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Despite the constant testing most developers and publishers implement to measure app’s user engagements and user on boarding, not enough focus is applied to the app store search funnel, the feature that organically brings users from the discovery of an app to the download.
Perhaps the search funnel has gone widely unrecognized because of the misnomer that change in the app store is limited. Today, this notion is being debunked by A/B testing, as this is the method app marketers are using to perfect their app’s aesthetic in a data driven and analytical way. Developers and marketers alike understand that the funnel is the gatekeeper to an app’s interface and features.
With App Store Optimization (ASO) and A/B testing, marketers can gain a new perspective and brand new data on how to market an app completely and organically.
The App Store funnel
From an Apple device, users can see featured apps, the top app charts, explore by categories or search.
In Apple’s App Store search, users see search results such as seen in China’s beloved messenger app, WeChat.
The icon, app name, ratings and first two screenshots are the first visuals which the user sees.
If the icon, app name or first two screenshots don’t resonate with a user, as WeChat so brilliantly accomplishes through a video description, bright colors, and publicized ‘Free’ chat, they move on and you lose the conversion.
If your app’s aesthetic draws the user in, they can install the app directly from the search results, or click anywhere on the result to see more details on the ratings and reviews, all the screenshots, videos and the description.
The App Store search funnel is short. There is only a millisecond of time in which the user can either be initially converted or potentially lost forever. As marketers, we must optimize for visibility in search results and conversion.
Optimizing visibility in the funnel
By employing the smartest practices in A/B Testing, app marketers can measure and optimize the app’s name, keywords and description for maximum relevant search term coverage.
How is this done?
App Store Optimization platforms such as Gummicube use A/B practices to test keywords according to organized focus groups. Gummicube then arranges the keyword findings into actionable data that can be turned into copy-driven results in the appstore.
One of these best practices includes using the most important and differentiating features on an app in the app name and descriptions, and building a keyword matrix that covers the most potential relevant search results. By testing and shuffling different keywords and features throughout the descriptions and targeting focus groups with different variations, appstore marketers can find the language that best suits their target audience.
Take, for example, Singapore’s most loved buying and selling app Carousell. Carousell’s title states ‘Snap to Sell, Chat to Buy,’ mirroring the actions and outcomes of using the app. The description of Carousell reads, ‘Carousell lets you Buy and Sell everything from fashion, clothes, accessories, etc.’ This app succeeds at publishing clear and detailed titles and descriptions on their search funnel and within the app listing itself.
Case studies have shown that app store optimization efforts can have an enormous effect on visibility within the app stores – like Gemr, boasting a 300 percent increase in store visibility in the first 30 days! With this in mind, our jobs as app store marketers are never done, to stay relevant in the heavily impacted and highly competitive world of app stores, you must always be changing and testing your marketing tune.
Visibility is only one part of the equation in App Store search optimization. Converting app listing views or installs directly from search results relies on an app’s creative elements, like the icon and screenshots.
Optimizing conversion
Apps displayed in search results are almost entirely images. The icon you use and the design and selection of the first two screenshots have an enormous impact on app installs.
When Google recently announced support for multi-variant testing in their Google Play store called “experiments”, early adopters and beta testers alike reveled in the results. One shared A/B testing resulted in a 30 percent increase from A/B testing an icon, and another with a 50 percent increase in downloadsjust from rearranging screenshots.
Apple does not support A/B testing of creative elements, and Google Play experiments are run on live traffic. Like any highly beneficial tech-centric practice, there’s a smart way to go about in-store A/B Testing.
For more aggressive tests, focus groups are a great option. Focus groups are often used for early tests of creative app elements, with a wider variation between designs. In this stage of optimization, qualitative feedback can be more valuable than quantitative. With focus groups, marketers can test in a variety of regions and across many continents to gather a range of perspectives on design.
The impact on these design elements cannot be overstated, even if seemingly counterintuitive (how much of a difference could a slightly darker orange icon make?) Web marketers know the power of A/B testing, and with fewer elements to test for an app listing, the benefits of focus groups and other A/B testing efforts can be greater than you’d ever imagine.
Using your new data
By including the new data gathered through A/B Testing and optimizing an app listing before a user installs your app, incremental improvements can be much larger and provide yet another area for improving an app’s overall performance and profitability.
Without ASO, your app can become lost amongst the 1.5 billion apps in either Google Play or Apple app stores. Increase visibility and user engagement by investing in app store optimization, A/B test for eyeballs and conversions and get the audience your app needs.
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