It’s tax season and Uncle Sam is ready to collect. Which app users choose to help them do their taxes may depend heavily on the service’s attention to their App Store Optimization.
In today’s App Store Spotlight, we’ll take a look at the H&R Block Tax Prep app to analyze how they can further improve their app listing by implementing ASO best practices found in their niche.
We’ll break down different elements of their App Store listing that ultimately influences users in downloading the app or not.
An app title and subtitle are two of the most important metadata fields found on an App Store listing. Being the first text elements presented to users when navigating search results, a title and subtitle should stand out immediately and convey necessary information. Including terms that relate the app core features to users’ potential needs is a good first step in having an effective title and subtitle.
However, it’s also important to consider that the words placed in these fields serve as visibility drivers thanks to the App Store’s indexation. Title tags in the app title and keywords in the app subtitle are ways to boost visibility for hyper-relevant terms you want your app ranking for.
Let’s take a look at how H&R Block can improve their title and subtitle.
Currently, H&R Block includes the keyword “Tax” in its title for which it currently ranks 2nd. However, relying on just one keyword in just one field is a limiting ASO approach.
A recommended strategy would be to include long-tail keywords throughout the title and subtitle. These keywords help target not only phrases but also the individual terms that make them up.
For example, TurboTax and TaxSlayer both have the phrase “file your taxes” or a similar one in their title contributing to their consistent ranks in the top 3 positions for phrases containing this combination of keywords or similar ones.
Additionally, the subtitle also includes keywords for their top-ranking competitor. Whereas H&R block does not have any relevant keywords targeting its audience in the subtitle, TurboTax includes the term “taxes” for which it ranks #1.
Another critical field to consider optimizing is the app description. While not indexed like a Google Play Store description, the App Store description still warrants careful attention to the language used in order to maximize the chances of achieving a download. An App Store description is your opportunity to secure the download if optimized correctly.
Some app description best practices include:
With this in mind it's easy to recognize areas of improvement when analyzing an app description like H&R Block’s.
Off the bat, we can observe a lack of a promo text at the top of the description. A Promotional Text is an effective element in attracting user attention and motivating them to learn more about an app. H&R Block’s developers should consider implementing a phrase that hooks the user as soon as they reach this part of the product page with the objective of informing and engaging them.
Another area of improvement is in the description structure. Implementing feature lists is a best practice found among app competitors, however, how they appear is just as important as having them. Whether due to a formatting error or otherwise, the awkward spacing found just before the first word of every bullet point can throw off readers. Carefully analyzing how feature lists will potentially look in the app store is an important step before publishing.
App screenshots are another conversion-centered element that is important to optimize. Highlighting core features is foundational to communicating what the app offers while doing so in a visually engaging manner.
App Store screenshots offer 10 slots to include images that you can leverage to illustrate relevant app information. Within H&R Block’s screenshots, we can observe their first four pictures explaining one of the core features found in-app. However, this is a missed opportunity for including other app features that can be relevant to their user base.
Taking a look at H&R Block’s competitors we can observe that each screenshot highlights a different feature related to user needs.
While it helps to highlight the app’s “tax help” functionality, there are other relevant features worth mentioning such as tax filing, document uploads, and refund estimates that are all potentially relevant to users.
Applying the above app store optimization best practices can prove effective for growing apps in any industry. Ultimately competitive analysis will help you determine what best practices are relevant to your niche so that you can apply them.
Need help with your finance app? Get in touch with Gummicube today!
How can developers of journal apps optimize to stay relevant, differentiate themselves, and compete in the App Store? This App Store Spotlight jumps into some of the strategies employed by the top journal apps. Jump in to learn more.
In this App Store Spotlight, we dive into the intricacies of optimizing finance apps and analyze the unique considerations of one of the most popular categories in the app stores.
Gaming is the largest category in the app stores by far. One out of every six games on the app stores is a mobile game, so how can you stand out from the competition? Find out in this App Store Spotlight.