Apple was the first major company to adopt push notification technology at a large scale in 2009. Since then, this type of alert has become an integral tool for companies, marketers, and publishers that want to engage users through an interactive experience. 

 

Today, there are many different types of push notifications. These can be divided into three major groups, which are web push notifications, mobile push notifications, and in-app push notifications. 

Web push notifications are delivered through desktop browsers, even if users are not actively navigating web pages. Mobile push notifications are sent through browsers as well, but to mobile devices. Finally, in-app notifications are presented on the screen like other mobile alerts and are delivered via authorized applications. 

Push notifications remain a great alternative more than a decade after being popularized. But, the strategies needed to succeed today are very different from the methods used when this type of alert was first introduced at a large scale. 

Let’s dive deep into the different forms of push notifications, specifically mobile and in-app alerts. 

Below, we’ll discuss the difference between an SMS and a push notification, as well as the compatibility of web and mobile alerts. 

Finally, we’ll provide two examples of successful case studies, which can be used as a road map to improve your revenue up to 5 times using push notifications. 

Mobile and In-App Push Overview

In 2009, the year that push notifications really burst into the scene, there were less than 62 million mobile users in the US. Today, the number of US users has skyrocketed to roughly 312 million. What’s more, that number is expected to reach almost 365 million by 2040. 

While it’s fair to say that countless factors impacted the widespread adoption of mobile devices, push notifications definitely influenced user experience on these gadgets. For many users, push notifications are an easy and simple way to get interesting updates, news, and alerts about other releases. 

If you use a reliable push notification service provider, you can ensure that your alerts are delivered more than 90% of the time. Additionally, mobile push notifications have a reaction rate close to 8% and can boost engagement as much as 88% on apps. 

And, while they have a different performance based on the device, it’s important to note that push notifications are compatible with all types of OS including iOS devices. This means that both iOS users and Android users can be targeted using this type of mobile alert. 

Difference Between Mobile Web Push and In-App Push

In-app notifications and mobile push alerts are both sent to smartphones and similar devices. But, these two are fundamentally different and it’s necessary to understand their nuances in order to use them properly. 

Mobile Web Push 

First off, mobile push notifications are delivered via mobile web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Yandex, or Safari (On Mac OS). These notifications have lower user loyalty, in other words, retention rates are not as high as in-app alerts. 

With the above in mind, the reach of mobile web push alerts is superior due to the different browsers that can be targeted. This type of alert also allows for the request of topics of interest from users during the opt-in request. In other words, users can choose exactly which alerts they receive. 

Note that permissions to send push notifications are asked on behalf of the domain and are customizable for each site.

Mobile web push alerts allow you to include text, images, and emojis, and when it comes to urgent messages, this type of alert has stellar delivery rates. That said, users always have to opt in before receiving your alerts. 

In-App Push

In-app push notifications registered higher user loyalty than their mobile web counterparts. The reach of this type of alert is somewhat limited because it’s only available for Android apps, although an iOS-compatible version is in the works. 

For Android 13 operation systems, in-app push opt-in messages can only feature the request itself, rather than topics. However, these users are automatically subscribed to this type of alert, which can also feature text, images, and emojis. 

Finally, the urgent message delivery rate for this type of alert is very good, although it’s a tad below that of mobile web notifications. 

The reason for this is that Notix push service’s smart system identifies the users who are online, which means they are more likely to engage with the push. Then, the message is also sent to offline users accordingly. 

The iOS vs. Android Scenario

Now, it’s important to understand the difference between Android and iOS in-app alerts. 

In-app alerts are available for iOS devices. The problem is that Apple products always ask users for permission to send push alerts. So, users are not signed up for push notifications by default. 

Android alerts are the opposite. In short, this OS comes with push notifications activated by default. This trend was discontinued in the version of Android 13, so it’s important to monitor that situation and adjust accordingly.  

The Difference Between SMS Messages and Push Notifications

SMS messages as a form of marketing pre-dates the use of push notifications by a few decades. However, many companies and marketers believe that it’s only possible to work with one. 

While this may not necessarily be the case, it’s important to understand the difference between SMS messages and push alerts in order to build a wholesome marketing strategy. 

SMS Marketing

SMS alerts usually register an interaction within 3 minutes of being sent. However, these are delivered like standard text messages through the smartphone wireless service provider. 

Text messages are great ways to conduct security checks and inform users about the status of their orders. 

However, users are no longer expecting promotions and similar alerts through this channel, so it’s not the best for engagement. 

Push Notifications

Push notifications are delivered like a system alert and they tend to register an interaction in a matter of milliseconds. 

Because of their appearance and delivery method, push alerts tend to get more attention than regular messages. 

Plus, it’s common for users to get redirected to apps or websites directly from their alerts, which makes them better for commercial purposes. 

What’s more, unlike SMS, Push Notifications don’t require personal information (phone number) making users feel more secure. All they have to do is to opt-in in their browser. And in a way, Push is more reliable – users can make a mistake when writing down a phone number (we can’t rule out a typo), they can deliberately enter a wrong number. None of these scenarios can happen with push.

