The app store is one of the most important places for a company to release their product. If you’re focusing on releasing your new product, it would be best to make sure that when people search and download apps they find yours first. In 2022, there will be more mobile devices than ever before which means you need to adjust your strategy now if you don’t want customers downloading from competitors in droves. Experts agree: by doing so even just marginally today can save tens or hundreds of thousands over time.
The “app store optimization strategies” is a blog post that talks about what you should focus on in the future. This includes optimising your app store presence and making sure that you have an up-to-date app listing.
Context
The worldwide epidemic was, of course, one of the major factors driving the increase in downloads in 2020. As we all did our hardest to adjust, apps provided a method to keep some semblance of normalcy while also assisting us in transitioning to a new way of life. As a consequence, we spend 20% more time on mobile devices on average.
App Annie is the source for this information.
App Store Optimisation (ASO) has become a vital method to implement as part of an integrated digital growth plan as a result of the increase in app installations. A well-thought-out ASO strategy can help you take advantage of search by ranking you higher in results, resulting in more impressions, installations, and in-app conversions, as well as helping you establish a better brand presence. But how do you go about doing it, and how do you go about doing it well?
Understanding how people look for apps in app stores
Make sure you understand how your prospective consumers locate applications in stores before you start defining your growth possibilities, since behavior between these and typical organic search results vary.
Organic impressions and clicks are mostly driven by searches for your brand, but you’ll also need to target non-brand search phrases to capture new consumers, since this is where the actual growth lies. Unfortunately, they will be more competitive as well.
Users may explore the shop directly in addition to doing keyword searches. Popular applications based on trending statistics or those suggested by store editors, including fresh updates or scheduled releases, are available in both the iOS and Google Play Stores.
You’ll be ready to take your initial steps with ASO after you have this insight and awareness of how the shops function.
1. Begin by doing keyword research.
1.1. Begin compiling a keyword list
The first stage, like with conventional SEO, is to identify relevant keywords for your app based on your service or product offering. You may employ phrases from your core SEO plan, but volumes will taper down soon.
Third-party tools (such as AppTweak or App Radar) may also assist you identify opportunities from the viewpoint of your competitors, providing insights into current ranking performance from both organic and sponsored sources. These tools also enable you to easily obtain statistics on auto-suggestions and trending phrases.
1.2. Identify your most promising possibilities
After you’ve created your keyword data collection, you’ll need some additional information to figure out which phrases to prioritize and include into your plan. To obtain organic keyword performance information (for free), I propose utilizing Google Play Developer Console Acquisition Reports.
- Visitors to the store
- Installers
- Buyers
- Buyers who come back again and again
While there isn’t anything comparable for the iOS App Store, if you’re presently running Search Ads, you can still get statistics on:
- Popularity
- Impressions
- The number of taps and the rate at which they are tapped
- Conversion Rates and Conversions
Just as with conventional SEO methods, you should think about relevance, search demand, and conversion rate.
1.3. Concentrate on the terms that are most important to you.
The next step is to optimize your app for these specific keywords. The following are the primary fields you’ll need to work on in the iOS App Store:
1. Name of the application
Include your brand, followed by your top target term, which should be aligned with your major value proposition. You have a total of 30 characters to choose from.
2. A subheading
With the 30 character constraint, there isn’t much area for manoeuvre, so try to build on your App Name and target your secondary priority keyword (s).
3. Search terms
While this information will not be shown on your listing page, it will aid in the development of relevance. To understand more about it and the other aspects, check out this guide.
4. Characteristics
This is available with a click to read more, as illustrated below. It will help you develop relevance, even if it is concealed behind a touch to expand in both shops and not immediately evident. The description should naturally incorporate your target phrases while also highlighting your important features and advantages (all within 4,000 characters).
If you don’t have enough copywriting resources, you can rely on AI (though be careful here with when and how you do that, and keep a look out for our upcoming article on Natural Language Generation to learn more about that).
When it comes to the Google Play Store, you’ll want to concentrate on:
1. Title
Google refers to it as a title, while Apple refers to it as an app name, although both perform the same thing. You now have 30 characters to work with (thanks to Google’s reduction), giving you more area to pitch your value offer.
2. a brief description
This can be found by clicking on ‘About this app,’ and is limited to 4,000 characters, much like Apple. The same advice applies to narrowing down on your essential features, but unlike Apple, you may use simple html to highlight certain text snippets, such as bolding and emphasizing phrases, and don’t forget about emojis.
3. Promotional Text
This is the line that displays under ‘About this app’ on your listing page and should showcase your app’s main features. You have 80 characters to work with, so make the most of them. This is your best opportunity to market your software to new users!
