Top 7 app-store optimization strategies to hack your app growth

Optimizing your app for the respective app stores is a mission-critical step in your mobile app optimization journey. This article is all about the ins and outs of optimizing your mobile apps for app stores and how to approach app store optimization strategically.

• What’s in store for you?
• Understanding App Store Optimization (ASO)
• What is the key difference between SEO and ASO?
• Why is app store optimization (ASO) important for your mobile app business?
• What are the benefits of app store optimization (ASO)?
• What are the ranking factors in Google Play Store?
• What are the ranking factors in Apple’s App Store?

Let’s take each of the above factors and analyse them strategically to understand app store optimization (ASO).

1) Understanding App Store Optimization (ASO)

In general, the word optimization refers to the process of making the best or the most effective use of a resource, situation, or an opportunity. In marketing, optimization refers to the action of driving your business, brand, product, website, or app in a more successful and profitable manner. In the mobile app development space, app store optimization (ASO) refers to the process of enhancing your app’s visibility and familiarity in the app stores and increasing the conversion (download and retention) rates.

2) What is the key difference between SEO and ASO?

As the very name suggests, SEO stands for search engine optimization, whereas ASO stands for app store optimization. The key differences between these two are listed below:

→ Target platforms: SEO aims to optimize for search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Whereas, ASO aims to optimize for Google Play Store and Apple App Store majorly.

→ Key objective: SEO aims to drive more traffic to the website or landing pages and increase organic visitors. ASO aims to increase app downloads.

→ Cross-platform optimization: Optimizing for app stores helps you gain decent visibility in the search engines tool. But it doesn’t work the other way. Understanding the key differences between these two helps you stay on the top of your mobile app optimization and marketing.

3) Why is app store optimization (ASO) important for your mobile app business?

Apple and Google host millions of apps in their app stores. To outgrow your competitors, stand apart, and shine in the crowd, it is essential to optimize your app and drive your app growth in the right destination.

So here’s why you need to invest in App Store Optimization:

→ To increase the discoverability of your app

→ To boost your app’s organic growth

→ To reach out to your target users effectively

4) What are the benefits of app store optimization (ASO)?

When done effectively, app store optimization can make wonders! Here are a few of the benefits of ASO. With effective optimization, you can –

→ Cut down user acquisition costs and hijack your app growth

→ Increase conversion rates and app revenue

→ Reach global audience effectively and efficiently from the comforts of your own place

→ Sustain your app’s organic growth

→ Get high-quality and relevant target users

To understand app store optimization, you need to stay aware of the key differences between optimizing your app stores for play stores and app stores.

5) What are the ranking factors in Google Play Store?

→ Name of your app

→ Your app’s URL

→ App Subtitle

→ Keyword fields

→ In-App Purchase (if applicable)

→ Average Rating and No. of Reviews

→ Number and time of updates

→ Number and rate of Downloads

→ Engagement on the app

→ Other Hidden factors

6) What are the ranking factors in Apple’s App Store?

→ Title of your app

→ Short Description

→ Long Description

→ In-App Purchase

→ Average Rating and Reviews

→ Frequency of updates

→ Number of downloads

→ In-app engagement and app retention rate

→ Other Hidden factors

Apart from understanding the above terminologies and dimensions related to app store optimization (ASO), it is of paramount importance to approach mobile app marketing strategically.

Listed below is a compilation of 7 handpicked strategies that help you hack your mobile app growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace. These strategies not only help you to outperform your competition but also empower you with adept and proven marketing practices that help you propel and steer your business growth in a profitable direction.

Strategy #1 – Establish a solid and winning app store optimization strategy

Strategy #2 – Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to empower your keyword research

Strategy #3 – Make the best use of A/B testing experiments

Strategy #4 – Discover your app niche

Strategy #5 – Track your mobile app performance using effective KPIs

Strategy #6 – Manage your app effectively and efficiently

Strategy #7 – Ensure if you had followed all the items in this ultimate App Store Optimization (ASO) checklist

→ Strategy #1 – Establish a solid and winning app store optimization strategy

The first and foremost strategy is to tailor your Go To Market (GTM) strategy. Without a concrete strategy in place, you can not increase your marketing capabilities and spearhead your optimization journey.

→ Research and study your market extensively

→ Understand your users and their expectations thoroughly

→ Apply these insights and incorporate them with your app information

→ These data can even help you name your app appropriately

→ Strategy #2 – Leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to empower your keyword research

Your app research should answer the following questions:

→ Why should your users download your app?

→ How different is your app from the rest?

→ How do your similar apps work?

→ How unique is your marketing strategy?

Apart from uncovering these dimensions, leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to power your app. Use appropriate tools to get AI-powered keyword recommendations and research insights to boost your app visibility and discoverability.

→ Strategy #3 – Make the best use of A/B testing experiments

App icons play a vital role in making your app easily remembered by your users forever. Amazon has a very successful icon story that has an underlying arrow that connects the alphabets A and Z of its brand name. People easily relate to, connect with, and recall this icon with Amazon the moment they get to see it. So work on making your app icon be remembered forever in the customer’s digital journey. Employ A/B testing experiments to discover the icon that works the best for your users and gets more app installs.

→ Strategy #4 – Discover your app niche

Discovering your app niche helps you identify more potential keywords that have more than one word (called longtail keywords) and less competition. When you are able to rank for such keywords that have less competition it lays a strong foundation for your organic traffic.

→ Strategy #5 – Track your mobile app performance using effective KPIs

There is no one fits all solution for any problem. Especially, when it comes to business what works for one might not have to work necessarily the same way to the other. So, you need to customize your key performance indicators based on your short term and long term goals. Employ an effective tracking system and measure your app performance and derive takeaways from your tracking. Based on the key takeaways, derive actionable insights that you can apply in the ensuing iterations.

→ Strategy #6 – Manage your app effectively and efficiently

Keep your app up to date with real time updates and on time bug fixes. With an effective closed loop mechanism, improve your app based on the customer feedback, and enhance your app’s performance on an iterative and incremental fashion.

→ Strategy #7 – Ensure if you had followed all the items in this ultimate App Store Optimization (ASO) checklist

1) Doing the right Keyword research

2) Releasing on-time app updates

3) Replies to comments and customer feedback

4) Social media announcement for new features

5) Compelling screenshots and demo videos on app store

6) Understanding that optimization is an ongoing and never ending process

This sums up the most significant application store advancement methodologies. In the up and coming sections, we will examine in detail the various systems to lessen application uninstalls and furthermore an idiot proof guide to deliver application redesigns and refreshes on the application stores on schedule.