App Store Optimization (ASO): What is it and Why it’s Integral to your App’s Success
With 3.48 million apps available in the Apple App Store and 2.22 million apps available in the Google Play Store, you need to fine-tune your strategy to get your app noticed.
App store optimization is all about making your app stand out from the crowd to the right users at the right time. Learn what app store optimization is, how it can increase traffic and downloads, and how you can implement it to maximize your app conversions.
What is App Store Optimization?
Like SEO, which aims to get a website online, app store optimization (ASO) is a strategy to improve your app’s visibility and get more engagement and conversions from users. ASO uses specific strategies to satisfy the algorithms and best practices for ongoing optimization.With the right strategy in place, ASO can increase app downloads, reduce user acquisition costs, and improve your app’s value. Getting your app noticed is about more than making it rank high in the app store search results, however. Downloads are the biggest conversion, but many users abandon apps after short periods. Optimization is about improving retention as much as getting the download.
Use ASO to Differentiate Your Brand
Creating and marketing an app that differs from competitors is a huge win, but it’s about more than features. Ideas are copied all the time, and users expect apps to do more and more as developers come up with similar apps.
For example, many apps offer content and practice te
sts for student drivers to learn. Our Zutobi driver’s education app offers scientifically proven learning techniques, comprehensive learning materials, and state-specific permit tests, such as this MA sample test, to provide better value than our competitors.
Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels
Now, many other apps may create similar features, leveling the playing field once again. Our app can be differentiated again by offering a state-of-the-art interface and strong user experience. Here are some ways brand differentiation helps:
- Better discovery with relevant keywords: Users on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store search for new apps using the search function. Plugging your app with a bunch of keywords doesn’t help, however, because it doesn’t necessarily attract the ideal audience. It’s best to align your keywords with the audience intent to capture prospective users that are likely to download and use your app.
- Lower customer acquisition costs: Ads that lead to an app install can get pricey. Using paid ads can help with organic reach, but aren’t the sole concern in ASO strategy. It’s important to focus on long-term strategy with influencer partnerships, user experience, and reengagement.
- Better app retention: User experience (UX) is vital to your app’s retention and engagement. You must understand how your audience uses your app and create a personalized journey for them, so they’ll want to use it all the time.
Create a Top-Notch User Experience for App Retention and Engagement
While most marketers use demographics, income, location, and other user data to understand their audiences, creating a valuable app goes a step beyond the basics. You should have an in-depth understanding of your audience and how they use your app to create an experience that improves quality of life.
You can ask questions like:
- What motivates them?
- What makes them feel like they belong?
- How important is security?
- What is the most frustrating part of their day?
- What do they do to relax?
- What are their hobbies?
The answers to these questions can help you optimize your app and turn it into a must-use for your audience. No matter how good the app is, users are going to abandon it if it’s difficult or frustrating to use.
App awareness is important to get the download, but optimizing your app for its value and experience is more likely to keep your user engaged with your app.
Define Your Goals
Improving quality of life for the user is great, but it’s not easy to measure. You need measurable goals to determine if your efforts are succeeding.
The best way to do this is to choose which features or in-app experiences are the most valuable. For example, if you were trying to have success with a driver’s ed app like ours, tracking the user’s points, levels, or test success rates would be worthwhile metrics.
Your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound). This ensures your features and goals are aligned with your audience and both your long- and short-term goals. As you go, you can check in on your progress and tweak your strategy as needed.
Technical Aspects of ASO and How to Leverage Them
Like SEO, ASO has some technical bits that are important to your strategy.
On-Metadata vs. Off-Metadata Factors
With SEO, both on-page and off-page optimization are vital. Problems like low-quality content, slow link speed, and broken links can lead to a poor user experience and poor growth.
ASO is the same way. You must consider both the on-app experience for the user, as well as the technical requirements behind it. On-metadata and off-metadata contribute to user acquisition, downloads, traffic, awareness, and retention. Some of these include:
- App title and subtitle
- Keywords
- Description
- Icons
- Screenshots or demo videos
- Updates
- App install volume
- Usage and engagement
- Reviews
- Uninstall rate
How to Optimize On-Metadata
App Title and Subtitle
The app title is one of the biggest factors. Your title should be on-brand, memorable, and descriptive, since it’s the first thing people see and explains your app’s purpose.
App titles have optimal length guidelines, which are under 30 characters for iOS apps and under 50 characters for Google apps.
This is a lot to balance. You have only a few characters to tell your audience what your app does and come up with a unique name that’s memorable. If you succeed, however, your title can increase the likelihood that the user will download it.
Keywords
Google uses keywords from the description to help your app discovery, but the Apple App Store offers a hidden keyword field for you to include high-value keywords. You should select keywords that are relevant to your app’s title and what it does for its users.
