ASO is the process of optimising mobile apps on Google Play and App Store to rank higher in search results. ASO efforts help maximise app visibility, improve conversion rates or grow in-app retention — all of this, so users can download your app and stick to it for longer.
In other words, ASO is like SEO for App Store and Google Play. These Stores have different algorithms, but both of them base their factors on:
- keywords in your title and description
- downloads
- reviews and ratings
- screenshots, icon, and video preview
- install/uninstall ratio
The App Store Optimisation process requires a deep understanding of your target customers. This includes keywords that they use in the app stores. This knowledge will give you a deep dive into the language that potential customers us, let you base your marketing plan on the information you gathered, and determine your keyword choices.
To bring real results, ASO should be a long-term and ongoing process kept alongside your marketing strategy: Plan, test, check the results and always be patient.
Discoverability and conversion
According to research (Apple, Forrester), 65% of apps are discovered through app store searches. This makes the app store search the most popular method for finding new apps, which is why ranking high is so important.
Reaching your app is the first step in the customer experience process.
Which factors decide whether users download the app or not?
According to the Storemaven research, “an icon can improve app ranking by 25%, a title by up to 15%. Screenshots can give you up to 30%, description 20%, and video even up to 35%”.
All these activities can be conducted without any change to the code, meaning you can do it without any developer help. The only thing you need to know is how to optimise your app in the App Store and Google Play — and this is what I am going to cover in the following articles.
Stay tuned!
