Having an app for your business is becoming more important, especially depending on your industry. The fact is that many users like to know that they can gain access to everything they need to interact with your business on a mobile app rather than having to use a mobile page on their smartphone or tablet.
If you have designed a business app, or are looking to design one, then Google’s Firebase is absolutely essential, and in our opinion as a marketing agency, the best out there.
What is Firebase?
Google’s Firebase is a mobile platform that lets you develop mobile apps. It is especially geared towards business apps, with the intention of helping businesses grow their user bases and increase their profits through their mobile apps. The screenshot from Google Firebase below shows just some of the features that are a part of Firebase, again, with the intention of developing, growing and earning:
Google Firebase Screenshot
Let’s look closer at four features that make this platform essential:
1. Incredibly Built-In Analytics
One of the best features of Firebase is the Analytics dashboard that it comes equipped with. It is free and has the capacity to report 500 event types, each with up to 25 attributes. The dashboard is really top notch for looking at user behavior and measuring various user attributions. Ultimately it helps you understand how people use your app so you can better optimize it in the future. You can learn more about the importance of app optimization here.
Key features:
- Unlimited Reporting. Firebase allows for reporting of 500 distinct events.
- Audience Segmentation. You can identify custom audiences can in the Firebase console based on device data, custom events, or user properties. Then you can use these audiences that you have specified with other Firebase features when targeting new features or notifications.
- Integration with Other Services. You can integrate Firebase with other services that your business app can utilize such as Big Query, Firebase CrashReporting, Firebase Notifications, Firebase Remote Configuration and Google Tag Manager.
Why is this so essential?
Firebase Analytics gives you undeniable insight into user behavior. You can use this knowledge to make informed decisions about how to market your app better and to reach out to the audiences that you want to target. The unique features it offers also allows you to analyze the performance of your campaigns across organic and paid channels to understand which methods are most effective in regards to the specific users that you want to reach.
2. App Development Made Easy
With Firebase, you can focus your time and attention on developing the best app(s) possible for your business. Since the operations and internal functions are so solid, and taken care of by the Firebase interface, you can spend more time developing the high quality app that users are going to want to use.
Some of the features you can develop include:
- Cloud Messaging: Deliver and receive messages in a more reliable way across platforms
- Authentication: Have a lot less friction with acclaimed authentication
- Hosting: Deliver web content faster
- Remote Configuration: Customize your app on the go
- Test Lab: Test in the lab instead of on your users
- Crash Reporting: Keep your app stable
- Realtime Database: Store and sync app data in realtime
- Storage: File storing made easy
3. Growth and User Engagement
One of the most important aspects of app development is being able to grow and engage with users over the course of time. Firebase has a lot of built in features to make sure this is exactly what you do. With the platform being geared towards business apps, this is really at the center of what makes Firebase so great.
Here are some of the user engagement aspects that make growth a piece of cake:
- AdWords. It is super easy to link AdWords, and with that you have the ability to segment and define your user base using Firebase Analytics. With this it is easy to improve your targeting in marketing ad campaigns. Some of the other benefits include conversion tracking, cross-network attribution network, and LTV (calculate Customer Lifetime Value).
- App Indexing. With app indexing you can work on aspects like re-engaging with your app, especially by surfacing in-app content within Google Search results. This will also help your app ranking overall in the Google Search results.
- Dynamic Links. Dynamic Links are smart URLs that dynamically change behavior to provide the best experience across different platforms. This allows app users to be taken directly to content of interest to them once they install the app – it doesn't matter if they are a totally new or a lifetime customer. You can see why this feature is awesome for making content easy and super relevant for all of your users.
- Invites. The perfect tool for referrals and sharing. Get your users to help grow your app (and business) through allowing your existing users easily share your app, or in-app content, via email or SMS. If you use this feature in conjunction with promotions you can also work towards gaining new customers and retaining your existing customers.
- Notifications. You can very easily manage notification campaigns, including having the ability to set and schedule messages in order to engage users at the right times of day. These notifications are totally free and unlimited for both Android and iOS. There is only one dashboard to worry about, and if you integrate with Firebase Analytics you can use a variety of user segmentation features.
4. Increase Your Earnings
Of course, the point of having an app or any other business strategy is to increase your earnings, and with the feature AdMob you can monetize your app while still considering the best possible experience for your users. By showing ads from millions of Google advertisers in real time, choosing a format to suit your app, and working with more than 40 top ad networks using AdMob Mediation you can be making app development well worth your while monetarily speaking. You can also cross-promote between your apps for free with AdMob house ads!
All the Information You Need
One of my favorite aspects of Firebase is that there is so much support no matter what system you are using to develop your app.
Develop App with Firebase
In addition to all of the incredible features we discussed, there is more than enough material to get you started on the path to success. The Documentation section of the Firebase page provides get started guides, reference pages, and samples so that you can make an even more informed decision before you begin or once you've gotten started.
As far as pricing goes, it’s an excellent deal. There are three levels of pricing, all of which have different services and extensions offered, but the mid-range option is only $25/month, with Spark being an option as free.
Google Firebase Pricing
Google Firebase: The Takeaway
If you have a business app or are considering starting one, look no further than Firebase. This interface literally has everything you could possibly need to start a successful business app or launch your current design forward in the right direction. Between analytics, development, growth, and money-making considerations, you are going to be set with this platform for a long time of continued success.
Does your business app currently use Firebase? What your experience been like? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.