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App Store Optimization: The Full Guide (ASO)

App Store Optimization

Learn the practical steps of App Store Optimization (ASO) from start to finish so you can improve app visibility & downloads.

In the first quarter of 2021, Google Play hosted 3.48 million applications for Android users, while the Apple App Store had 2.22 million apps.

Not whether to invest in apps to interact with their audience is the current problem facing marketing teams; instead, it is how to allow users to find their applications in the first place.

That’s why ASO (optimization for app stores) is crucial.

What you’ll find here, in this article, is a discussion of

How do you optimize an app for download?
Tips for improving your app’s visibility in app stores.
You are marketing your business app on several app marketplaces.
Methods for boosting your app’s visibility in app stores without paying for ads.

Whether you’re just starting with ASO or want to fine-tune your existing strategy, you’ll find helpful advice in this piece.

What Exactly Is App Store Optimization?

You may refer to App Store Optimization (ASO) by a few different names.

ASO is primarily about enhancing the visibility of your applications within an app store search engine such as Google Play or Apple App Store. Supporting additional objectives, like visits to your website or app downloads, is possible thanks to the boost in impressions you’ll get.

The primary goal of ASO is to raise a mobile app’s visibility in app stores via several expert-resource applications (like iTunes, Google Play, and Windows Store).

The primary mobile platforms for developing applications are the iPhone/iPad, Android, and Windows Phone.

Usually, ASO aims to increase app downloads. However, other targets may also be set.

Exposure to the brand has increased.
Positive app reviews and ratings.
A more significant number of reviews for apps are posted more often.
You are getting people interested in what you have to say.
We are broadening the variety of distribution methods in advertising.

Is the question of how to justify spending money on ASO something you’re currently grappling with?

In any case, you should be aware that the number of app store users and app downloads is rapidly increasing.

Since 2016, the number of mobile app downloads has increased steadily globally, as reported by Statista.com.

That’s a total of $140.68 billion in 2016.
As of this year, that number is $192.45 billion.
This year, we expect to spend $.204 trillion.
218 billion in 2020.

App Store Optimization: An Overview

If you’re unfamiliar with ASO, you could find that it’s a more conventional way of thinking about how to promote your brand online.

Many of the same principles underpin standard SEO also apply to ASO, which we’ll discuss in further depth below.

This is logically sound if one considers the implications.

App shops are essentially a private search engine that depends on:

It’s simple to find what you’re looking for in apps.
Indexation.
Plus, there are app rating algorithms that are dependent.
Value of the App as Users See It
Freshness.
Measurement system for a particular brand.

The Value of Users’ Indications (e.g., reviews, ratings, engagement).

Do these words ring a bell? I think so.

All of these are also crucial markers for organic search engine rankings.

Experts in mobile marketing who want to boost return on investment from app stores often concentrate on metrics that enable app discoverability.

Ranking.
Impressions.
Shares.
Participation (in the form of testimonials)
Downloads.

Optimizing your app’s discoverability is a continual effort, much like search engine optimization.

The point of creating an app is to get people to download it.

Suppose you dedicate yourself to ASO and continuously monitor and measure performance and outcomes. In that case, you may stand out in the competitive and expansive app markets of the App Store and Google Play.

In case you were curious about the most popular app store categories in March 2021, they were as follows:

Games (21.53%).
Business (10.11%).
Education (8.67%).
Lifestyle (8.62%).
Utilities (6.24%).

More than the top 5, the remaining percentages are highly concentrated between 2% and 4%, with several other categories falling within that range.

The only major category that deviates from this clustering is the entertainment industry, which accounts for 5.72 percent of all internet users.

Your ASO Foundation: Organic Optimization

Unfortunately, many methods for delivering ASO campaigns leave out organic search optimization, including app stores, into the more extensive organic marketing mix.

More than they are rivalry with one another, ASO and SEO have common ground.

Combining these strategies and applying a constant emphasis on ASO may support numerous search marketing benefits.

Many of the tried-and-true SEO strategies that improve rankings on Google and Bing may, surprisingly enough, be applied straight to ASO.

Some instances of this are:

It enhances the app’s discoverability by refining its name, title, and URL.
Conducting ASO keyword research.
Support for creating and managing app ratings and reviews.
It supports deep in-app links.
App indexing in Google’s search results (search engine results pages).
Improvements in the proportion of viewers who click through to a site.

