Why ASO (App Store Optimization) Important For Your Mobile App?

[vc_row][vc_column][blog_single_full_content]Do you want to develop and launch a mobile app?

Do you think it is easy to develop an app?

Even if it was easy, do you really think with fierce competition, your app will be ranking high?

Well, it’s definitely not easy to develop an app and rank it high. However, with the right app store optimization services and expert mobile app developers, it is possible. At present, there are almost 2.96 Million apps in Google Play Store and 1.85 Million apps in the Apple app store according to Statista.

This makes it very difficult for the apps to get discovered, get popular, and acquire users. This is where ASO comes into the picture.

What is App Store Optimization?

It is the process of increasing and improving the visibility of the app within the app store and improves the conversion rate of the app. Two leading app stores are Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Along with ranking high, ASO also pays attention to the click-through rate. This means the user is compelled to click on the app if they find it. There are various ways like optimizing App title, name, screenshot, icon, and ratings.

If a user clicks and comes to the app store listing page, they must download the app or make a purchase. It is a part of the ASO process and popularly known as conversion rate optimization.

Why Does an App Need ASO?

The core agenda of ASO is to increase app downloads and surge visibility. ASO makes the app visible at the right time to the right set of audience.

Now, the question is how can you do that?

To know how to increase the traffic from organic search, you must know how people are conducting their search these days. App owners must set a target audience, see how they search, and optimize your app accordingly. It’s very obvious that your app is going to face a lot of competition out there.

Here are some of the ways how people search for apps:

• General browsing in the app store.
• Reference from friends and family.
• Searching for top rated or most popular apps in the app store.
• Pre-installed apps in the app store.
• Suggestions from social networking platforms.
• General browsing on the internet and other websites.
• Checking an ad in newspapers and magazines.
• Reading blogs.

So, to make your users find you, you need to display your app at their desired platform. All of the above-listed platforms are where the user searches for their desired app. It’s very important to consider all these things while framing Google Play and iOS app store optimization strategy.

Here is why you need ASO.

Benefits of App Store Optimization

There are people who argue that ASO is not necessary for the app. Well, it is incorrect and the list of benefits will show you why it is important to conduct App store optimization on the newly developed app.

Increased Visibility

One of the biggest benefits of conducting ASO on the app is high visibility. Your app gets displayed on the app store on the top with ASO practices. You pour your best efforts and high investment in developing the app but what’s the point if your users can’t find it?

It doesn’t matter how great your app is, it won’t be successful without users downloading it. Don’t let your entire hard work go to vain due to a lack of optimization. App development is a battle while app optimization is a war. Don’t be happy just by winning a battle, think of the big war ahead.

Get Discovered

It is important that your app gets displayed to the users. What is even more important is that it gets displayed to the right set of users. Say, for example, an eCommerce app reaches a kid. Kids will most probably look for an education app or gaming app.

An eCommerce app is of no use to the kids. App store optimization makes your app reach the relevant users for optimum benefit. It reaches the people who are actually looking for an app like yours. It is because they use the right set of keywords that people search for.

Increase Organic App Downloads

A proper ASO strategy will for sure surge the organic downloads and ensure and make sure to deliver long term results. This is because when people type keywords and what they find is your app.

Keywords based organic search results will definitely boost app downloads. ASO experts will monitor and update the entire strategy which leads to mobile app success.

Cut User Acquisition Cost

With app store optimization, the cost of spending money on ads is cut down. ASO focuses on bringing organic growth to the app with ASO. ASO not just saves user acquisition costs but also makes sure the app has continuous and steady growth.

Increases App Revenue

There are plenty of different ways to make money through the app. In-app ads, subscription models, and in-app purchases are some of the ways to generate revenue from the app. Plenty of app owners decide to run ads and invite more users to the app leading to increased revenue.

For this, the app store listing page should be convincing for the users to download it. If not, the entire spending is gone to waste. Conversion rate optimization is also a part of the app store optimization strategy which increases the click-through rate and the number of app downloads.

Reach Global Audience

ASO includes a step called localization. It includes making the app available in different languages which helps in making the app reach the global audience. With a global audience, the chances of app success will increase.

Because of these benefits people, these days opt for Google play app store optimization. It reduces the chance of app failure. There are various activities included in app store optimization and make your app rank high in the relevant stores. Here are some of the tips on how to apply them.

