A quick tutorial on how to position yourself in the Apple App Store Search, how to choose the right keywords + how to use AppCod.es

1. App Store SEO
how to make organic traffic
sell your iPhone apps
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by AppCod.es
4 th se a
sept. 2012 2

2. AppCod.es
Two ways to promote your app
PR + Marketing App Store SEO
- expensive + easier to do
- very time consuming + immediate results
+ the only way to get to Top#25 - won’t bring you to even the Top#1000, but
+ can bring in a decent income
+ good for indie devs & niche apps

3. AppCod.es
Example - what we did
- better reviews
- iPad version (+50%)
- better name, keywords

4. AppCod.es
iTunesConnect - what matters for SEO
app name
keywords
(max 100 chars)

5. AppCod.es
Keyword appearance search position
vs.
Search results are ordered more
or less by the popularity.
app description doesn’t matter
update dates seem to not matter
reviews seem to not matter
in-app purchase names matter very little

6. AppCod.es
Trick #1 - plural forms
After the recent update
Apple handles plural forms
very well.
So, if you’re short on characters
use singular forms, you’ll get
just a slight disadvantage

7. AppCod.es
Trick #2 - articles & prepositions
These words are ignored in search, no need
to put them into the keywords:
“a”, “the”, “and”
Trick #3 - publisher name
You can mix publisher name and a title.
You cannot mix publisher name and the keywords
E.g.
Publisher name: “Motivapps” search for:
will work
App name: “Love letters” “Motivapps Love Letters”
Keywords: “Romantic Poems” “Motivapps Romantic Poems” won’t work
i.e. it makes sense to add your publisher name to your keywords if you’ve got a strong brand.

8. AppCod.es
By the way. What’s important for sales
1. nice icon
2. descriptive name
Motivapps
Love Letter Writing...
3. good reviews 29 Ratings
if your app is good on these three
things then people will check out
other details, like description,
screenshots etc.

9. AppCod.es
One of our apps
1. before
Motivapps
Tête à Tête
No Rankings
2. after
Motivapps
Love Letter Writing...
9 Ratings
exercise: compare the differences.

10. AppCod.es
How to build a good SEO position
1. figure out the phrases people might be using in search
for example in one of our apps:
- goal setting
- goal tracking
- goals setting
- goals tracking
- habits
- habit breaking
- career
...
Use thesaurus & Google adword keyword tool for
inspiration. Also - check your competitors’ names for
hints.
Also, try out AppCod.es/AppSearch - a free tool for
finding your competitors’ keywords

11. AppCod.es
How to build a good SEO position
2. check out the competition for each phrase
les s th an 25 re su lts you will make it
less than 100 results
you may make it
you probably won’t make it,
over 180 results but perhaps you can use the
word in a phrase?
use AppCod.es tool to get this chart done automatically
3. Decide the app name & app keywords based on this

12. AppCod.es
How to build a good SEO position
4. Choose a name for your app
in AppCod.es you can use a special marker to find out
how much of the app name the user will actually see
5. Choose the keywords (up to 100 chars)
(in AppCod.es the app automatically counts your char count)

13. AppCod.es
How to build a good SEO position
6. If some keywords didn’t fit, note them
down for future reference
7. Remember that Apple will review your name/keywords.
- use only relevant ones (no spamming!)
- watch out for trademarked phrases
- you are allowed to repeat the words from the title. it’s not a
bad idea
8. Upload to the App Store!
9. Wait for a review

14. AppCod.es
In the store?
10. Check your position for chosen phrases
find queries that didn’t work,
replace them with a new ones.
11. Adjust the app name, and the app keywords
with the next update (but don’t update just for
keywords - Apple might not like that)
12. Keep the users happy and watch the sales grow! :)

15. AppCod.es
Keep reviewers happy
- Don’t spam the store
- Don’t use somebody’s else trademarks
- Have a relevant name
- Don’t update just to change keywords

16. AppCod.es
Final Tips
- Use AppiRater Plus to ask users to write reviews.
https://github.com/MattFoley/AppiraterPlus
- Occasional free sale is a good way to get more
users into the app & get more reviews
- Work on your screenshots. Most people don’t
read the app description.
- Games are hard to promote via SEO.
- Sign up in http://appcod.es/ to track your position

17. About AppCod.es AppCod.es
The toolbox for App Store Optimization.
It allows you to easily:
- find good phrases
- fix your keywords & search position
- track your competitors, their press releases etc.
- dispense app promo codes
You may register at http://appcod.es/register
14-day money back guarantee