When it comes to optimizing these areas, both Apple and Google provide advice on what to do and what not to do. Keyword stuffing was common in the early days of SEO, but it is now aggressively discouraged by both stores, as are generic remarks or boasts like “the greatest app” (so don’t even think about it…).
2. Make a solid first impression while looking for work.
While increasing your app’s visibility may result in more impressions, you must ensure that your initial search exposure has the potential to capitalize on and win the tap through and install. If you don’t impress, your competitors will take advantage of you.
In both stores, your Icon shows with your App Name in the search results. The Screenshot gallery is shown to users in search results in the iOS App Store, and it’s these visual aspects that have a considerable impact on the searcher’s selection.
Start by going through your present work and asking yourself questions like:
- Is our logo consistent with our out-of-store appearance and does it represent our service?
- Are we incorporating messages from outside-the-box campaigns?
- Are the screenshots accurate representations of our App’s current value proposition?
- Are our important features being promoted via screenshots?
- Are there any new features that are being advertised and showcased?
- Is the message in line with the search intent and keywords discovered throughout our research?
- Is it possible to read content from the search result page?
- How do we stack up versus our competitors?
Compare and contrast the Trainline (above) with the Southern Rail (below) (below). Which one strikes out to you the most?
3. Use CRO to seek incremental improvements.
Conversion Rate Optimisation is more important than traditional SEO in the app store. With the above in mind, naively deploying a new set of screenshots may result in unfavorable outcomes.
To prevent this, A/B testing ideas against your existing set, or the control group, can help you figure out which variant converts better. Start small and iteratively test and adjust based on a set of predefined assumptions, as shown by research. You’ll be able to determine the effect of altering a single element this way. Increasing the size of captions, bolding mentions of characteristics, or changing the direction of your gallery are all possible hypotheses.
A/B testing was previously solely accessible in the Google Play Store, but Apple revealed many updates to the App Store as part of WWDC21 a few months ago. Product Page Optimisation was one such upgrade, which let app owners to construct three more shop pages to test improvements and evaluate conversion performance throughout, and about which you can read more here.
4. Create content for a local audience.
With conversions still in mind, localization is another technique to develop trust by catering to sub-audience groups that serve to make up your entire target audience.
If you serve an international audience or operate in a country where many languages are spoken, take a look at your present localization approach. Is it possible that although your website caters to local consumers, this isn’t represented in your storefront? If you answered yes, you now have another chance.
In a similar vein, if you’re looking to expand into new regions internationally, your app should be a factor to consider while localizing and preparing your existing assets. Both systems enable you to build unique localized experiences:
- Metadata
- Screenshots, as well as:
- Copy of the description
In terms of SEO localization, you may start by looking at app performance to see what markets your app is being installed and utilized in outside of your major market, and where engagement metrics may be lower owing to language hurdles or regulatory difficulties.
5. Do you think there’s anything else you might be doing?
Because app store algorithms strive to promote programs that people love, they consider Rating and Review data. Furthermore, consumers do as well; according to Apptentive, 77 percent of those questioned read at least one review before installing a free app and 80 percent before purchasing a premium app.
Monitor your App’s performance and maintain it free of bad reviews in order to obtain favorable comments. Additionally, ensure that in-app prompts appear at the appropriate time, such as after a good activity is accomplished, since users will be more eager to share their comments. You may respond to reviews written by your users as an app owner. It’s also beneficial to do so, whether it’s to thank a customer for a positive purchase experience or to thank another for providing input on what they believe may be an enhancement or a new feature. What seems to be a little activity may turn out to be more valuable in terms of user retention and repeat conversions.
It’s time to give it a go.
Last but not least, to draw a connection with SEO, although there are immediate gains in App Store Optimization, there is a necessity to invest in the necessary resources, including time, to grow installations and eventually income.
But keep in mind that you’ll be increasing more than simply your biological performance. Paid and referral channels will also gain a competitive advantage. And, owing to a solid value proposition that puts you ahead of competition, achieving gains for organic, paid, and broader referral traffic to your app store listing will help generate performance efficiencies.
The “play store optimization” is a term that will be used more and more in the future. It is about focusing on your app’s presence on the Google Play Store.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the importance of app store optimization?
A: The importance of app store optimization is that it ensures a user has the best experience possible when searching for your application on Google Play, iTunes and the App Store. For example, if people are unable to find your app through search engines like google or apple because they dont have any information about it then this would be considered poor SEO.
How is app store Optimization done?
A: Optimization is the process of adjusting a product, service or website to make it more appealing for different groups who may have differing needs and priorities. It includes market research, testing and feedback from target users/audience
How do I increase app store optimization?
A: All you need to do is follow a few steps. First, find your app on the store and scroll down until you see Promote this App. Youll want to click that option and then choose either Instagram or Twitter as the social media platform of choice for promotion.
Related Tags
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