This thorough tutorial covers all you need to know about App Store Optimization, app store ranking signals, how ASO differs between the App Store and Google Play, and how to get started with ASO. Whether you’re a first-time app developer or trying to improve your existing ASO efforts, this blog will provide concrete tips and insights to help you navigate the complexity of App Store Optimization and realize your app’s full potential.
What is App Store Optimization (ASO)?
The apps we want to download from the App Store or Google Play are more apparent when they appear high in search results for a variety of keywords, stay at the top of the charts, or are featured in the store. But how can you ensure that your app reaches the proper people and places? And how can you ensure that these users actually download your app? This is where ASO comes in.
App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of increasing an app’s visibility in app stores and making it more appealing to new, existing, and lapsed customers. The ultimate goal is to boost your app’s downloads and (re)activations. To put it another way, ASO can be reduced to this straightforward formula: traffic x conversion equals downloads.
Movement of Traffic
There are many different categories that can contain the traffic we wish to direct to an app. We’ll talk about two primary types of traffic: search traffic and browse traffic. ASO practitioners mostly concentrate on organic traffic that occurs within the store, but there are other sources as well, such as referral traffic, which is traffic from other applications or websites.
- The term “organic search traffic” describes customers who find your app by searching for keywords in app stores. As a result, ASO(App store optimization) specialists frequently consider keyword optimization to be the most important tactic for increasing search traffic. We shall discuss this tactic in more detail later.
- Browse traffic: When an app is featured on the App Store or Google Play, more traffic can be produced through the Browse or Explore sections. Showcasing your app or game to store editors is a great way to boost traffic and downloads, as they are constantly searching for exceptional products. For instance, holding in-app events is a good way to draw in new users, keep the ones you already have, or get back in touch with former users.
Conversion
Conversion, or the act of converting a website visitor into a user, is the next important component of App Store Optimization (ASO). Now that your app is out there and getting attention, the focus should be on turning interest into real user interaction. An app’s conversion rate can be increased by a number of elements, the most significant of which are app ratings and reviews, as well as app creatives like the icon, screenshots, and videos.
The fundamentals of optimizing for the app store
Numerous factors can affect how visible and how many organic downloads your app receives. Depending on the objectives, KPIs, and priorities of a business, App Store Optimization may include:
- Carrying out keyword research to incorporate the most popular terms into app metadata
- optimizing your app’s visual assets, such icons, images, and videos, to draw in more downloads
- translating a product page for an app into other languages
- putting in place a successful review strategy to guarantee a consistent flow of favorable evaluations
- Increasing the prominence of an app in news articles, editorial features, or “Similar Apps” listings
- Keeping an eye on updates from competitors and the app store to keep your app visible
Why is optimizing for the app store important?
Every mobile marketer’s marketing stack ought to include ASO (App store optimization). Talking about how crucial ASO is to the success of your app will help you convince your team that it’s worth allocating resources to ASO.
1. Your secret to exposure is ASO
You’re losing out on the biggest app discovery channels if you don’t invest in App Store Optimization. Apple claims that 65% of all App Store downloads begin with a keyword search. Thus, optimizing your app for search engines will place you in the best possible position to reach users who are actively seeking for it. Half of all search traffic on the App Store is made up of non-branded terms and their clever combinations. This is a fantastic chance to raise app visibility and conversion rates.
You may wonder if ASO is really necessary or beneficial for popular apps like Netflix, Candy Crush, Spotify, or Candy Crush. These behemoths appear to mostly rely on searches for their brand names. Nonetheless, the secret to increasing brand recognition and attracting new consumers is to make use of generic keywords, or ones that are not specifically associated with the brand. Consider Tinder, one of the most widely used dating apps worldwide. Many users find it by searching for more general terms like “dating apps,” “online dating,” or “dating app for adults,” even though many download it by typing in the keyword “Tinder.”
Tinder reaches potential users who aren’t specifically searching for it by name, but it also reaches other users by putting these broad keywords in its metadata. It also benefits from being guaranteed to show up in search results where its rivals might also show up.
2. The app stores are where all app downloads start
The store page of your app plays a critical role in convincing users to install it, regardless of how they found it—through social network ads, native app ads, or any other channel. You may lower the cost per impression (CPI) of your advertising campaigns and increase conversion rates by optimizing your app store page, including any bespoke product pages. Your investment in paid acquisition initiatives therefore returns greater returns.
- To attract attention and differentiate yourself from the competition, make sure your visuals—such as the app symbol, images, and preview videos—are captivating and of the highest caliber.
- Conduct A/B testing on various app page elements, evaluate the results, and modify your approach to boost efficiency.
- Do a thorough competitive analysis as well. Examine how your app compares to rivals in terms of functionality, user experience, and design. Then, utilize this knowledge to set your app apart from the competition.
- Take careful note of user feedback. Negative reviews and low ratings can seriously turn off potential consumers and hurt your app’s store ranking.
3. Prioritize ASO to increase brand awareness
App Store Optimization must be viewed as a critical tactic for presenting apps to the appropriate audience. Not even well-known brands should undervalue the impact that a strong app store presence can have on enhancing their message and brand. Including your software sends a message to users about its reliability and quality. App stores provide as forums for interacting with both new and returning users in addition to being download destinations.
- Make good use of in-app events (App Store) and promotional content (Google Play) to showcase your app or game’s most recent features and upgrades.
- Add seasonality as well to keep consumers interested. Aside from simply changing the icons or having promotions, matching your software to the seasons might help you stand out from the competition. Use holiday-specific keywords, such as “Halloween” or “Christmas,” to update your app’s keywords and graphics to correspond with seasonal themes. During certain times, this helps increase visibility and draw in more users. These keywords often have lower competition, which aids in the growth of the Christmas season.
4. Boost the number of recurring users
One important app metric is the retention rate. The retention rates of apps obtained through organic means are typically 25% higher than those of apps downloaded through paid ways such as promotions or advertising. This suggests that people who independently find and download an app—without any external incentives—have a tendency to keep using it on a regular basis.
Many mobile marketers are changing their strategies in response to this realization. App Store Optimization is becoming increasingly popular as a dependable and long-term approach to user acquisition, replacing sponsored tactics that may result in quick downloads but lower retention.
5. Boost the likelihood of being featured
Having your software listed on the software Store and Google Play can greatly increase its visibility and increase its discoverability. Users who are perusing or investigating the stores download more as a result of this enhanced visibility. Being included in the stores is a huge benefit and tells users that your software is dependable and excellent.
Having a solid App Store Optimization plan will increase your chances of being listed. With more than 2 million apps on the app stores, getting Apple or Google to showcase your app is really difficult. Nevertheless, you can increase your chances of sticking out by adhering to the policies and procedures that the businesses prescribe through efficient ASO.
6. Stay one step ahead of the opposition
Keep in mind that your rivals are already using App Store Optimization. With sophisticated ASO (App store optimization) tools such as AppTweak, you can observe how frequently top applications across various categories update their metadata to optimize their ASO (App store optimization) . For example, we’ve noticed the following using our Update Frequency Benchmark feature:
- The screenshots of the top 30 social networking apps for iOS are usually updated twice a year.
- The top 30 sports apps on Google Play and the App Store update their descriptions about every three months.
Google Play action games update their icons about nine times a year, which is indicative of rapid development
