What is meant by App Store Optimization?
Mobile Apps are huge. The world’s Mobile App obsession shows no signs of slowing down. These numbers go up, And up. And up. And up. Almost everyone in the world uses smartphone mobile devices, and these mobile devices use mobile Apps, which makes mobile Apps a big business.
- People can’t download and use your app if they can’t find it. So no matter how great your app is, if it’s not easily discoverable you won’t reach the App success that you deserve.
- You have surely heard about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which is necessary to gain a top rank in Google search results.
- Did you know, however, that App stores use a similar tool to decide which mobile App should be more visible?
- Try our brilliant tips that will help you to optimize your App in App stores and prepare for a sharp increase in downloads and revenue.
How do you “do” App store optimization?
Your App’s name is what people will use to talk about your App:
That’s why you should think it through well. Choose the App’s name well. To help users identify the App and your brand, keep the actual name short and sweet. However, as the title counts a lot to the ASO results, put some keywords after the name to associate your App with selected keywords.
Step 1: Find the right App store keywords:
Your App search optimization efforts should start by implementing the right App store keywords.
App Store Keyword Ideas:
- Make it short, creative, and unique.
- To start, try and come up with at least 50 App store keywords.
- Remember that your App store keywords must be relevant to your Apps.
- Don’t be tempted to use popular, but irrelevant keywords in your Apps.
You want your Apps to be found by users who will download and enjoy your Apps.
Step 2: Put the App store keywords in the right places:
- For a new App, choose keywords with low difficulty and reasonable traffic- They help your App gain initial momentum.
- After gaining the initial momentum, start using keywords with higher traffic and reasonable difficulty- They help your App stack up more downloads.
- Work your way up gradually as your App gets more popular.
- Long-tail App Store Keywords: Use longer keyword phrases (aka long-tail keywords) to outrank the competition.
- Retiring Poor App Store Keywords: If you have already released your App with your target keywords, check your current App ranking of these keywords.
- Keep those keywords that your App ranks within the top 10, and replace the rest with new keywords in your next release.
Review mining for getting App store keyword ideas: Your App reviews speak your users’ minds.
- The words in your App user reviews are indexed by the App store search engine Which is why review mining is a very good way for getting App store keyword ideas.
- And the words are highly related to how they would search for your App.
- Just by looking at your review keywords, you will be surprised to find out the keyword ideas that you have never thought of before.
- There are review analysis tools available in the market.
- App Store and Google Play have algorithms, and those algorithms use traditional methods of search — keywords. Don’t neglect keywords.
Step 3: Convert visitors to users
- Always get discovered by relevant Users.
- It is not enough that your App is found, it has to be found by the right users – users that are actually on a hunt for an App like yours.
- App Store Optimization gets you to the right users because it matches your App to relevant keywords. These are the search terms people will use to find your App.
Improve your Visibility & Stand out in the App Store:
Design An Unique Icon:
- App stores are full of great Apps with awful logo icons.
- As your potential customers browse the long list of Apps, the feature they care about the most is not Apps’ names but their icons.
- A well-designed icon should be capable of breaking through the clutter.
- Make it simple, of the best quality, and somehow connected with what your App does.
- It should stand out!
App Description:Caption:
- Most potential users only see the first five lines.
- When browsing your App page from a desktop computer, iPhone, or iPad, users must click a “more” button to view the rest of the description content, so use those first three lines to really catch their attention and interest.
- A compelling description means more App installs, period.
But how do you know what compels your users in the first place? Here’s where optimization can play a major role.
- Experiment with leading with different information in those first three lines – maybe users are more compelled by a witty opening line.
- Or perhaps they’d rather read about your App’s top features and functionality.
- Test out different options to find out what resonates and leads to more installs.
Include Screenshots:
- After your App icon, your screenshots are the strongest visual representation of your App and go a long way in convincing users to install.
- Both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store display screenshots more prominently than an App’s description.
- Vertical Screenshots: Keep the screenshots vertical. The users can see more screenshots on the narrow screens when the screenshots are vertical.
- To optimize your App screenshots, use this App Store SEO Grader. The tool checks your screenshots dimensions, count, orientations, and their compatibility with various iOS devices, and tells you how to improve.
- Different countries have distinct preferences of icon colors, screenshot layouts, and annotations. Check out these posts about icon colors and screenshot localization for more insights.
App Marketing Video:
Here are some of the essential elements of an effective App marketing video. They are recommended by Apptamin, a company well-known for its app videos and trailers:
- Use the first 5 seconds to grab the viewer’s attention
- Focus on the best features, instead of all features
- Your video should make sense even with the sound turned off
- Include a call-to-action
- Remember, 80% of users don’t watch past the first 12 seconds of the video.
- Do make sure you keep it short and to the point.
- Avoid any fade-in and “welcome” type of message at the beginning of your video.
Increase your Organic Downloads:
A good ASO strategy will undoubtedly boost your organic installs and ensure long-term results. That’s because when people search for keywords related to your App, they’ll always find yours. With regular monitoring and updating, you make sure your efforts are successful.
Cut User Acquisition Costs:
- Instead of spending money on ads, you can lower your user acquisition costs by focusing on organic growth with ASO.
- This not only saves you money but also ensures steady growth.
- The best thing you can do to optimize your App and make it better is to listen to your users and address what they are telling you about your App’s performance and functionality.
- Are there parts of your App that people find difficult to use?
- Are there bugs or slow loading functions?
- Are there functions that users would like you to add?
- Are there functions in your App that no one is using? (find out why, or remove from the App).
- App analytics can also be very useful for this. If you didn’t put analytics in your App then that also should be added. The reviews of your App in the App stores are the key to this.
- If you don’t have reviews, perhaps you can work on a new version and get beta testers to download and give you feedback. TestFlight is fantastic for this on the iOS platform.
How to Reply to Reviews:
- Try to reply to all feedback immediately following a major release of your App.
- If you can’t respond to every review, try prioritizing reviews with the lowest star ratings or those mentioning technical issues with the most current version of your App.
- When you release an App update that fixes issues users mentioned in older reviews, consider replying to the relevant reviews to let them know that your update addressed their concerns.
- Once a user indicates that your response answered their question or fixed their technical issue, consider asking them to update their rating and review.
- You can also foster deeper engagement by asking users for feedback on future App updates as part of your reply.
App Localization Strategy:
Localize your App listing first to see how well your App performs in different countries. You can then decide if you should perform full localization of the whole App for the best-performing countries.
Predict Your Next Successful Markets
This App analytics tool predicts where your next successful markets are based on LTV (Lifetime User Value), ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), Conversion Rates, and more. With this information, you can proactively localize your App to grasp the market opportunities.
Update Frequency:
- Statistics indicate a high correlation between high ratings and App update frequency.
- Releasing regular updates has many benefits.
- It improves user loyalty and keeps an App top of mind because your App will show up in the updates list in the App stores.
- Apple and Google also like to see App updates because they show you’re committed to the App and that it’s still being maintained.
Don’t give up if the results of the first few optimizations are not turning out well. App marketing takes time and App store optimization requires many observations to master. The execution of those steps, however, is the key to achieve the perfect ASO. Constantly monitoring your ASO strategy and more importantly always keeping an eye out for your competitors will carry your ASO efforts to the next level.