App Store Optimization Tips

App Title

We usually hear, what’s there in a name? But, it’s not the case when you are conducting ASO. Name matters and it matters a lot in the success of the mobile applications.

A relevant name cannot just describe what your app does but also contributes a lot in improving the ranking of the mobile application. The app title must be relevant to the features and characteristics of the app. Also, try to include a keyword or two in the app title. It increases the chances of the app to rank on the top of app stores.

One of the issues with Title is that the guidelines for app titles are different for Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Say, for example, one of Google’s travel apps, Google Trips have a keyword travel planner in their title. You should try to do something similar. Take a look at both their conditions:

Google Play Store

Play Store allows a limit of 30 characters to write app titles. You have to be extra precise in choosing the name and the right name with the right words. For Android apps, it’s not necessary to use keywords in the App’s title. You can use it in the app description to target and rank in the store.

Apple App Store

On the contrary, Apple allows a limit of 255 characters for your title. Here you can adjust the keyword in the title itself. It helps with branding efforts and boosts Apple’s ASO.

Come up with a title that is unique, keyword filled, and unique. You can try creating a title and then create a subtitle with keywords. This tactic will help improve app ranking.

Read Also: How Mobile Application can Boost Your Business after COVID-19 Lockdown

Keywords Setting

Just like in search engine optimization, the keyword is a very important factor in app store optimization as well. Just like the app title, the keywords for Play Store, and Apple store.

With Google Play Store, there is no specific field for the keyword. There is a box for description which is easily searchable with a limit for 4000 characters. It becomes very easy for the app owners to draft a keyword-rich description.

Using the keyword 5 times is appropriate. Make sure to not overdo it. It is called keyword stuffing. Google is very strict about keyword stuffing and gives a penalty to the apps that do it. If you were thinking that it’s only websites that get penalized for stuffing, you are wrong.

Even apps get penalized for stuffing making your ranks drop on the app stores. There is a very thin line of difference between framing a keyword-rich description and keyword stuffing. While drafting it, read it and see whether it is readable for the people along with the app store algorithm.

Whereas the Apple app store allows only a limit of 100 characters to include all the keywords. It is a bit difficult to fit all those keywords with such a short character limit.

Keyword Research

Before you decide to deploy your app in the stores with your chosen keyword, there is a small process of research to conduct. You need to check about the rankings, traffic, demand for those keywords, difficulty, and are there more apps using that keyword?

To find the appropriate keyword for your app, there are several tools for app store optimization. Make proper keyword research and pour your optimization efforts in the right direction.

You can try checking the top ranking apps in your mobile app development category. It’s nice to experiment with things but if you do something totally different from the top apps, you might end up at the end of the app stores. SensorTower is one of the popular ASO tools to help conduct keyword research.

Here are some of the keyword placement tips:

• Use your top keyword in your mobile app’s name.
• Use digits instead of writing the spelling of numbers.
• Use a comma instead of space to separate keywords.
• Don’t use prepositions and conjunctions as keywords.
• Try to use words instead of phrases.
• Compare the singular and plural versions of the keyword and use the one with maximum demand.

App Description

For both Google and Apple apps, description matters a lot. It is the same as your website’s landing page. If any visitor has come this far, they must end up downloading it.

This is why the app description and app store page is one of the most important parts of your ASO strategy. Just think like this while drafting the app description, your user knows nothing about your app.

Here are some of the points that can help you to include in your app description:

• What are the best features of your app?
• How does your app work?
• What problem does your app solve?
• Why should users download your app?

Be enough description, explain everything properly, and don’t forget to include the targeted keywords just like we discussed in the previous step. The description showcases the best parts of the app encouraging the users to use the app.

High-Resolution Screenshot

People just need a few seconds before they decide whether they want to download it or not. Users land on the design for the very first time and decide whether it is download-worthy or not.

Having high-quality screenshots of the app on the App store page makes users like the app. Screenshots are the second most influential thing after ratings for convincing the user to install the app. Choose the screenshots wisely and pick the ones which display the core functionality of the app and look visually appealing.

App Preview Video

Visual content marketing is a very popular way of attracting users to the app. With a video, you can display and explain how to install the app, which features are the best, and how to make the most of it, how to give ratings and reviews.

An app preview video can give a better insight into the app to the interested user. The majority of the users will mute the audio and then play the video. So, make sure to add the text overlays to explain the important features of the app. Include the features of the app and not the faces of people who are using the app. That concept is long gone.

