Explore was crafted to simplify competitive analysis and provide detailed insights into the app ecosystem. By providing a unified dashboard on all potential aspects of why an app is growing or declining, it removes the challenges of fragmented competitor analysis faced by ASO and UA professionals. With features like customizable competitive sets, time-frame selection and multi-platform analysis, you can conduct an analysis per storefront to understand competitive strategies and app performance metrics.

This article will guide you through how to use and benefit from Compass Explore, let’s dive deeper!

Explore is the main page you land on when you enter the MobileAction platform. The screenshot below shows the upper part of Explore, where you choose the app you want to explore in depth, along with its competitors. Let’s take a look at what each section does.

1: This section allows you to search for any app you want. This app will serve as your main app while using Explore, but you can change it at any time.

2: In the second section, you select competitors for your main app. You can add multiple competitors for comparison. To add new competitors, click the '+' button and search for any app you like. The algorithm will also suggest a few apps that could enhance your competitor list. Keep in mind that you can easily remove a competitor app by clicking on the + button here and deselecting the apps selected. Also, next to the country dropdown, you’ll see a dropdown named “All Competitors.” Clicking on it and then clicking on the “Add New” button will let you segment your competitors into cohorts.

3: As previously mentioned, Explore serves as the main comparison page for various tools and features within MobileAction. It provides a summary and an overview. Since it covers multiple tools, you can navigate easily using this third section. Clicking on the tool of your choice will direct you to that tool’s specific area within Explore.

4: The final section lets you control the visibility of your competitors. You can choose which competitors you previously selected will be displayed and in what order. You can add new competitors with the '+' button, and adjust the display settings using the small blue selection tool.

When you scroll down, the first section you’ll see is Category Ranking.

1- This area allows you to select the date range for the comparison in the category ranking section.

2- In the second area, you can choose between viewing the daily rankings or the ranking history chart.

In the table, you can see the category of the selected apps, their category rankings, overall rankings, whether they have increased or decreased, and their visibility score. Using the small navigation icon next to the tool's name, you can easily navigate to the specific Category Rankings tool under App Intelligence.

Scroll further and you’ll see the Review & Rating section.

In this section, you can view the reviews and ratings of the app you selected, along with its competitors. This feature is helpful for comparing user reviews across all chosen competitors at once. Instead of comparing just two apps, you can see the ratings of all the apps you selected in the same section. You can also adjust the date range as needed. For more detailed information on ratings and reviews, the small navigation icon next to the tool's name will direct you to the Reviews tool.

Next up, we have the App Update Timeline.

The App Update Timeline section displays all the updates within the selected time period for the apps you’ve chosen. It’s particularly useful for viewing them all at once in a calendar view. Each green dot represents an update on that specific day, and by hovering over it, you can see the update details. This section allows you to easily track important updates from your competitors and compare them with your own. You can also adjust the date range as needed. For more detailed information on updates, the small navigation icon next to the tool's name will direct you to the specific App Update Timeline page.

You’ll see the Creative Explorer section next.

Here, you can view the icons, screenshots, preview videos, and in-app events of the selected apps all together. This makes comparison easier and faster, as you can assess the creative assets of multiple apps at once. For more detailed information on creatives, the small navigation icon next to the tool's name will direct you to the specific Creative Asset Hub page.

Search Ads Intelligence is the following feature of the Explore tool.

This section provides a brief overview of the paid impressions and custom product page analysis. You can review the paid impression shares for keywords of the selected apps, as well as the performance of their custom product pages. It shows the impression shares for each keyword and custom product page, along with any increases or decreases and their corresponding amounts. For more detailed insights on paid keywords or custom product pages, the small navigation icon next to the tool's name will direct you to the Search by App tool in Search Ads Intelligence or CPP Intelligence.

Next section you’ll see when you scroll down is Brand Protection.

The Brand Protection section allows you to view the rankings of your competitors for the brand keywords of the main app you've selected. You can also track whether their rankings have increased or decreased. This section is available for both paid and organic rankings.

Following Brand Protection, you’ll see the App Visibility section.

This next section is for visibility and localization performance comparison, where you can either compare the visibility scores of the selected apps in a map view, track their historical visibility over a specific time period, or evaluate their localization efforts. By hovering over each chart, you can see the details related to each analysis.

After App Visibility, you’ll find the Market Trends section.

This section displays the estimated download and revenue numbers for each app, along with any increases or decreases. Since you can view all the selected apps simultaneously, there's no need to check them individually. For more detailed information on market trends, when you click on the small navigation icon next to the tool's name, it will direct you to Market Trends.

Next up, you’ll see Featuring Analysis.

This section shows how many times the apps you've selected were featured in the Featured Apps section during a specific time period. For more detailed information on featured placements, the small navigation icon next to the tool's name will direct you to the Featured Apps tool.

Following Featuring Analysis, you’ll see the Ad Intelligence section.

This section provides an overview of the paid campaign creatives for the selected apps, with three options: you can choose to view new creatives, best-performing creatives, or an advertiser summary. You'll see the creative itself, its media type, the ad networks used, impression shares, durations (how many days they have been or were active), and their status (live or archived).

After exploring Ad Intelligence, the next section is Metadata.

This section shows the character count of the metadata for the selected apps, allowing you to analyze their titles, subtitles, and descriptions separately.

As for the final section, you’ll see App Details.

This section basically provides the app details of each app you added to the comparison, from their version to their size. Click on the arrow icon to be redirected to the App Profile tool for an in-depth analysis of each app.

Compass Explore also generates a detailed PDF report that you can easily share with your team to facilitate straightforward reporting of the process. Simply click the PDF button to obtain an easy-to-read analysis report in seconds.

This was a brief explanation of Explore and how to use it! If you have further questions, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager or contact the support team via Intercom!