App store optimization: What is it and why do I need it?

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What is ASO?

The concept is fairly simple. App Store Optimization (ASO) is a lot like SEO (Search Engine Optimization), except here you are trying to make your app easily visible on the App Store, Google Play, or other similar app marketplaces. You also, however, need to convince people to actually download the app. After all, what’s the point of developing and marketing an app if no one actually uses it? The key to ASO is to attract a crowd that will actually be interested and won’t uninstall your app after a few weeks. It is thus of high importance to have a good understanding of your target audience, such as what keywords they are typing into the search bar.

Why should you care?

According to a Forrester study, 63% of app discoveries occur just by browsing app stores. The search bar is the largest channel that leads to app installs. There are over a million apps on the App Store and Google Play, and they are in a never ending race to grab a higher ranking than their competitors. Everyone is utilizing any tool they can to market their app, so if you are not taking advantage of what ASO has to offer, you are falling behind.

How do I develop good ASO?

Obviously, understand what keywords are relevant and prevalent among your audience.

You can use certain services that will allow you to track which words are popular, your search rankings, your competitors’ strategies, etc. in order to optimize your ASO. However, you should also remember that while it may be easy to stuff your description with keywords, there’s a point where it just makes your app sound obnoxious.

Your app’s name is important as well. It should be short and sweet, yet catchy and informative. Realize that the keyword that is placed in the title needs to be the one that will bring in the most search traffic, so take some time to think about the best choice of word to put in the title.

Finally, take a look at the ratings/reviews of your app. Many potential app users will take a look at these, and a rating can be a huge determinant in whether or not someone converts or not. Find ways to incentivize happy users to rate your app and reply immediately to negative responses.