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App Store Optimization is vital for any app. It helps apps both reach users and appeal to them, through research and best practices. But once your ASO strategy is in place, how do you know if it’s working? What do we use to measure the success of ASO? There are several factors one can look at to determine how well their App Store Optimization is working.
Users are the undeniable backbone of any product’s success. While it is best to develop a commodity that is well-received by users, it is just as crucial to keep users engaged and happy so they are actively using that product. To stay ahead of this, developers and companies maintain consistent Reputation Management strategies using user feedback to ensure that the needs of their customers are heard and to keep them coming back. But what happens if there’s an update or new product that isn’t well-received? If the users are unhappy and the developers stand their ground, can a company, product or app still find success? Let’s look at the power users have on apps, developers and companies and whether they were able to force change.
In the competitive market of mobile games, it’s important to stand out if you want to see downloads and have active players.
“There’s an app for that.” With more than 2 million apps across both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store competing for their chance in the spotlight, developers need to have a solid App Store Optimization strategy to outshine the competition. Despite many apps having an ASO strategy, it seems like there’s a group of apps that are considered untouchable and don’t need an aggressive ASO strategy to thrive. The exception to the rules can drive downloads based on popularity and brand recognition alone. More often than not, these apps are not optimized and typically don’t rank for keywords relevant to its functionality. Instead, they convert users who are searching specifically for their brand. Popular apps come and go, but long-term success relies on developers ensuring that their app is updated and relevant to current user app store search trends and behavior. If big brand wants to truly drive downloads from a wider market and achieve long-term success, then they must implement an ASO strategy at the top of their user acquisition funnel.
The mobile industry is booming. Everyone has a smartphone and they’re all searching for apps that fit their needs. App Developers and companies try to meet this ever-growing demand by producing millions of apps, flooding both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. With millions of apps to compete with, how can any one company, developer or game try and rank higher than everyone else to get the downloads they want? App Store Optimization is always there to lend a hand in helping apps rank for relevant keywords and within the charts. But how does a developer exactly go about ASO? There are two main tactics to consider: White Hat versus Black Hat ASO.
Apps in the Google Play Store are not magically indexed or ranked. Google has a specific algorithm that determines how an app indexes, which in turn helps its overall ranking. Google Play indexes apps according to its descriptions, which serve many purposes like:
The mobile app market is growing at an exponential rate, and as it stands, more than half the world now uses smartphones, which equates to roughly 4.92 billion global mobile users. Across the globe, mobile app developers are adopting an ASO strategy to change their app’s metadata to increase discoverability in the new market. While creating an app’s visibility in the market is essential, developers looking to expand their app’s appeal on a global scale need to correctly localize their app to increase conversion.
The number of mobile users is growing exponentially, and mobile app usage in all categories of the app stores is up from last year, especially shopping. Retail apps have given users the power to buy anything they want straight from their mobile devices, and the ecommerce market is predicted to surpass $2 trillion in the coming years. Users are no longer shopping from their desktops, and are now primarily using a mobile device at every step of a transaction. Companies like eBay and Amazon have basically cornered the ecommerce market, and their mobile apps are ranked in the top free apps on the App Store. These companies have made the effective shift to mobile, and are appealing to users that want to instantly buy anything. In Q4, eBay’s mobile platform delivered record-breaking results and crossed the $10 billion benchmark. On Black Friday in 2016, Amazon surpassed the $1.2 billion mark on their mobile platform for the first time. Mobile retail apps have taken over the way that users shop for their products, and it will not slow down. eBay and Amazon dominate ecommerce, but it is because of their mobile apps that they do so well. These companies have paid attention to what users want, and are evolving with the specific user trends. By being attentive to their customers and updating the app store listing to include specific trends while being relevant to users’ searches, it has lead for better optimization in the app stores. The best companies in the ecommerce market all have one thing in common: they’re optimizing their mobile apps using App Store Optimization (ASO).
As people increase their time on their mobile apps, it begs the question of how well apps are retaining users? Developers continue to struggle retaining users after they have downloaded an app. According to AppsFlyer, the number of users that remain on an app after downloading is roughly 10-12 percent after seven days and drops to a dismal 4-5 percent after thirty days. AppsFlyer has the retention rates broken down into divisions for both iOS and Android that include the click-to-install rates. Retention rates are looked at from every angle, and were examined through organic and non-organic users by comprising data of users who were active on days 1, 7 and 30. While the rates have technically improved year-over-year, developers are still finding it difficult to retain users. More developers need to improve their app’s metadata by practicing App Store Optimization (ASO), which will improve app retention rates.
Apple’s new Search Ads initiative has opened up a whole new route to the top of search results. Bidding on a Search Ad is easy, but don’t think that just because you paid the highest amount you’ll suddenly see a huge increase in downloads. To fully take advantage of App Store Search Ads, your app needs to be optimized. Here are the top five strategies for creating a successful App Store Search Ad.
Search Ads may seem straightforward at first blush – Just target a highly searched term, bid higher than the competitors and watch your app take off. In reality, placing a successful Search Ad is more complex. In order to have the best possible Search Ad, you must meld your advertising strategy with your ASO strategy. You should also take into consideration how your iOS screenshots, title and icon will display in your Search Ad. Even with an optimized listing, your Search Ad means nothing if it doesn’t place your app in front of numerous new users. For this reason, your Search Ad strategy must constantly evolve, just as your keyword and creative strategies likely have in the past. Make an active attempt to stay on top of all relevant, popular search terms that you can, and jettison old ads that are no longer converting for your app. Below, we will take a look at several trends that will impact popular Search Ads over the first month of 2017.
While optimizing your app’s keywords, title and short description is vital for growing your visibility organically, all the visitors in the world mean nothing if they don’t download your app. The goal of a conversion strategy is just that - to make a higher percentage of visitors hit that “Get” button. Optimizing for conversion is a vital part of a successful App Store Optimization strategy, yet it’s frequently overlooked in favor of emphasizing keywords and title. We’ve all seen apps that stuff as many keywords as possible into their titles and descriptions, and while those apps may rank for trending terms, their muddled language and inconsistent callouts do them no favors when it comes to getting users to convert.