You can find a lot of options for keywords by looking up competitor keywords and focusing on app keywords that have the right intent. App traffic doesn’t mean much without the install, so focus on the keywords with lower search volume but higher intent and relevance.
Your keyword research should include questions like:
- What are the main features of your app that you’re highlighting?
- What are some synonyms for your app’s features?
- What are your competitor’s apps called?
- What terms do people in your audience use?
Keyword research takes time, effort, and refinement. Don’t stress over your keywords at the start – this is a factor you’ll revisit time and time again as you learn more about your audience and how they search for and use apps.
Descriptions
Keywords differ between the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Apple uses keywords in a separate field, while Google uses keywords from the description. In either case, “stuffing” your description with keywords is not a good practice. It not only ruins readability, but it prevents your user from getting anything useful out of the description.
Ultimately, your description should speak to your target audience and explain the benefits that your app provides. You should also use this as an opportunity to share your brand’s unique value proposition, or how you differ from competitors.
Here are some key components of an effective description:
- Easy to understand
- Informative
- Keywords
- Up to 4,000 characters
- Structure, such as bullets or numbered lists
Icons
Icons are one of the first things a user sees. In some cases, it may even be noticed before the title. When you’re choosing your app icon, make sure it catches someone’s attention as they’re scrolling through search results. It’s also important to choose an icon that represents your brand reliably.
Ideally, your app should be unique and simple. Avoid using words, cluttered imagery, dull colors, or a design that isn’t representative of what you want to convey. For example, if you’re marketing an app for high-end luxury goods, your icon should be sleek and professional, rather than cartoony or childish.
Screenshots or Demo Videos
Screenshots and demo videos leave a good impression with prospective users, since they can see what the app looks like before downloading. Your app store screenshots should be viewed like other imagery – choose relevant, eye-catching images that accurately represent your brand and your app.
Another important consideration is how users will interact with your app. If all the features of your app are in a vertical orientation, then your screenshots should be. If you have an app with a horizontal layout, the screenshots should be horizontal.
PRO TIP: Learn how to choose the best SEO company if you have both an app and a website to optimize.
Updates
Users aren’t likely to download an app that was created and then abandoned by its owner. Consistently releasing app updates and patches to correct errors not only improve UX, but they show that you’re invested in delivering a great app to users.
You don’t need to pretend your app is perfect. Bugs happen. But telling your users about bugs and how you fixed them goes a long way in building trust. You also have an opportunity to get your users excited about new features or functionality.
If possible, plan a schedule for updates to let users know that they can expect the app to improve. You can choose weekly, biweekly, monthly, or whatever other interval works well for you.
How to Optimize Off-Metadata
App Install Volume
App downloads communicate popularity, and app store search engines take this into consideration when ranking your app. Awareness is the best way to get your app in front of your target users, and both app stores factor in first-time installs and daily growth.
You can get more downloads with strong brand messaging that tells users how your app can solve their problems or add value to their lives. That said, app downloads don’t have the same value as long-term engagement and retention, so don’t prioritize downloads above everything else.
Usage and Engagement
As mentioned, usage and engagement are good metrics for long-term value and growth. To determine if users are enjoying your app, consider questions like:
- What percentage of people use the app after downloading it?
- How long are people spending in the app?
- How often do they use the app?
One of the ways you can increase usage and engagement is with an onboarding strategy. Users will need to create an account before using the app, and that process should be as quick and painless as possible. You could also offer a quick tutorial or a nudge in the direction of completing the first task on the app.
You could also look at the behaviors of the most engaged users to determine which actions you should point new users to. Pay attention to the events or challenges users enjoy completing, then set up onboarding to guide your new users into completing the same tasks.
Reviews
Reviews and ratings are proof that your app is doing well with users, making prospects more comfortable downloading it. Positive reviews and ratings also show Google and Apple that users enjoy the app you provide, which can help your app rank higher.
Another benefit of reviews and ratings is that you can use them to learn what users like and don’t like about your app. You may notice recurrent bugs, features that need improvement, or features users wish to see.
If you’re struggling to get more reviews and ratings, you can send push notifications to users at particular times, such as completing app milestones or tasks. This is a good time to ask, since the user is feeling good about an achievement.
Ready to Get Started?
Optimizing your app for visibility in an app store isn’t a quick upload with some screenshots and a short description. Creating an app that’s visually appealing and offers optimal user experience takes some work, and you’ll need to continue optimizing as you learn about your users and improve the in-app experience.
Author: Leo Waldenback
Leo Waldenback is the co-founder of Zutobi Drivers Ed, a gamified e-learning platform focused on online drivers education to help teens get their license. Leo founded Zutobi to make world-class driver’s education fun, affordable, and easily accessible for all.