There are over 4 million apps on the internet today, so when you decide to launch an app the competition you’ll face is quite stiff. App developers around the globe are vying for the top position in their app stores and they have some ingenious tricks up their sleeve. Some of these tricks are great for apps that are new to the market, let’s take a look at how you can optimize your app to get noticed as soon as it hits the market.
App Store Optimization (ASO)
App Store Optimization is a lot like Search Engine Optimization (SEO). To get seen these days on the internet you need to optimize the content around your product so that search engines pick you as a relevant search. The competition to get on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) is stiff and you need to be really smart about it.
Like SEO, which operates on larger search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. ASO is used for smaller search engines that exist within particular app stores. Both of these methods try to drive organic traffic to a website or app by optimizing the content related to it and making it rank as the most relevant result to a particular query.
Even though there are a few core similarities between ASO and SEO there are quite a few differences between them as well. While SEO tries to rank a website or content within a large search engine, ASO aims to rank a particular app within the app store, due to the different objectives of these two methods there are quite a few differences in how they are implemented.
ASO vs SEO
Definition
ASO is a method of optimizing an app with the intention of improving the app’s visibility in the app store and driving organic interactions and traffic to the app. The ultimate goal of ASO is to increase maximize organic downloads of an app.
SEO, on the other hand, aims to rank webpages within relevant search fields, this is to drive the maximum amount of traffic to the website with the intention of increasing organic interactions. Unlike ASO, SEO focuses on websites and large search engines, so there are quite a few parameters to take into consideration to come up with an effective SEO strategy.
Objective
ASO aims to maximize the organic downloads and minimize user acquisition costs, by preparing and executing an effective ASO strategy.
SEO aims to maximize organic traffic to a website with the aim of increasing the size of an online business. Websites that have a lot of organic traffic also tend to have high domain authority, which improves the overall visibility of a business online.
Parameters
ASO strategies factor in two different types of parameters, on-metadata factors, and off-metadata factors. These factors differ between different app stores like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store. Let’s take a look at the different parameters for on-metadata and off-metadata strategies.
On-Metadata Parameters
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App Name
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Description
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Promotional Text
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Visuals: App icon, screenshots, videos
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Keywords (Apple App store)
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Developer name (Play Store)
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URL (Play Store)
Off-Metadata Parameters
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Ratings and reviews
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Backlinks
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Downloads
SEO strategies factor in on-page and off-page parameters. Let’s take a look at both these parameters and how the effect Google’s SERPs.
On-Page Parameters
Meta Title
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Meta Description
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Architecture of the Site
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User Experience (UX)
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Page Load Time
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Header tags (H1, H2, H3…)
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Quality of Content
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User Engagement
Off-Page Parameters
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Traffic
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Domain Authority
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Backlinks
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
To measure the success of your ASO strategy you will need to monitor the following KPIs
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User reviews and ratings
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Top Charts Ranking
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Keyword Ranking
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Conversion Rate to Visit
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Conversion Rate to Downloads
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Revenue
To measure the success of your SEO strategy you will need to monitor the following KPIs
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Click-through Rate (CTR)
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Keywords Ranking
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Link profile
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Organic Traffic
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Bounce Rate
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Google page speed
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Revenue
Exposure
ASO seeks to maximize the exposure of an app through:
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Search
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Featuring the app on:
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Related Apps
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Top Charts
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Featured Apps
SEO seeks to maximize the exposure of a website through:
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Seach
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Google Discover (Only for Android Devices)
How App Store Reviews can help
Among all the parameters mentioned above, one of the most important parameters is ratings and reviews. In a study by Apptentive it was discovered that nearly 59% of users read reviews and view an app’s rating before downloading it. When you develop a new app, it can be quite hard to get your app reviewed or get your users to rate your app, but no need to worry.
There are companies that incentivize their users to review and rate apps for you. These reviews and ratings are provided by real users and are 100% organic. Let’s take a look at how purchasing app store reviews can help you get noticed.
Builds Trust
An app that has multiple good reviews and high ratings instills a level of trust in the user and will increase the chances of them downloading your app.
Boost Ranking
An app that is being noticed by users and being reviewed and rated by them is more likely to show up on one of the features lists in the app store. This could be in the Top Rated Apps, Featured Apps or Related Apps. Apps that are on the featured lists get downloaded by more users.
Improvements to the App
Reviews are not always good, some dissatisfied customers may also provide you some harsh feedback through a review. A good review is great for getting people to notice your app, but a harsh review can help you improve features within your app and make the user experience better.
So when it comes to getting noticed on the app store you need to show the app store that people are noticing you. Reviews and ratings show that your users are engaged with your app and are using it regularly, this pushes your ranking within the app store higher. So when you decide to launch an app make sure you get it reviewed and rated, this can save you a lot of time and effort.
