How to Get Noticed in Apple & Google App Stores

How to Get Noticed in the Apple App & Google Play Stores
App Store Optimization Guide
mentormate.com | 3036 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55408 | (855)-403-5514

4App store optimization explained
7Optimization differences between Apple and Google
13Where to place keywords in an Google Play Store listing
26Tactic 4: Choose the right category
8Tactic 1: Keyword research, selection & placement
20Tactic 2: Icon selection
10Where to place keywords in an Apple App Store listing
23Tactic 3: Strategically choose visuals
3Getting started
Contents

We all want to turn heads. Get noticed. Maybe it’s by making music,
sharing ideas or excelling at a craft. Regardless of the method, the end
goal is the same: Make an impact. The objective of an app in the Apple App
or Google Play Stores is no different. But to make that impact, share that
idea or provide that new moment of understanding, simplicity or efficiency,
the apps must first face a rigorous test— public opinion. It must be
downloaded. That’s where this guide comes in.
Competition is fierce. According to Statistica.com, as of July 2015,
there were 1,600,000 apps in the Google Play Store and 1,500,000
in the Apple App Store.1
While there’s no magic bullet to stop users
scrolling through hundreds of search results in their tracks, app store
optimization can help.
Make a splash.
Get downloaded.
1.6
1.5
million apps in the
Google Play Store
million apps in the
Apple App Store
3

App store optimization explained
4

App store optimization is particularly important
because it allows creators low cost exposure
compared to the large budgets integrated
marketing campaigns can rack up. Research
shows users interact with app stores frequently.
According to one survey, 64% of people had
downloaded an app in the past 7 days.2
Low budget. High impact.
Inbound marketers are charged with optimizing
their websites for specific keywords so they rank
highly in organic search. That’s SEO. App store
optimization (ASO) is similar. One purpose is to
increase the likelihood your mobile app will be
found by users. Keywords help, but so too does
the structure of your listing and even the design
of the app icon. The second often-overlooked
component is conversion optimization. You can
rank first and still fail at ASO if no one chooses to
download your app.
What is app store
optimization?
5

How do users find mobile apps? According to
Trademob, a mobile app advertising platform,
approximately 100,000 installs will propel an app
into the Apple App Store top 10. The installs
needed are up 25% from 2013.3
As of September 2014, Statistica found
recommendations from family and friends
have the most influence over what users
chose to download.4
Breaking through
the noise
52%
40%
27%
Family, friends
and colleagues
General browsing
in an app store
Search engines
How users find mobile apps
6

High download rates aren’t the only factor driving
high app store visibility. Changes to the Apple and
Google algorithms have placed a greater emphasis
on reviews, ratings and meaning.5
What are the differences between how the Apple
App and Google Play Stores rank listed apps?
Apple’s algorithm assesses the relevancy of the
keywords and content in the title and 100 character
description. It puts weight on download volume, reviews
and the perceived positivity of those reviews. Any press or
social awareness is helpful in driving traffic to the app but
doesn’t directly impact rankings.
The Google Play Store takes a more holistic approach.
The algorithm is more SEO-focused using the online app
store listing, any associated web pages, links from blogs,
press releases, articles and social proof to assign rankings.
The correlation is a direct one between linked press, media
or social signals like tweets, shares and +1s. Google sees
this social proof as citations of popularity.
Optimization
differences between
Apple and Google
Apple
Google
Download velocity: Number/time
Quality/Uninstalls
Frequency of use
Number of ratings
Quality of ratings
How do you rank higher in the app store?
Comments
Keyword density
Social engagement
Number of backlinks
What the Apple and Google ranking
systems value 6
7

Tactic 1: Keyword research, selection & placement
8

Keywords are a ranking hunter’s best friend.
And for those pursuing them, there’s no need
to wear camouflage. They are the foundation of
app store optimization, though their placement,
frequency of use and structural limitations of
the listings differ between the Apple App and
Google Play Stores.
Choose your
keywords wisely
Name: ~25 recommended to display in search
Keyword field: 100
Description: 255 before users must click
to read more
Title: 30
Keyword field: N/A
Description: 4,000
Characters available in the Apple App Store 7
Characters available in the Google
Play Store8
9

