Posted on November 29th, 2017
As the holidays approach, many developers are launching updates to take advantage of the shift in seasonal search trends. Properly researching, preparing and launching updates tied to these trends can help apps stay competitive with what’s trending, while maintaining the app’s core rankings. End-of-the-year holidays provide a unique opportunity for apps across a wide range of categories. It’s always important to analyze how an app is performing and adjust accordingly. With the holiday season, however, comes specific opportunities for apps like shopping apps, games and even local restaurant discovery guides. These types of apps can benefit from eager users searching the app stores during the holidays, but can only successfully convert these users by incorporating ASO.
Posted on November 25th, 2017
It has been just over one year since Apple has rolled out its Search Ads platform, something that piqued the interested of developers interested in quality install channels world-wide. Search Ads is Apple's tool that helps developers bid on certain keywords at varying costs, allowing them to compete against other competitors in their market for their relative “hot keywords.” To this date, developers, agencies and marketers have spent upwards of $580 billion, according to a recent report by eMarketers. From a marketing perspective, it would only make sense to start spending it where millions of mobile users are browsing for the next big app. If you've got your campaigns all set up, how are they looking? Are you seeing the ROI you were hoping to see straight off the bat with your new investment in Search Ads? Hopefully your answer isn’t "no." If it is, then you may want to consider these five reasons why your Search Ads campaign may be failing: 1. Your Metadata is Irrelevant Make sure you fine tune your app’s metadata (title, subtitle, keywords, description) to make your app relevant for your most important terms in Search Ads. One of Apple’s first announcements was that your app would need to be as relevant as possible for all of the keywords you bid on. One of the largest pillars of App Store Optimization, relevancy can be built the following ways: a) Including the Search Ads keywords in your app's title b) Including the Search Ads keywords in your app's subtitle c) Including the Search Ads keywords in your app's promotional text d) Including the Search Ads keywords in your app's description Your ability to incorporate these keywords into your app description helps Apple determine how relevant you are for these keywords. This is not to say that you should keyword stuff- building contextual relevance for your targeted terms will help. The more relevant you are, the more likely you’ll appear and the more likely you’ll convert.
Posted on November 23rd, 2017
The holidays are just around the corner and app developers all around the world are updating their app’s metadata to let users know they are ready for the holidays. One thing developers have to consider when preparing their app’s metadata is how different territories celebrate the holidays. App developers that have their app deployed in multiple territories already know the importance of localization. What they might not know is how users in different territories take part in the holiday season. Some territories celebrate their version of Thanksgiving at different times, while some don’t celebrate it at all. As we move into December, many developers are looking to target Christmas, a holiday that some territories don’t celebrate or celebrate differently. Developers need to pay attention to the differences among territories. For instance, Japan celebrates Christmas Eve more than Christmas Day, and part of India celebrates Christmas by decorating banana and mango trees. It’s differences like these that developers need to pay attention to when localizing their apps for the holidays. If any developer is worried or unsure about where to start in the localization process, they can follow our tips to aid them this holiday season.
Posted on November 16th, 2017
With the release of iOS 11, developers everywhere are double checking their ASO checklists, especially in regard to their app
Posted on November 11th, 2017
As we near the holiday season, it means that we also get closer and closer to Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Posted on October 10th, 2017
Apple Search Ads is growing rapidly, especially since Apple launched their new App Store redesign. Since Apple announced back in April 2017 that they were expanding their Search Ads to the UK, Australia and New Zealand, developers around the world have been reaping the benefits of Apple Search Ads. If any developer has been considering getting into Search Ads but hasn’t taken the plunge, now is the time, but there are some things you should know before getting started. Similar to ASO, Search Ads isn’t a one-time thing. Running Search Ads requires constant monitoring to make sure the campaign is working within the set budget and converting users. Many developers fail to realize having bad Search Ads management can actually hurt their apps more than not having a Search Ads campaign at all. Focusing on their budget, audience, and metadata, developers will ensure their Search Ads are optimized to attract and convert users. The key to making successful Search Ad campaigns is achieved by following ASO best practices.
Posted on August 30th, 2017
With more and more dating apps in the app store market today, it's essential for developers to implement ASO best practices into their app marketing strategy to compete in an increasingly congested market.
