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Best Practices for Promoting A Health and Fitness App

September 5th, 2025

Best Practices for Promoting A Health and Fitness App
David Bell

by David Bell

CEO at Gummicube, Inc.

The health and fitness app market is one of the most competitive spaces in the app ecosystem. From meditation platforms and nutrition trackers to workout guides and wearable integrations, users have countless options available at their fingertips. For app developers, standing out and staying competitive long-term requires more than just a functional app. Success depends on app visibility, user engagement, and regular optimization in your app listing.

App Store Optimization (ASO) offers developers the opportunity to maximize their reach within a saturated market. While there is no one-size-fits-all formula for success, implementing ASO best practices could help improve your app discoverability and conversion rates over time.

ASO consists of implementing changes with a data-driven approach. App icons, screenshots, preview videos, and metadata all play a role in how your app is found and understood. In this week’s Tips and Tricks blog, we will examine how health and fitness app developers can optimize their app listings for maximum impact, setting their apps up for success.

LEVERAGING YOUR APP SCREENSHOT TO HIGHLIGHT VALUE

Screenshots are often the first impression users have of an app. For health and fitness apps, they serve as a visual story that communicates your unique functionality, design, and user experience. Optimizing screenshots is more than creating an aesthetically pleasing set of creatives; it is about conveying value instantly and persuasively. 

Types of App Screenshots to Consider

Different screenshot designs can emphasize different aspects of your health and fitness app. Depending on the features that they want to showcase, app developers may benefit from exploring competitors and mobile app A/B testing multiple approaches. 

  • Feature-focused screenshots highlight your app's primary functions: For example, you could showcase workout routines, calorie counting, and your smart device integration options here. These types of visuals reassure potential users that the app can meet their specific needs. For this app category, demonstrating the breadth of your app’s functionality can help signal credibility in this crowded space.
  • Lifestyle imagery in screenshots: Fitness is as much about inspiration as it is utility. Showing people in real-world settings using the app or in a workout environment can help create a connection between a new user and app creatives. By showcasing someone jogging, working out, or cooking a healthy meal, you can relay app features before a user ever sees your screenshot messaging. 
  • Step-by-step process screenshots: If your health and fitness app has multiple onboarding steps or tracking options, demonstrating this process using an app store video could be beneficial. By walking someone through the way your app can create a personalized meal plan or set daily activity goals, the creative sequence reassures potential users that the app is easy to navigate and understand.
  • Data and progress screenshots: Progress tracking can be a major motivator in the fitness world. Charts, graphs, and milestones can help communicate that the app can walk with users through different phases of their fitness journey. Displaying these types of metrics could show new users that there is room for them as long-term users.
  • Community and social screenshots: Many fitness journeys are sustained through accountability. If your app has a community feature for users to connect, showcasing this functionality could prove to be very valuable information to convey in your creative assets. 

Best Practices for Screenshot Optimization

To maximize impact, screenshots should be tailored to app store guidelines while maintaining consistency with your app’s brand identity. Make sure to consider the following best practices:

  • Ensure that your messaging is concise, easy to read, and tied to a direct benefit of your app’s features.
  • Make sure to make your first 3 screenshots the most impactful. The first 3 screenshots are what users see when they search a term that your app populates for, so it is imperative that you portray instant value in your creatives set right off.
  • Make sure your text is large, bold, and contrasts well against the background of your screenshots. 
  • Do not pack in text; this will make it harder for new users to quickly identify your app’s main functions. 
  • Mobile app A/B testing is key. Testing different screenshot orders, messaging, and designs will help you make data-driven decisions based on real-user data.

STRATEGIC APP KEYWORD USAGE FOR VISIBILITY

Keyword optimization remains a cornerstone of ASO. For health and fitness apps, keyword strategy is about balancing relevance, competitive features, and user intent. Health and fitness can span into various subcategories, each with distinct audiences. Developers should think beyond broad, competitive terms like “workout” or “diet” to uncover targeted opportunities. ASO tools can help developers not only see which keywords have a high search volume, but also competitor terms that you could implement in your next A/B test. 

Strategic placement of keywords goes beyond fitting words into your metadata. Developers need to think carefully about how and where the keywords will appear to new users. Being intentional about keyword placement could impact whether your app appears in search results, so consider placing them in these spaces for maximum impact: 

  • App title
  • App subtitle
  • App description 

App keyword performance is rarely static. As new workout or fitness trends arise, user search behavior will shift alongside it. Developers who adjust their messaging regularly based off of ASO tools that utilize real-time data, are most likely to capture new traffic. 

A/B TESTING YOUR APP LISTING

A/B testing is a critical part of ASO strategies since it helps developers to refine creative assets and app listing elements based on actual user behavior. ASO tools can provide a controlled environment where developers can evaluate creative choices before committing to changes in their live app listing. Elements you can A/B test are: 

  • App Screenshots: The order of screenshots can significantly influence user engagement. Testing whether leading with lifestyle imagery or design alone resonates best with your audience will provide insights into what narrative converts better.
  • App Icons: Small changes, such as adjusting the color palette or adding a seasonal flair to your icon image, could help your app stand out. 
  • App Description: A/B testing motivational language versus technical features, or including a combination of both, is worthwhile. 
  • App store videos: Videos can communicate value quickly. A/B test messaging, design, and pacing to see which variations deliver the best results.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Along with regular mobile app A/B testing, taking a look at your competitors can prove to be just as beneficial. Competitor insights are valuable when crafting your app listing or deciding on your next optimization move. Understanding how other apps present themselves in the marketplace can reveal both opportunities and oversights. ASO tools can make this process easier by helping developers analyze competitor keyword strategies and creative assets all in one place. This data can provide context for refining your app listing and set your app up to stay competitive in the health and fitness app category.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Promoting a health and fitness app requires careful attention to detail across multiple facets of ASO. Screenshots can capture and communicate value, keywords can enhance app visibility, and A/B testing can validate optimization decisions with data. By leveraging ASO tools, developers can refine their strategies to align with evolving user expectations. While results will vary depending on audience and market conditions, adopting these ASO best practices can help provide a structured path toward stronger visibility and engagement in the app stores.

LET’S CHAT!

If you are looking to strengthen your app listing for your health and fitness app, Gummicube’s ASO services are here to help. Our tailored ASO strategies are designed to provide more opportunities for app success. From creative asset A/B testing to keyword research and competitor analysis, we are here to help you navigate the complexities of app promotion. Reach out today and start the discussion.

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