefully: a puzzle player is more likely to try another puzzle game than a strategy title. Measure the effect on session length and retention in the source game as well as installs of the promoted game. Our guide to mobile game ASO covers the wider growth picture for games, and hyper-casual and hybrid-casual game ASO covers genres where portfolios are common.
Common cross-promotion mistakes
Promoting irrelevant apps to everyone is the most common mistake, producing low installs and user annoyance. Another is placing promotions in disruptive spots, such as during onboarding or key tasks. Some publishers also forget to measure the effect on the source app.
Partner swaps can fail when audiences do not actually overlap or when one partner sends much less traffic than promised. Finally, weak destination listings waste cross-promotion traffic.
A worked example: a fitness publisher's portfolio
A publisher has a running app, a yoga app, and a nutrition app, each promoted separately. It adds contextual cross-promotion: after a user finishes a long run, the running app suggests a short recovery yoga session from the yoga app, opened through an in-app store overlay.
Cross-promoted users retain better than users from paid campaigns, and the running app's engagement does not drop. The publisher also partners with a sleep app for a newsletter swap. Portfolio installs grow, and users with two or more apps generate significantly more revenue.
How to do it, step by step
- Map audience overlapIdentify which of your apps or partners serve overlapping users with complementary needs.
- Design contextual placementsChoose natural moments and native formats for recommendations.
- Use in-app store views and deep linksLet users view or open the promoted app without friction.
- Agree on partner termsDefine placements, timing, measurement, and data practices with partners.
- Measure both sidesTrack installs and retention of promoted users and the source app's engagement, using holdouts.
Before and after examples
Illustrative examples written for a generic app in this category, not client results. Swap in your own product, audience, and data.
Full-screen ad for all apps on every launch.
After a long run: Recover faster with a 10-minute yoga session.
Why it works: Context and relevance raise installs without annoying users.
Link to the browser store page.
In-app store overlay that lets users install without leaving.
Why it works: Lower friction improves conversion.
Swap with any app willing to trade.
Swap with a nutrition app whose users overlap and share quality standards.
Why it works: Audience fit drives results.
Action plan
- Promote only relevant apps
- Use contextual, native placements
- Use in-app store views and deep links
- Follow store policies on ads and incentives
- Measure installs and source app impact
- Choose partners with genuine audience overlap
Metrics to monitor
- Cross-promotion installs
- Retention of cross-promoted users
- Source app engagement change
- Users with multiple portfolio apps
- Partner traffic balance
Record the baseline, release date, audience, markets, and external changes before interpreting movement. Rankings and conversion are useful signals, but a decision is stronger when activation, retention, and business value confirm that the page attracted the right users.
Frequently asked questions
What is app cross-promotion?
Using one app's audience to promote another app, either within your own portfolio or through partnerships.
Is cross-promotion allowed by app stores?
Yes, within advertising and incentive rules. Do not require installs to access features or reward installs in ways that breach policy.
How do I cross-promote apps on iOS?
Use native placements and Apple's SKOverlay or SKStoreProductViewController to show the other app's store page inside your app.
Does cross-promotion hurt the source app?
It can if promotions are disruptive or irrelevant. Measure the source app's engagement and retention, and use holdouts.
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