When it comes to merging SEO and ASO, however, the most significant blunder is failing to recognize the importance of the website in directing traffic to the store page and the app downloads area.

It’s important to picture your website as the motor that propels potential customers from first contact with your business online (through search engines) to a fully engaged, ready-to-buy/download audience (via your website) (your app store).

Since there is a limit on what may be shown inside the app shops, boosting your app’s worth, traffic, and downloads by increasing its exposure and authority outside the app stores is crucial.

Strategy for the App Store

Several distinct parts of Google Play and other app marketing platforms may be updated, refined, and optimized over time.

Maximum exposure in app stores is crucial since they are directly responsible for most of all app downloads.

The following are the most critical optimization aspects to address, regardless of the specifics of the app store you’re targeting.

Title, URL, and Description of the App

Ensure they reinforce value, distinction, and other perceived value signals while still including the primary terms characterizing your product. These sections should reflect the most valuable search terms and user habits.

Be wary of applying low-quality or spammy strategies, and keep in mind that there are character limits for things like app titles (names). Avoid keyword stuffing or similar tactics since they are easily detected by algorithms and punished.

If you are unsure how to use a specific combination of terminology, it is best to consult an expert or determine why you are using it. Are they interactive with the user? Do their search patterns mirror who they are?

App keyword field (s)

These need to be accurate and updated to reflect the most recent and relevant user search queries. Optimization of this requires the use of conventional keyword research. Make sure you take the time to collect extensive data and implement checks and balances that will allow you to continuously evaluate, adjust, and enhance the data set and any other crucial components (likely monthly).

Ranking and reviewing apps

Users place a lot of faith in them, and app stores use them as a rating indication. Size, recency, and reputation are all essential factors.

You need a system in place for consistently producing reviews, as well as one for responding to and conversing about those evaluations. Staff training and incentives may inspire and empower your frontline employees to be proactive and consistent in obtaining good volumes of app reviews, which can add significant value to your business.

App Store Views

It stands to reason that the more people who download your app, the more critical they will consider it. The more downloads an app receives, the higher it will appear in the app store’s organic ranking.

Integrating non-App Store marketing channels to increase app installs is just as crucial as optimizing the app. The more effectively you combine and monitor your various marketing channels, the more influence you will have on your chosen media.

Update Your App: Freshness Is What Downloads Deserve

Most successful applications in app stores are constantly updated (reflecting user feedback, technology changes, feature additions, and improvements).

Apps continually adapting to user needs and preferences are also included in this category.

Updated apps get more lavish praise and more reviews overall.

They also provide recursive methods for keeping your company’s community up to date, interacting with it, and receiving support.

The more often you update your app, the more suited your brand will be to adapt to the evolving demands of your audience and the intensifying competition via the enhancement and refinement of your app.

Update frequency is used in the ranking algorithm of the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

So, the more time and effort your company puts into improving your app’s features, the higher it will likely rank in app stores and perform.

It’s an excellent tool for keeping your app up to par and encouraging good user reviews and open communication channels with your target demographic.

5 More Pointers for Improving Your App’s Performance in the App Store

Here are a few additional strategies you may use to improve your app’s performance in the app store.

Your app’s name, title, description, and associated fields are all triggered by keywords, so it’s essential to do your homework to find the best keywords to utilize and to return to them frequently to look for ways to improve their performance.
The value you receive from your app store product page (in the form of downloads) highly depends on how you showcase your product there. Download generation should always include optimizing product page content.
The thumbnails and screenshots you use to market your software in app stores will directly influence the click-through rates (CTR) of impressions relative to clicks to further app pages.
To continuously improve the main metrics linked with each field in your app store, you should do A/B tests on them (CTR, CRO, etc.). Utilizing the available optimization areas in app stores to their full potential necessitates using experimental and hypothesis testing methods.
To number five, think about using Apple’s Spotlight Search.

Users may search for programs that have already been installed on their mobile devices by utilizing this app store. In addition to increasing your app’s visibility, enabling Apple’s Spotlight Search may affect how often users interact with it.

Conclusion

Optimization for app stores (ASO) keeps beating industry averages.

Apps have become an essential component of the marketing mix in recent years.

Getting applications found by customers organically through the leading app stores is now the primary difficulty.

With any luck, you’ve learned some things you can do right now to improve the performance of your applications and see a rise in downloads and revenue.

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