Oct 11, 2023

What is App Store Optimization and why does your app need it

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When the application is ready and tested, it’s time to present it to users. Of course, it is worth downloading to the app stores so that many people install and evaluate the app. But how to attract the attention of potential users? After all, the competition is so high. Only on Google Play, you have to compete with 2,386,125 other applications to get downloads. App Store Optimization will help you to solve this problem. We will explain what it is and why it has become an indispensable point in the promotion of mobile applications.

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What is ASO

Application Store Optimization (ASO) is a process that helps improve the visibility of your application in stores. Optimization is carried out for such popular stores as the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. ASO includes a set of actions that provides many advantages: increased conversion from page view to installation, advancement in search results for targeted queries, and application visibility in tops and selections of markets. Now, most marketers recognize ASO as an indispensable element for developing an application promotion plan.

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Why does your application need it

As we have already said, the mobile app market is an extremely competitive environment. People are mostly looking for apps in leading stores. A whopping 70% of mobile users utilize search to find the program they need, and 60% install it without opening the page.

The higher your application in the search results, the more relevant it is for users. Higher-rated apps also get more downloads as people pay attention to the first few positions. That is why it is so important that your project takes a high place. If the user has opened the application page, he needs to be convinced with beautiful screenshots and attractive description.

Without optimizing the application page, you are missing the largest marketing promotion channel. Therefore, you should study the principles of ASO and spend time optimizing the app for long-term results.

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What’s on the pages of competitors

Thanks to the study of competitive applications, you can determine the points that you should pay attention to, learn about trends, and assemble a semantic core for future work. Having learned about how recognized brands are promoting their project, you can learn a lot to develop your own strategy. Pay attention to applications with a large number of installations. Observe how screenshots are optimized, what their name is, how the description is built.

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Optimization strategy

After exploring a niche, you can begin to develop a strategy. In order to improve the visibility of the application, you can use three different approaches: conversion from views to installations, issuing by certain keys, and adding all possible keywords.

If work on ASO was not carried out at all or the strategy turned out to be unsuccessful, it is worth using all three approaches at once. If you’ve optimized the app before, check out the conversion and line items for the main keywords first. Having received this data, it will be easier for you to solve the visibility problem.

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Keywords

The semantic core is the foundation of App Store Optimization. With its help, make descriptions, select the correct name, as well as for successful screenshots of the application. This is a very important point. To compile a library of words, use the hints in the search from the application stores themselves, the words that you identify with competitors, and the Google Keyword Planner service.

To enter keys in the App Store, use the Keywords field. The number of characters is up to 100, so select only the most popular keywords. There is no such field on Google Play, so you should take care of the presence of keywords in the description.

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A good name is a way to express yourself

You already have a semantic core that you can work with. It’s time to come up with a good name for the application to optimize for the store. Although the App Store offers to enter a name of up to 255 characters, it is still worthwhile to limit the name to seven words. Google Play decided to be more concise and offer to enter a name with a maximum of thirty characters.

Choosing a long name, do not forget that in both markets it will appear truncated. It depends on the devices and location of the user. Therefore, the name should speak for itself, and from the first word make it clear how it will help the user.

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Catchy description

It’s worth using the rule “Less is more”. Do not write huge descriptions on several blocks. Tell us about the main thing in the first two lines and be sure to check how the text is displayed in minimized form.

For Google Play, the description is very important. A short description or description is 80 characters. In the detailed description on the page, pay attention to the first 150 characters, it is their user who will see immediately.

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An icon is the first thing the user sees in the search

Although this seems like a small detail, the icon is what the user sees before he even opens the page. It should attract attention, be unique, and memorable. The icon reflects your brand and logo. Make it simple and minimalistic, do not use many colors, and do not overload a small image with many elements. Read more about the trends and rules for creating icons here.   

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Screenshots are the visual representation of functions

Screenshots help turn a page view into an app installation. They must be high-quality and creative. Show the main advantages and functions in the first two screenshots to immediately show the potential user why he should download the application.Don’t add a lot of text to the screenshots, make concise and meaningful headings. Use keywords from the semantic core for them. And remember, the text should be well-read, not small, and fit the background. You can learn about the intricacies of creating attractive screenshots in our article.

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Testing and improvement

Having adjusted the optimization, it’s worth checking out a new strategy. Find out how successful your page is with A / B testing. There is no special service for the AppStore, but you can always use third-party resources for verification. Google Play, in turn, offers developers the built-in Developer Console tool. After receiving poor results, adjust the strategy or work on a new design that will be more successful.

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Wrapping up

Optimization for app stores is an important part of the presentation and marketing strategy. App stores are the main tools to show users all the benefits of your project. Agree, every developer wants as many people as possible to use his application. Therefore, you definitely can not ignore the pages in the Google Play and App Store. Following optimization tips, you can achieve great results and increase the number of downloads.