Can You Use Mobile and In-App Push together?

It’s possible to send push notifications through your mobile app as well as your website. 

But, what about the users that employ both types of platforms? Is it possible to use both mobile and in-app alerts for these prospects?

There may be separate strategies for mobile and in-app push because the content in the app and on the website may be different. So choosing just one type of push is not a best practice.

Based on the number of users or your overall strategy, you can make a decision.

If you want to focus on techniques that work, install push notifications on the platform that has the highest number of users. This will help ensure that you keep building on your most successful channel. 

Now, if your strategy is to build your brand through a specific channel, it’s important to go through the platform you want to grow. If this is your mobile website, for example, you should create your push campaign there. 

Push Notifications in Action: How to Increase Profit with In-App and Mobile Push

The numbers suggest that push notifications are an excellent resource. 

But, there are countless push providers out there and not all of them have the same standards in terms of quality. 

Not only this, but push alerts can also serve as different revenue-generating tools. In some cases, learning how to implement push requires a bit of effort. 

To provide solutions to the two obstacles above, we will present two cases from Notix clients that leveraged push alerts to solve some of their biggest business challenges. 

The AppLabz Example

Let’s start with AppLabz. 

In short, AppLabz is a company that specializes in creating software applications for a range of uses. 

Here are some of the apps developed by Applabz. It’s essential to add that these apps have different distribution channels.

• Scanero – Google Play
• Qreader – APK
• Fast-n-Clean – APK
• SmartCleaner – Google Play/APK

The company wanted to adopt an approach that allowed for significant growth without requiring a huge budget. 

Let’s take a closer look at the results the team managed to obtain using Notix’s push notification services. 

The Challenge

Before delving any deeper let’s analyze the challenge that AppLabz was trying to overcome. 

All companies have unique sets of key metrics or KPIs. That said, most businesses want to have a low retention rate, high customer lifetime value (LTV), and a high return on income (ROI).

This is exactly what AppLabz wanted to achieve without having to invest a small fortune. 

The company deduced that push notifications were an elegant and effective option to help reach its goals. 

To cover all the bases, a push campaign was launched on the apps Scanero, Qreader, Fast-n-Clean, and SmartCleaner. 

How Notix Helped

When AppLabz joined Notix, the push provider already had a reputation for powerful technology and great customer experience. 

So, it’s no surprise that these two aspects were quickly displayed by Notix.

AppLabz required a fully tailored push campaign and mechanism. Notix created a personalized strategy and added custom functionalities through a tailored SDK. 

This software developer kit contained the app framework, compiler, and other elements required to deploy the push solution on AppLabz’s system. 

The solutions were nothing short of stellar. AppLabz created a total of 82 push campaigns across the four applications listed. 

These four apps collected more than 3.7 million push subscribers in a matter of months, all of whom received messages with promotions, new products, and other types of alerts. 

Most importantly, with the help of Notix, Applabz was able to increase user retention and LTV. This shows that regardless of the distribution channel (Google Play / APK distribution), Notix can improve these KPIs.

The Robomarkets Example

It’s easy to see why push notifications are extremely versatile. They can contain any type of text message you like, so they can be used for almost every single niche out there. 

Take the financial sector, which tends to be extremely tricky for marketers. Promoting banking, investment, or similar brands requires an immense amount of creativity. 

This was the case for RoboMarkets. But, what made this partnership different from the rest was that RoboMarkets already had a lead generation and retention strategy. Thus, the company wanted push alerts to fold in with the rest of its plan.  

The Challenge

The team at RoboMarkets wanted the push alerts to operate as an additional content distribution and communication channel. Based on this, the goals of the company were simple:

• Focus on web push
• Generate a list of fresh subscribers and add to it every day
• Use a self-serve platform to do most of the push sending

Let’s see how Notix reacted to these challenges. 

How Notix Helped

Notix is a push provider known for its innovative technology and approach. It’s no surprise that the push service delivered various solutions that helped RoboMarkets to either meet or surpass its KPIs.

First off, RoboMarkets employed Notix’s retargeting pixel at various stages of its sales funnel. Then, the platform segmented the push alerts and adjusted the content as well as the message itself based on the OS that was being targeted. 

The finance app also used emojis as a key part of its strategy. Plus, the company also made sure to tag all traffic coming from push with a unique identifier. This made it easier to determine the success of the campaigns. 

RoboMarkets collected more than 198,000 subscribers and had an average CTR of 2.4% for its messages. However, in some segments, the CTR was as high as 5%, which is well above the click-through rate of many types of paid ads. 

Final Words

The truth is that push notifications are extremely powerful, especially when used as part of a wholesome strategy. With that said, these alerts need to be crafted properly in order to have the right impact. 

We hope that our article helped you understand the difference between web, mobile, and in-app push notifications, as well as the distinctions between these alerts and SMS text messages. 

At the same time, the AppLabz and RoboMarkets case studies we analyzed should provide ideas on how to improve ROI, conversions, and engagement, among other key metrics.