App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of optimizing an app's presence in app stores to drive more downloads. ASO involves optimizing on-metadata like keywords, title, screenshots, and icon to increase search ranking, as well as off-metadata factors like ratings, reviews, links, and social media to increase an app's visibility. Proper ASO using both on-metadata and off-metadata techniques can significantly increase an app's downloads, as shown in case studies where simple changes led to large download increases. While ASO shares similarities to web SEO, each app store has its own cultural differences and tactical optimization opportunities.
5. What is ASO?
App Store Optimization is the process of
driving more downloads for an app by rising
in the app stores’ search results.
ASO is the app ecosystem equivalent of
web SEO.
6. But Wait, There’s More…
The app stores are different…
Thus, ASO also includes: Top Charts, icons,
screenshots, ratings, reviews, etc.
7. A Harmonious Relationship
Just like SEO, the best ASO is a full, wellrounded, marketing strategy.
Search
Rankings
Downloads
Top Charts
Downloads
9. Mobile Is Eating The Web
Mobile Traffic as a Percentage of Global Internet Traffic
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
May, 2008
May, 2009
May, 2010
May, 2011
May, 2012
May, 2013 2014(E)
May,
Source: Mary Meeker, KPCB, May, 2013
10. Apps Are Eating Mobile
Percentage of Mobile Time Spent In Apps
80
Source: Flurry Blog, April, 2013
%
11. Consumer App Discovery
“For the average app, search
actually makes up the vast
majority of installs.”
65
%
50% of DAUs search for apps
weekly
6,000,000 unique phrases
searched monthly
- Google Play
App Search / ASO
12. Does ASO Work?
Case Study: Survival Simulation Game iPhone App
10
Low Downloads, except New
& Noteworthy
9
8
7
6
Title
5
4
3
Keywords
2
1
0
Pre-change
Post-change
Screenshots
13. Does ASO Really Work?
Case Study: Children’s iPhone App
6000
Keyword Research
5000
4000
Focus on more targeted
keywords, low difficulty, higher
volume.
3000
2000
1000
Only change was Keyword
field.
0
Pre-change
Post-change
Who am I and what is my background in marketing?Email Marketing at Uchicago and AmazonSEO at AppStoreHQ and ASO with AppESP
What about my background in mobile?ASHQ: app discovery, first site to put iPhone App Store on the webAppESP was the mobile version of that, Android based app for app discoveryMobileDevHQ is ASO: Came from the convergence of what people were saying about ASHQ and our experience with AppESP
So, we have this massive growth, we need to ensure we don’t grow our costs at the same rate as our data growth.The first thing that we did was to give the team constraints that we decided we had to live by.
So, we have this massive growth, we need to ensure we don’t grow our costs at the same rate as our data growth.The first thing that we did was to give the team constraints that we decided we had to live by.
Massive shift to mobile by consumersMobile as a percentage of internet traffic is skyrocketingMobile will soon be the primary place where users interact with your brand
And when you think about mobile, you have to think apps.Mobile web sites are not enough. The opportunity is too limited.Smartphone adoption has been remarkable, continues to dominate, and all smartphone owners love apps.Apps own users attention when it comes to mobile.
9x increase on an app that was New & Noteworthy, then completely dropped out of favorApple loved it, Apple is tremendously strict, so it _should_ have been popularBut they didn’t care about ASO, and it dropped massively
Works on more than just small apps,4.4x increase for a children’s app that simply focused on keyword research.People really are searching, so help them find you!
So, we have this massive growth, we need to ensure we don’t grow our costs at the same rate as our data growth.The first thing that we did was to give the team constraints that we decided we had to live by.
Just like SEO, there are a couple high level buckets for ASO:On-metadata and off-metadata. These map very closely to on-page and off-page SEO.Metadata is not necessarily things within the app, but things within the _app store_.
How to choose keywordsWhat keyword research is similar to the web, and what is differentVolumeDifficultyCategoryRelevanceTrendingHead vs long tailDifferent ways to research: keyword tool, web, competitors, review messaging
Adding keywords, like <title>10.3% ranking increase
Ratings
Ratings
Text, not just random screenshots. Make them promotional graphics
Text, not just random screenshots. Make them promotional graphics
Stylistically similar to platformUniqueMemorable
Different by platformConversion optimizationWeb SEO
How to optimizeApptentive link
Ratings
Ratings
Listen to the messagingFix bugs promptly
Where the web mattersGoogle Play vsiOSTo your detail page
Where the web mattersGoogle Play vsiOS+1’sTweetsIn-app features to optimize this
History of Apple comes from media: a song title, an artist name, a couple keywords.History of Google comes from big data processing and graphs: the web, MapReduce, etcThis has parallels all over the app stores. Google comes at it from looking at lots of signals, seeing where authority can be built, etcApple comes at it from a more simplistic approach.What we can expect in the future.
iOS: Keyword fieldGP: DescriptioniOS: No linksGP: LinksiOS: Little socialGP: +1s
I want to also talk a little about how to think about web SEO for apps.In particular, HOW can you leverage web SEO for more downloads?Here we’ll take a very broooaddd definition of web SEO – all sorts of creative SEO, mostly on the web, to take advantage of
Even though there are 6m unique searches a month on GP, doesn’t mean there’s an equal amount of searches on the web and mobile. Just not true.Use the long tail of the web to your advantage. Create content that mobile app users will love, focused on the long tail (that would be hard to rank for), to expand your overall coverage between ASO and SEO
Even though there are 6m unique searches a month on GP, doesn’t mean there’s an equal amount of searches on the web and mobile. Just not true.Use the long tail of the web to your advantage. Create content that mobile app users will love, focused on the long tail (that would be hard to rank for), to expand your overall coverage between ASO and SEO
Even though there are 6m unique searches a month on GP, doesn’t mean there’s an equal amount of searches on the web and mobile. Just not true.Use the long tail of the web to your advantage. Create content that mobile app users will love, focused on the long tail (that would be hard to rank for), to expand your overall coverage between ASO and SEO
Even though there are 6m unique searches a month on GP, doesn’t mean there’s an equal amount of searches on the web and mobile. Just not true.Use the long tail of the web to your advantage. Create content that mobile app users will love, focused on the long tail (that would be hard to rank for), to expand your overall coverage between ASO and SEO
Even though there are 6m unique searches a month on GP, doesn’t mean there’s an equal amount of searches on the web and mobile. Just not true.Use the long tail of the web to your advantage. Create content that mobile app users will love, focused on the long tail (that would be hard to rank for), to expand your overall coverage between ASO and SEO