Posted on August 22nd, 2017
If you are an app developer, you have probably seen your fair share of user reviews. Many can attest that while they enjoy seeing praise for having a great app, the scorn of negative reviews leaves a lasting impression. Clean up those wounds and turn a negative into a positive. Look at all reviews as information and an opportunity to use that information to improve your app and communicate with users. User reviews can serve many purposes for developers and give insight on how to improve their app and allow them to mine valuable information about their users such as: do user’s like the app, are there bugs that need fixing, or are there features active users consistently ask for? By paying attention and interacting with users, developers will see better results in user retention, lessen uninstalls, and possibly turn a negative one star rating into a positive star rating. While a negative review is not the end of the world, sometimes it is a premonition that a user is ready to uninstall. As the combined total of apps on the app stores crossed the threshold of 4 million, developers are pressured more than ever to prevent users from uninstalling their app and downloading a competitor. It is imperative that developers take the necessary steps to avoid the common reasons users uninstall apps to guarantee continued success.
Posted on August 18th, 2017
Since a picture is worth a thousand words, using visual aids to capture users’ attention within the App Stores has become a vital part in the acquisition funnel. As competition in the App Stores continues to grow, developers need to find ways to differentiate themselves from their competition. Utilizing ASO best practices to optimize an app’s metadata (app name, keywords, description, etc.) is the most efficient way to target an app’s audience. While focusing on the metadata is crucial, developers need to pay close attention to creating visually appealing screenshots to convince users to download and/or buy the app, thus increasing conversion rate.
Posted on August 12th, 2017
Developers that have an app on the App Store or Google Play Store need to use App Store Optimization (ASO) as a tool to market their apps. As developers create their ASO strategy, it’s imperative that ASO best practices are utilized to maximize visibility. Before developers start utilizing ASO, they need to avoid some common ASO mistakes to boost their success.
Posted on August 5th, 2017
Popular comics, TV shows, movies, and celebrities have recently made the shift to mobile by recreating their content into mobile apps. While developers are struggling to get recognized on the App Store and Google Play Store, well-known names such as Gordon Ramsay, Marvel Comics and more, have found an instant groove, reaching a new audience, and increasing daily downloads. Transitioning into the app world with a recognizable and popular brand is great, but to remain relevant, you need an ASO strategy. Games like Pokémon GO have proven that they need an ASO strategy to continue success in the app stores and retaining users. While Pokémon GO proved that it could attract loyal fans without having a great ASO strategy, many of those fans ended up abandoning the game within six months due to monotonous gameplay and no new updates other than one-time bug fixes. With an ASO strategy, Pokémon GO could have gained new users that were unaware of its brand or popularity. Having a built-in fan base is great and automatically guarantees a number of downloads, but understanding ASO and why a strategy is important, can do wonders for continuing an app’s success.
Posted on July 27th, 2017
Mobile apps – a growing market that affects nearly every person in the world. On top of creating an app, developers must market their apps to a specific audience. For an app to advance, keeping their audience in mind throughout every step of the optimization process is crucial. As technology continues to grow and the app market progresses, developers need to continually market their app to their target audience. Recently, as more and more developers crowd the marketplace, some have started adjusting their app’s metadata toward millennials. Smart phone users around the world run into the billions and within the US alone 85 percent of smart phone users are millennials. For the most part, once an app goes live on the App Store or Google Play Store, roughly 25 percent of the world’s population can access the app. Even though 25 percent seems like a small number, it still adds to an app’s overall visibility. Should developers really focus their efforts on targeting just millennials, or should they broaden their scope and target everyone? Generations of Users In today’s society, it is a commonly known fact that millennials have grown up with technology more than previous generations. For most, their daily life consists of staying connected through their mobile device, which strongly includes the use of mobile apps. Even emerging markets such as India have millennials making up the largest population group, meaning there are rapidly growing markets with easy to target audiences. While ASO best practices highly suggest targeting your app to a specific audience, targeting only millennials can limit your app’s visibility in the app stores. By focusing on only one group of individuals, your app can never reach its full potential or become relevant to other generations of users. Instead of focusing on just one generation, it’s important to look at what your app does and understand who the app is intended for. Once you understand who your target audience is, it will be increasingly easier to optimize your metadata.
