App Store Optimization Factors and Trends for 2018

App Store Optimization, most famously, known as ASO is a way of ensuring that an app meets the app store’s rating criteria which will show it among the top rankings in the search results page. In other words, App Store Optimization is the procedure with the help of which the visibility of a mobile app can be improved in an app store (iTunes for iOS, Google Play for android and Windows Store for Windows phone).

An App Store Optimization process is similar to SEO i.e. Search Engine Optimization which is for websites just like an ASO is for apps. But this linkage is not just limited to a similarity of functions. The functions of these two processes often overlap because mobile apps are not just visible on the respective mobile apps store but are prominently prevalent on the Google’s organic search results as well.

                                                    App Store Optimization

To drive the point home, take the instance of when you search for big brand names like that of eBay, Amazon, Groupon, Myntra, Flipkart, Jabong et al on your desktop or your mobile, you obtain brand website listing, local listings and social profiles along with the brands’ iPhone, iPad and Android app profile pages and that too on the first page of Google.

And there is a huge potential that can be harnessed by these app URLs to occupy page 1 of Google Search Engine Result Page (SERP).

 

But in an App Store Optimization process, there is a due emphasis upon the Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) as well which, in laymen terms, is focused upon increasing the conversion of app store impressions to downloads and it also comprises of earning an app store feature and web search indexing activities.

 

Why ASO is important?

 

It is said that 63% of apps are discovered through the app stores searches that clearly implies the importance of App Store Optimization process as a medium for an app to increase its visibility. So, it is the kind of a discovery channel that must not be missed upon considering the odds that are in its favor.

 

 

Factors affecting an ASO,

 

The mechanics of an ASO are influenced by the following factors:

 

• Title – The title of an app plays a very crucial role since it must be capable enough to attract the heaviest search traffic. In that way, a title is the most important feature of an app which must be descriptive and succinct. Why? Because a short title will make it convenient for the users who are not familiar with the app to get a basic gist about the app from such a short description itself. The length must be restricted to 50 characters only or even lesser.

A lofty and verbose title can prove to be repellant and thus, must be steered clear of because at the end of the day the main motive is to make app more popular among the masses through the app store itself.

Also, for the best results the keywords can be added in the title itself (keywords provide a helping hand in searching for the app) which can bring out further improvement in the ranking of the app in the app store listing. According to a study that studied the top 25 ranking apps arrived at the conclusion that the apps with a relevant keyword in the title ranked 10.3% higher than the apps without it.

 

App Store Optimization

 

• Keywords – There is an availability of adding keywords to the app store listing which are used by the search algorithms to display the app in the result. Ergo, it becomes imperative that correct keywords are input and it must be ensured that relevant time is spent in searching best keywords to use. Also, these keywords must be revisited at regular intervals for App Store Optimization.

The different app stores use different strategies and we can consider those employed by the App Store and the Google Play Store. Both of these use different strategies when it comes to employing keywords for the App Store Optimization.

1. App Store

They have a 100-character keyword field which exclusively uses title and keywords and keywords or keywords phrases to determine for which search strings the particular app will show up for the app for which the keyword string has been created.

1. Google Play

It provides 4000 characters to describe the app in natural, customer facing language. This approach of its is more similar to SEO which does away with the specified tags; instead the app’s description is scanned for the relevant keywords.

• Total number of downloads – All the hard work is for the conversion rate itself ie. to get the maximum number of the downloads. The more the number of times an app has been downloaded, the more popular it is among the populace: that has always been the motive anyway.

It is all about marketing the brand and the app to improve recognition, awareness, appeal from store description to mages, ratings/ reviews and social media presence for there are 2.2 million apps in the App Store and over 3.3 million in Google Play and every niche market is crowded with apps that offers the best of the features. So, a solid app is required with solid marketing fundamentals to survive.

• Ratings and reviews – More ratings and reviews are always better but only if they are positive. So, what can be done to ensure that any negative publicity is prevented is to provide an internal space for the consumers to vent their frustration and share their grievances so that such faults in the app can be improved upon. Moreover, such a platform can be used to elicit a positive review from the customers. This can work both ways.

 

Trends in ASO for 2018,

 

The number of apps in the Apple App Store stood at 2.2 million and in the Google Play Store it was at 3.3 million in September 2017. This number is bound to increase even further.

Here is the past trend of the growth in the number of apps,

 

App Store Optimization

App Store Optimization

 

This rapid increase in the number of apps poses a question as to how make a new app visible on the app store?

The most motivating factor for the download of an app is the search for a specific task, another being that an app might be ranked highly and that’s a motivation enough for the people to download the same app. That’s why the top ranks are coveted by every new app so that it can attract a horde to itself.

 

This survey pertains to the ASO experts who rated 25 factors from a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the not influential and 10 being the highly influential.

 

App Store Optimization

App Store Optimization

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