Facebook: Referrals to App Store, Google Play top 170M per month

Facebook referred users to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) App Store and the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play marketplace more than 170 million times in July 2012, the social networking giant said Tuesday.

Speaking at the GDC Europe conference, Facebook Product Manager for Apps and Games Matt Wyndowe said features such as the App Center recommendation hub and links in Facebook-connected games are driving both installations and user engagement. Introduced in May, App Center--which spotlights Facebook-approved apps and transports users to the App Store or Google Play if installation is required--already tops 150 million users per month, driving 2.4 times the number of mobile downloads compared to Facebook's previous app directory model. Thirty-five percent of App Center users return to an application within a day of installation, Wyndowe said.

Wyndowe added that King.com, Facebook's second-leading social games developer behind Zynga (NASDAQ:ZNGA), now brings in 51 million monthly active users, with installs of the publisher's puzzle game Candy Crush Saga increasing 10 percent since App Center launched in May. Moreover, 65 percent of the 13 million mobile gamers who play music challenge SongPop are signing in via Facebook, spending 35 percent more time and money on the game than users who do not log in with Facebook accounts.  

Facebook now boasts 955 million monthly active users worldwide, up 29 percent over a year ago. Mobile monthly active users exceed 543 million, surging 67 percent over year-ago totals. Facebook adds that 58.86 percent of its total userbase now accesses the site via mobile device.

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