The mobile app store market is significantly competitive with thousands of new apps being released every month. Your app can only reach the intended audience if it stands out. You can make this possible by implementing app optimization strategies and techniques. So, let’s find out how ASO helps and the factors you need to maintain to make your app rank high!
What is App Store Optimization?
App Store Optimization or ASO ensures your app gets a higher ranking in the app store search results. It is a set of techniques that helps you take advantage of Google and Apple’s search algorithm, enabling your app to show up when it’s relevant.
For your app ASO to work, you need to abide by the app store ranking criterion. By fulfilling this, you can enable better discoverability for your app. Moreover, with ASO optimization, you can reach the target audience. You can also save money as your optimized app will lead to organic downloads.
How to Make the Most of ASO?
ASO app store optimization has several benefits for your app as it helps it reach the intended audience. Complete your app indexing before you start with any of the steps. This helps the app stores to recognize your app.
Now, without further ado, check out the app checklist in order to optimize your app to its fullest potential:
- Research on Your Target Audience
The first and foremost step to developing an app store optimisation strategy is to identify your target audience. A well-defined strategy depends on how well you know our consumers. Understanding your audience can help you to convey your message effectively on how users can benefit from your app.
Begin your research on your users by asking the relevant questions. For instance, ask yourself about how your users may describe the app, what’s your competitive advantage, what language your target users use, which keywords you need to target, and more. You can conduct surveys and perform in-depth research to assess what appeals to your target users. Align your strategy to meet their demands which can reflect positively on your app.
- Identify Your Competition
Researching your competitors is considered equally important for a proper ASO strategy. By identifying competitors who have similar apps, you can analyze their performance. It can help you gain ideas to create something distinctive that gives you a competitive advantage.
This step can also help you to find keywords that your competitors are targeting. It can help you determine whether you want to use the same keywords or target a different keyword. Decide if you want to rank in the top 10 for a few highly competitive keywords or rank in the top spot for keywords with lesser search volume.
Develop a benchmark for your app that you want to beat. Keep track of these factors like the number of downloads, app ratings, and their ranks. Consider all these factors along with your unique value proposition when developing your strategy.
- Decide a Relevant App Name
The name of your app plays a crucial role in App Store and Google Play Store optimization. It tells the audience what your app is about and, therefore, makes your app visible in the app store search results.
Your app name should be unique and creative so that it stands out among your competitors. Write down all the relevant names you can come up with that aligns with your app’s features. They should be relevant and fairly easy to spell and pronounce. Explain the core features of the app by including relevant keywords in the app name to increase your chances of ranking higher.
- Incorporate Appropriate Keywords
The best ASO strategy is to focus on 3-5 keywords you want to rank in. List all the terms that are related to your app’s functionality and use app store optimization tools to select the ones that have a high popularity score. Remember to gain insights on relevant keyword data and not simply select keywords because they are popular.
When you use the appropriate keywords for App Store or Play Store SEO, you can drive relevant traffic to your app. Make sure to avoid repetitive words or keywords containing competitor brand names. Give adequate importance to title keywords and use either singular or plural word forms.
- Optimize Your Keyword List
Simply using your keywords may not bring the results you want. Identify the relevant keywords for the app and incorporate them into the app’s name. A common way to do this is by placing your brand’s name followed by a short sentence that includes the most important keyword. You can also try and incorporate keywords at the beginning of your app name.
Apart from the heading, use keywords in your app’s descriptions. This can not only help your app to reach the intended audience but also convey what your app is all about. Incorporate the keywords in your app’s subtitle for your iOS store or the short and long description in the Google Play Store.
Moreover, in the Apple App Store, you have a specific section where you can input your keywords. This section has a 100-character limit to fit your keywords. List your keywords by separating them with commas and make sure there is no space. Don’t enter full search terms or your app’s name or category.
Google Play Store does not have this feature and you can incorporate the keywords throughout the product page. Here, you have 4000 characters where you can naturally incorporate the keywords in the app’s long description. Do not engage in keyword stuffing and try to convey your message logically by sprinkling keywords where they make sense.
- Curate Unique Icons and Use Screenshots
When users search for your app in the app stores, the first thing they notice is your app icon. Create an icon that is simple yet creative and easily recognizable. It can help your app stand out significantly and grab the attention of potential users. At the same time, the icon should reflect what your app is all about.
After the audience clicks on your app, they come across app screenshots which are critical to make your app distinctive in search results listings, and the app page. You can upload up to 5 screenshots for your iOS store and 8 for Google Play Store.
The first 2 to 3 screenshots are the ones your audience can see when they open your app page, so make sure they highlight the key features of your app. Blend graphic design elements with these screenshots and caption texts to describe your app and grab user attention.
- Write Compelling Descriptions
An impactful app description helps your audience understand more about your app and is essential to increase the user base. Target your app’s audience and write the description in a simple and concise manner. Use power words and make it customer-centric. Don’t forget to list down the key USPs of the app so that readers understand what they will gain from your app.
Check our different app description examples in the same app category to formulate your description better. Do not overstuff your keywords and do not use them more than five times in the entire description body. The first few lines are critical, so make sure you communicate your message in the first 250 characters. Additionally, with each new app update, update your app description along with the screenshots.
- Add a Preview or Promo Video
Adding app preview videos for the iOS store and promo videos for the Android store can positively influence your app’s visibility if done correctly. You can use this chance to create high-quality videos that convey the essence of your app.
You get 15-30 seconds for App Previews, therefore, you have to use the limited time frame to highlight the key features. You can upload a total of 3 previews. However, you can only upload one Promo Video. Play Store allows you to create a 2-minute video which is uploaded via YouTube. Despite this, make use of the first 12 seconds to create an audience impression. Use a compelling narrative and pay attention to the poster frame and feature graphic of your app.
- Improve Reviews and Ratings
Reviews and ratings showcase how much your app is liked by the audience. Increasing the number of positive reviews and ratings can impact your app’s visibility and improve the conversion rate. A great optimization app strategy is to encourage your users to write reviews as it can impact your app rank.
If you are observing negative reviews in your app, take immediate action by ensuring the customer that you care about their feedback and will work on improving your app. This can help in maintaining your app rating and help maintain its rank.
- Localize Your App Listing
If you want to introduce your app to a local market, then you need to modify it as per the localized market. Make changes to the language of the app, screenshots, captions, and more to reach out to the local audience.
If your target customers are non-English speakers, you can adapt the language and brand communication to cater to them. This gives them a personalized experience and helps them understand your app easily, increasing the chances of conversions.
- Increase Traffic to Your App Store Page
Level up your iOS and Android app optimization by harnessing the power of SEO-optimized content hosted on your website. This directs more visitors to your app and enhances its visibility, making it more appealing for users to download.
Therefore, increase your online presence through social media engagement, gain more ratings and reviews, and invest in online and paid advertising to simplify the traffic flow to your app. Don’t forget to index your app so that your app becomes easily searchable for mobile and web searches.
- Update Frequently
Mobile users look for apps that are constantly improving and align according to their requirements. Frequently updated apps become more visible in the app store and to the customers. You can maintain an update frequency of 30 to 40 days and ensure you abide by user feedback.
This strategy can also help in retaining your existing users and help you gain positive reviews. However, with each update, the ratings of your iOS app resets which can temporarily impact your rank which is not the case for Android apps.
Conclusion
Thus, follow the mentioned app store optimization techniques mentioned in this blog to positively impact your app’s visibility and rank in the App Store and Google Play Store. Remember that ASO is a continuous process so you won’t see the results immediately. Have patience and be consistent with your efforts to gradually see the desired outcome.