Mobile app development is on the rise, and there is no stopping it, perhaps, as a result of an increase in the number of device users, which has now reached 3.7 billion. To date, around 5 million mobile apps are available, with tons more in the works.

Even so, engagement seems elusive, as only 32% of users use an app more than 10 times before losing interest. How then can app developers compete for users’ attention and increase engagement?

Location intelligence may be the answer. And in this post, we’ll touch briefly on what the said intelligence is and how it can increase mobile app engagement through push notifications.

What Is Location Intelligence?

Location intelligence is a type of business intelligence that derives useful insights from consumer geographical data to address a wide array of challenges. These challenges include increasing revenue, expanding client bases, and understanding the market.

In general, location intelligence helps organizations better shape their marketing and advertising strategies, demographic targeting efforts, market research endeavors and a lot more.

When we zoom in to the mobile app industry, the said intelligence helps developers and marketers utilize user movements and location data to provide more targeted and personalized experience.

One tool that app developers can get location data from is an IP Geolocation API. It has obtained location intelligence from different entities and processes, including:

• Domain WHOIS data from relevant providers
• Regional Internet registries and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
• Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) feeds from large Internet service providers (ISPs)

Aside from the sources listed above, the API also gets location data by analyzing latency information (i.e., how long it takes for a packet from one location to reach its destination IP address).

Putting Location Intelligence to Practice with Push Notifications

One means to improve mobile app engagement is by using push notifications. Unlike email notifications, users can read push notifications instantly, even without unlocking their phones, as these pop up on their lock screens.

As 76% of app users between 18 and 34 years old enable push notifications on their phones, this messaging method is an effective way for developers to communicate with them even if they have not been using an app for some time.]

How Does IP Geolocation API Help with Push Notifications?

For push notifications to be interesting and engaging, however, they have to be timely, relevant, and personalized. All of these can be attained when location intelligence is incorporated into a developer’s strategy — notably with IP Geolocation API that covers 99.68% of all active IP addresses and is updated weekly to ensure data relevance and accuracy.

More specifically, the API gives out information including a user’s country code, region, city, time zone, latitude and longitude, ISP, and Autonomous System Number (ASN) type. By knowing exactly where the user is currently at, you can customize your push notifications to make them more effective in terms of sales conversion and customer retention.

The data gathered by IP Geolocation API can be used to compile location intelligence that allows app developers to apply either of the two methods below or both:

• Geo-targeted push notifications: Using the location data from the API and the information that users provided when they signed up, you can segment them based on their location and demographic profile. You can then send out different notifications for each segment. If, say, you are a content publisher and would like to make sure readers are awake and ready to read your new article, you can use time push notifications to appear on their devices based on their time zone.
• Geo-triggered push notifications: Push notifications can be triggered based on users’ real-time movements through geofencing. You can use data from IP Geolocation API to know which areas your app users frequent so you can set up a virtual boundary for geofencing. For brick-and-mortar stores, their shop walls usually define their virtual boundaries. App developers can use beacons to know when users are in geofenced areas and likely to find relevant push notifications useful.

You can use location-based push notifications to suggest menus, clothing items, and events. They can also be used to let app users know of special promotions in their areas. However, it is important to avoid bombarding users with overly promotional pushes. Instead, you can use push notifications to convey transaction- or brand-specific information.

How to Integrate IP Geolocation API into Apps

You can get a personal IP Geolocation API key from the My Products page. Just send a request in the following format (Be sure to replace YOUR_API_KEY with your actual API key.):

https://ip-geolocation.whoisxmlapi.com/api/v1?apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY&ipAddress=8.8.8.8

You can also use client libraries (in PHP, Node.js, Python, Flask, and Express.js) to make the coding easier.

Location intelligence is a powerful tool that has disrupted the way marketing is done. Fed with exhaustive and accurate location data from IP Geolocation API, location intelligence provides app developers and administrators with a meaningful way to reach out to app users not only to increase engagement but also to drive up sales conversion.