The limit of the iOS app preview video is 30 seconds to show the features and attractive benefits of the app. You can show recordings of the in-app experience. Make sure that your app has a beautiful user interface and a flawless user experience. If it matches the user’s expectation, they will download it and use it. A nice ASO strategy will help convert visitors into loyal users.

Choose Your Correct Category

Choosing the most relevant category for the app not only helps the user in finding the apps they are looking for. It is also a great way to boost apps ranking to the top of the app stores. At times, there might be a possibility that your app fits into more than one category.

Here’s what you can do in such a situation:

• Choose the category that fits your app the best.
• Check all the categories available for your app and search for the least competitive keyword. It improves the chance of app discovery and inviting more users.
• Take a look at the estimated app worth of the applications on the top of this category. Place your app in lower ones which will in turn benefit your app.

Placing your app in the category which is not at all relevant can cause plenty of trouble. God forbid but it will lead to app failure. Apple very closely reviews all the submitted apps before actually publishing them. So, picking the wrong category for the app is nothing but an invitation to app rejection.

In the case of the Google Play Store, the users can send the violation for review. It’s only a matter of time before someone picks out that error and reports it. So, be double sure and pick the right category.

Pay Attention to Icon Design

App ranking and downloads are internally connected. The more number of downloads your app has, the higher will be its popularity and higher will be its ranking. The app icon plays a significant role in deciding the ranking and downloads of the app. The App Store allows only one image to display in the stores. Hence, make sure you pick the right icon design.

It’s advisable to test your app’s icon before making it live in the store. You might like your app’s icon but it’s important to make sure your users like it as well. You can do the same with your app’s screenshot. Now that we know the importance of icons, it’s nice to invest time and effort to come up with a great ASO strategy.

We know it’s not fair to judge a book by its cover but people do judge the app by its icon design. Here are three things to take care of while designing an icon: Attractive, Engaging, and not the same as other apps.

Positive Reviews

Positive ratings and reviews affect massively in the ASO process. In the case of reviews, the more the merrier. Now, the reviews definitely to be true and coming from the user who has used the app and is happy with the experience.

An app with great user experience is way better than an app with a great ASO strategy. If people like the app and are happy to use it for their daily routine, nothing can be better than that. For such an app, users will be happy to share positive reviews for such an app.

Use App Store Analytics

Just like we use Google Analytics for web page analytics, there are several app store analytics tools. These tools assist with the mobile app marketing strategy. App store analytic helps to track the ranking, traffic, and where your app stands among the competition.

They provide actual figures and facts to analyze the performance of your application. It can be a guide to know what efforts are going wrong in-app marketing and what and where to pour efforts to improve it.

Bonus Tip: Keep Checking Your Mobile App

Checking the app and its analytics once the app goes live is not enough. It is important to keep checking the app at every regular interval.

You are not happy with your current ranking?

Check the data, observe your current strategy, and get going to frame a new one. Ask all the above points and see if all the points are okay or not.

Bottom Line

Developing an app from an experienced mobile app development company is important. However, it is equally important to make that app properly visible and in front of the appropriate audience. App store optimization services help you achieve that. You invest a fortune in app designing and development, spend a little more, and ensure the success and payback of your investment.

FAQs

1. Why is ASO important?

ASO helps a mobile app to improve discoverability, target interested users, and land more relevant users to the app’s page in the app store.

2. How can I improve my ASO?

There are 10 important steps to improve an app ASO:

• Use proper app title
• Make a proper keyword research
• Make a descriptive keyword-rich app description
• Use quality screenshots
• Choose relevant category
• Create an app preview video
• Create an engaging app icon
• Get positive app reviews
• Use app analytics tools
• Keep reviewing your app

3. What is ASO Strategy?

App store optimization strategy includes improving the visibility of the app and improves the ranking of the app on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It also brings organic traffic and lowers the user acquisition cost.

4. How does app store optimization work?

It is a process to make your mobile app rank high in the store. The higher it ranks, the more popular it becomes and more downloads it gets and better are the chances to generate revenue from it.

5. How can I improve my app ranking?

The best way to improve app ranking is through app store optimization. There are various effective tips in ASO that can help improve your app ranking.[/blog_single_full_content][/vc_column][/vc_row]