Feel like playing the romantic lead? This week’s App Store Spotlight is for you. Romance games on the app store have become incredibly popular over the past few years. With mobile choose your own story-type games like Choices, Episode and Chapters on the market, it could be challenging to stand out from the rest. However, Dream Daddy is not your average choose your own story game.
Dream Daddy offers a unique take on romantic storytelling in the slew of competitor apps in the category. With gameplay similar to a traditional choose your own story game, Dream Daddy takes the user on a dating-filled adventure full of choices, deceit and love (of course). Aside from all of the other choose your own story apps, this one is specifically geared towards dating neighborhood dads.
Differentiation can take many forms on the App Store – whether it be through a distinctive value proposition or a unique marketing angle. Dream Daddy stands out from all of its competitors in the category on these two angles.
Through App Store Optimization, Dream Daddy can further stand out from the competition by building relevancy among users that are looking for a unique take on this popular game genre. Let’s see how it can set itself apart even more with creatives and metadata that truly shines.
1. App Title – Many developers often believe that their app title is exclusively reserved for branding. However, even apps with high notoriety often use title tags to increase their visibility and relevance in the app stores.
The title is attention-grabbing and vaguely hints at its genre: ‘Dream Daddy’, but their branded title is not followed by a title tag. In the case of Dream Daddy, a title tag would help on two fronts: 1.) indexation and 2.) description. In its standalone, ‘Dream Daddy’ neither provides additional information regarding gameplay nor does it help build out relevant keywords in the gaming category.
iOS provides developers with 30 total characters in their app title. Using this space to add more relevant keywords is paramount to increasing visibility on the App Store. Compared to Google Play, metadata indexation does not take place in the full description, so developers have to take full advantage of the space that’s given to them.
2. Short Description – The short description is an invaluable metadata asset. The app subtitle provides users with additional indexation opportunities, and they give users a brief and digestible overview of what the app is all about. Currently, Dream Daddy’s subtitle gives users a good overview of what the app is about. Using the word, “simulator”, and “dating” helps users find games related to these genres
Phrases and words used in the iOS metadata fields like the app title, subtitle and keyword bank all get indexed. Thus, a holistic ASO strategy revolves around all of these assets working symbiotically to increase visibility among a relevant audience.
While Dream Daddy follows some of the ASO best practices for metadata, forgoing a title tag in their app title reduces their chances of gaining additional visibility to their core audience. With limited metadata indexation space on iOS, it's crucial for developers to understand their keyword audience for each to gain maximum visibility.
With the help of our ASO technology, DATACUBE, the developers of Dream Daddy can better distinguish what phrases their users use to search for their app and seamlessly adapt their metadata to reflect it.
The first three screenshots on an app product page are the most important. These screenshots are one of the first creative assets the users see after initiating a search.
Since 70% of all downloads stem from search, it's crucial for developers to put their best foot forward in their first three screenshots. This way, users can get the strongest value proposition without having to venture to the product page to learn more.
For gaming apps, screenshots of in-app gameplay are an ASO best practice. Dream Daddy’s screenshots communicate the game’s genre and setting well with playful and cheeky captures of gameplay. However, in-app gameplay screenshots are usually paired with additional copy that lets users easily digest storylines and value propositions.
This is the most notable absence in the Dream Daddy screenshot set. Copy callouts can serve a multitude of purposes such as calls to action as well as highlighting accolades while emphasizing relevant keywords and phrases. With the help of an ASO company with years of creative experience, Dream Daddy can incorporate these elements in their current screenshots to help increase their conversion.
Dream Daddy offers a unique take on the choose your own story game genre. It stands out from competitors in the space that typically approaches the genre with broad and segmented categories. App developers must, however, strategically position their app so that it is both distinct and discoverable.
Once Dream Daddy’s feature on Apple’s “Play the Romantic Lead” is over, it may not have the ASO foundation it needs to remain popular. By applying some of these ASO best practices, Dream Daddy can usher in new players looking for a captivating and unique take on simulation games.
Want to learn more about App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.
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