App promotion and monetisation specialist W3i has welcomed Apple's move to acquire discovery engine Chomp.

Though Apple has been typically candid regarding its plans for the firm – believed to have cost around $50 million – W3i believes the company will be put to good use rejuvenating the App Store's set up, including revitalising its algorithms and search tools.

Ageing Apple

"For a long time app developers and app promoters alike have universally recommended that Apple improve its ranking algorithms and search results for discovering apps," said W3i co-founder and VP Rob Weber on the firm's blog.

"Apple's current systems are archaic relative to how content discovery works on other popular platforms, relying on velocity of downloads and verbatim keyword matches."

Weber believes an improved rankings system should help portray the "true value of user acquisition", enabling incentive-based models – which Apple has previously clamped down on – to re-enter the field, albeit this time in a managed fashion.

Rich incentive

"Don't underestimate the value of incentivised traffic," concluded Weber.

"If you are smart and work with the right partner, you can find pockets of highly profitable, high performing traffic."

Back in September, W3i published a report that concluded that, in some cases, incentivised downloads can be six times more valuable than organic traffic, noting that "not all traffic is the same when it comes to incentive installs".

[source: W3i]