In this generation, there’s an easy solution for almost every problem. With the huge impact of technology on our lives, everything seems so easy and possible. There’s almost an online solution or an app for everything that we need in our day to day life: be it transport, shopping, food, appointments or doing our taxes. At present, there are about 4 million apps on both the Apple app store and Google Play store.
Can you believe it? Despite these huge numbers, we see only a few apps make it to the top among all the others in the search results or even in the ranking.
Wondering how few of them cracked the code and made it to the top?
Let us see what’s the mystery behind the apps that reach the top and what would it take for your app to attain the same. One potent tool used by many successful app marketing genies is ASO (App Store Optimization).
What is ASO?
App Store Optimization in simple terms refers to the process of customizing your mobile app in order to achieve visibility and to attain higher ranking on the app stores. With the help of this app marketing technique, you are entitled to have your app’s visibility more than all the other similar apps in the search results.
ASO is similar to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A common purpose these two methods share is to increase the conversion rate. However, the difference comes in the platform of use since SEO works its magic on online content posted on the search web whereas ASO on accelerating more downloads of an app in the app stores.
What makes ASO take a lead in App Marketing?
We’ve seen what ASO is, the next step is to understand the privileges that come from its use. One main benefit is that it enables you to design your app in a way that positively drives the target users to your app.
Other uses privileges of ASO include:
- Encourages interaction with the target audience.
- Integrates varieties of marketing strategies for the app.
- Helps your app to draw attention.
- Aid in obtaining positive app reviews and ratings.
Metadata
There are two types of Metadata:
On-metadata: This deals with the factors that are entirely focussed on appealing elements os an app that include: App name, description, app title, keyword, app icon, preview videos, and screenshots.
Off-metadata: This refers to elements that aren’t under the control of the developer. For example buy app reviews, buy app ratings and buy app installs.
This metadata only influences search rankings and others deal with increasing brand popularity.
Let us now see the elaboration of the factors affecting App Store Optimization.
App Title: We see a number of apps being posted to the app stores daily. It is necessary that you chose a title to remain relevant. Because it is assumed that the title picked for the app is retained forever. It should be chosen wisely. Once your app ranks higher, people remember your product by the title. Therefore, changing the app title disrupts the chain of getting the influx of organic users to your app.
Keyword: There are different approaches used by users when they perform a search on the app store. Some users know the name of your app, some of them just know an attribute related to your app such as “food delivery”, “online shopping”. You should give a lot of thought in order to come up with the optimal keyword.
Description: This field is where the information regarding your app is elaborated precisely to the user. This section is so useful and should be used appropriately by stuffing relevant information such as the main features, other features that make your app unique, purpose and benefits of the app.
Screenshots and Preview videos: These are the metadata that deals with presenting a pictorial representation of the functions that your app masters.
All these metadata should be taken care of before launching the app. And must be chosen wisely with an appropriate meaning.
Among all the other marketing strategies, ASO remains to be the favorite tool used by app developers to improve the conversion rate. This strategy is legal and doesn’t cross any Google policies and has proven to be the best method that has given more fruitful results in driving user traffic to an app.