From ordering food to popping virtual pimples, there seems to be an app for literally everything. So, how can you get your app discovered on the app store? Our SEO partners Search Factory take us through the App Store optimisation (ASO) process!
Despite apps’ much higher expense and the complications that come with monitoring and handling updates, they’re generally faster and simpler than mobile websites.
What is App Store Optimization?
It’s a lot like search engine optimisation, but instead of aiming to get a website to the top of the search results pages, app store optimisation is all about improving the visibility and ranking of a mobile app in an app store. These app stores might include the Apple Store for iOS or Google Play for Android devices.
Factors that affect your app ranking in an app store
Keywords – Keywords help inform the topical relevancy of your app, just like with SEO. There are a lot of app keyword ranking trackers out there that can help you get insights and monitor your keywords.
Title –
Including the keyword in your app’s title is still the best practice, and we given the recorded increase in ranking presented in this apps with keywords in the title ranked on average 10.3% higher than those without a keyword in the title
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/app-store-optimization/
Number of downloads – having a larger number of downloads than competitors’ apps can send out signal that users find yours increasingly relevant to what they’re looking for.
Ratings – ratings allow users to gauge the performance of an app. Much like ratings for anything (website, movie, restaurant), a higher app rating would equal to higher level of reliability, quality and therefore endorsement
Reviews – reviews allow users to learn more about the apps (both pros and cons) before downloading it. Having good reviews is essential to your app ranking as bad reviews can discourage users from endorsing the app, and lower number of downloads, as mentioned above, can cause lower app ranking.
Content optimisation – along with the above main factors, it is important that your app is optimized with great images, short video clips of the app in use, in-depth description and list of features it offers. In so doing, you will help facilitate a user’s decision-making process and more likely improve the number of downloads.
Things to keep in mind
Much like SEO, ASO takes time, so darn well be patient and don’t expect results overnight.
Besides the main factors with direct impact on your app ranking, brand awareness is a potential hindrance to endorsement as a majority of users prefer brands they’re familiar with as opposed to new-comers. As such, if you’re a new kid on the block, it may be worthwhile investing in a Paid campaign and some other marketing channels to increase your brand awareness before you can rely on ASO to bring you good results.
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