Detailed App Store Optimization Guide for 2015 - Part 1: Apple App Store

Needless to say, organic, selfless application downloads are extremely important. Direct detection of the application in the App Store is one of the most important factors, which accounts for 53% of downloads. Bringing your application to the first places is not so easy, you have to compete with about half a million applications in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. In order for the application to get into the top 10 in the United States, you need about 100 thousand downloads. If we consider that promotion in this region costs about $ 3.30 per load, the budget for it will be about $ 330,000.



How to compete with brands and developers, advertising budgets - hundreds of thousands of US dollars?

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The best option for you is App Store Optimization. ASO allows you to make your application more visible, increase the number of downloads, increase the loyalty of the audience and your income. Actually, ASO is a set of tricks to increase the visibility of a mobile application in the application directory.



Let's highlight the highlights of ASO:

Keywords

• Title;
• Description;
• Localization.

Appearance

• Icons;
• Screenshots

External factors

• Number of downloads;
• Ratings and reviews;
• Keyword tracking and optimization.

Since different application directories use different search algorithms to generate the output, this guide is divided into two parts:

• Apple App Store Optimization (consider now)
• Google Play App Store Optimization (second part of the guide, will be published later)

App Store Optimization: Apple

The Apple application catalog uses a fairly simple algorithm for generating a list of applications, based primarily on the number of downloads. But other factors are taken into account. We will focus on three components:

• Keywords;
• Appearance;
• External factors.

The most important aspect of ASO: keywords

Perhaps this is the most important aspect of ASO. Understand the difference between targeted search queries and keywords. Searching for keywords in ASO, as in SEO, takes a lot of time. Better start with finding relevant and relevant search queries that can be called low competitive.



To get started, use Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends to get an idea of ​​keywords. Once you are comfortable, you can start working with SensorTower or AppAnnie . These tools will help you find the right keywords, track them and explore competitors.



To the note: it is necessary to search for keywords with the maximum frequency of search queries and with minimal competition.



The App Store allows you to specify exactly 100 characters in the keywords section, here are some recommendations:

• Do not put spaces after commas, the end users will not see this list, and the store engine works without spaces;
• The repetition of keywords does not make sense;
• Do not write the numerals, specify the number (not "three", but 3);
• Try to use short keywords in various combinations;
• Do not use the plural;
• Do not use auxiliary words like “the”, “on”, ”at” and their analogues in other languages;
• Use all 100 characters.

Keywords in the title of the application have the greatest weight among other search factors. The MobileDevHQ team presented this as a visual graphic:





Source: kissmetrics.com



The growth of positions by 10.3% is very significant, so you should pay special attention to the name. In addition, here are some more tips:

• The first 25 characters are the most important, they are displayed in the search results when scrolling;
• Avoid special characters, they may not be indexed by Google;
• Keywords that are found in an existing application may be marked as a copy;
• Do not use category names in the application name. For example, you should not use “free puzzle games”, since both “free” and “games” are categories;
• Remember to “cannibalize” keywords, do not use the same keywords everywhere, as this is reminiscent of spam.

What about category names, publisher and IAP (in-app purchase)?



Keywords in these fields are not so important, but they should not be neglected. Users can use the publisher name when searching in conjunction with the application name or keywords, but their complete coincidence is a bad idea. Category names like “free” and “games” are already used for free applications and games, so don't repeat.



What should be taken into account when describing the application?



Descriptions of applications in the App Store are not indexed when searching, but it is a good way to influence the user. An interesting description will give more installations of the program than a boring formal reply.



Wherein:

• It would be nice to conduct A / B testing of different descriptions;
• Note that only the first three lines are shown in the preview;
• Press releases and updates are included in the What's New section;
• Indicate the main advantages and capabilities of your application: why should it be downloaded?

Do not forget about localization!



Localization of keywords for different regions can increase the number of downloads of the application by 767%. The need for localization is fairly obvious, but many companies neglect it. Localization not only improves search rankings, but also improves the user experience of the application.

Brand awareness: choose the right images

The way the application looks like, its icon and screenshots, does not affect the search results. But it is important for users, it is important for branding your application and demonstrating the main idea of ​​the program. This is a decisive factor that allows you to attract the user's attention, convincing him to abandon further searches.



The application icon should not be like the others and at the same time show what the application is. The icon is the first thing that makes an impression. A good idea is to maintain a uniform design of icons everywhere in the application and on your website.



In addition to the icon, the first two screenshots are very important, since they are displayed in the search results. Screenshots are not just beautiful pictures. Feel free to sign them, tell what is depicted on them. Treat them like a print ad, tell an interesting story.



Try to optimize all the factors on the application page, for this you can use the Splitmetrics service.

The difficult part: external factors

The good news: there are still a lot of factors that can help promote your application. The bad news: you cannot directly control them. The so-called “external factors” of advancement can only be controlled through external instruments.



Is there a direct link between the number of downloads and the ranking of the Apple App Store?



In short, yes, and this connection is very strong. The graph below shows the dependence of the ranking of the application on the number of its downloads. Since only the store itself and the application developer know the exact number of downloads, this graph is based on the assumption that the number of user ratings correlates with the number of downloads. Notice how much higher is the number of loads in highly competitive niches:







In order to get into the top 10 applications in the Apple App Store, the number of downloads in the last 72 hours should be very significant, and the last days are especially important. There are several ways to dramatically increase the popularity of your application: these are reviews and ratings, social media and events. But if you plan to stay in a highly competitive niche, it’s best to use paid promotion tools.

Reviews and ratings

Why are they important? In general, it is easy to explain. Users will not install an application with a low rating and bad reviews. It is obvious. But to place a call to evaluate the program in the application itself is quite a dangerous technique. You need feedback, but not any, but only good. Therefore:



Do not interrupt the user at the most interesting place and do not be annoying.







You should not ask users to give feedback in the error message, because at the same time you are asking for a negative.



Ask users if they want to leave a review, rather than persuade them to do so.

Do not relax. Tracking and optimization - ongoing work

ASO does not end after performing the steps described above. You just started, got the first results by publishing the application so that it is easy to find, but you need to move on. Keep an eye on the rating of the application for different keywords, use the whole arsenal of tools for this (Google Trends, Keywords, Sensor Tower, etc.) Try changing the key words, do not forget to check the black lists . explore the behavior of competitors, learn from their successful moves. This is an endless path of trial and error, but the result is well worth the effort, and our management will ease the path.



Recall once again that the procedure for optimizing an application in the Apple and Google catalog is different, and quite significantly. The next post will be about optimizing the promotion of the app in the Google Play Store.

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The translation was prepared by the Appodeal project team .