Research has shown adding a keyword to your title
will result in a 10.3% increase in app store search
rankings.9
The best way to incorporate this is to
use the following formula, “App Name - Keyword.”
Technically the title can be 255 characters long.
Though, it is worth noting Apple penalizes apps with
titles “stuffed” full of keywords. Twenty-five characters
is the recommended number, but some of the top
apps average 50 characters in the title.10
Unlike the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store
has a keyword field. Keywords are placed here.
The caveat? There are only 100 characters, so don’t
waste time with spaces. Add your keywords using the
formula word,word,word,etc.
The title Keyword field
Where to place keywords
in an Apple App Store listing
10

Don’t bother adding multi-word keyword
phrases or spaces to the keywords field in the
App Store. For example, if you’re targeting the
phrase “mobile conference app” you would want
to add the keywords individually like this: mobile,
conference,app. Keywords should not be repeated.
Pro tips for ranking in
the Apple App Store
Use single words
Don’t bother adding
multi-word keyword
phrases or spaces to
the keywords field
in the App Store.
11

Repeat keywords
Include categories
Type out numbers
Include filler words (a, the, and)
Title don’tsSince keywords in the Apple App Store description
field have no impact on your rankings, make sure
you use it purely to market your app to potential
users and highlight its value proposition. Keep it
short, concise and impactful. Choose your words
wisely to capture and convey your app’s brand
personality in the limited space.
Write a human
description
12

Similar to the Apple App Store, placing a keyword in the
title can only help to improve the optimization of your
listing in the Google Play Store. Avoid common terms.
Instead look to reinforce what your app is about. Try to
keep your title focused and as short as possible while
conveying meaning. Depending on the size of the form
factor the viewer is using, the title may be truncated.
Google Play doesn’t offer a keywords field like the
Apple App Store does. This means it’s important to
write your 4,000 character description so it appeals to
humans and robots. What does this mean? Your
description should repeat important keywords five
times each, but should also not feel like SEO bait.11
The title Description
Where to place keywords
in the Google Play Store listing
13

As you enter characters in the Apple App or
Google Play Stores, it will recommend queries
based on the characters you have entered. Do this
to brainstorm good keyword ideas for your app.
If this isn’t yielding enough results for your app,
try Google’s Suggested Search results instead.
Put some effort into getting as many +1’s as you
can on Google+. Post about your app in relevant
Google+ communities, and get your coworkers and
friends to help promote it on their Google+ profiles.
Link to your Google Play App listing
Leverage Google+
Pro tips for ranking in
the Google Play Store
14

Keyword placement
APP STORE
Highest impact on rankings Highest impact on rankingsTITLE
No impact on rankings Impacts rankingsDESCRIPTION
Impacts rankings No keyword fieldKEYWORDS FIELD
Impacts rankings Impacts rankingsRATINGS & REVIEWS
No impact on rankings Impacts rankingsAPP LISTING LINKS
APP GOOGLE PLAY
15

To jumpstart your brainstorm session have a
solid understanding of your target audience and
precisely how your app benefits them. This can
provide parameters for choosing your keywords
or even knowing where to start. Begin by
anticipating the need your audience is trying
to solve. Are they satisfying their urge for fun,
organization or maybe both? Put yourself in your
users’ shoes and anticipate how they might
search for it. Assume the vernacular of your
audience. How a 60+ business man searches
for an app could vary markedly from a 16-year-old
athlete. Ask yourself—is my query searchable and
is it sensible?
Now you know where to place your keywords in an
Apple App or Google Play Store listing. Choosing
them is a completely different ball game. It’s a
little intuition, a lot of research and a good dose of
time. Yes, time. Proper placing and spacing of your
keywords won’t matter if they aren’t the right ones.
Know your target demographic
How to choose
your keywords
16

Tools that can
guide your search
As you enter characters in the Apple App or
Google Play Stores, it will recommend queries
based on the characters you have entered. Do this
to brainstorm good keyword ideas for your app.
If this isn’t yielding enough results, try Google’s
Suggested Search results instead.
Google Suggested Search
Best for brainstorming keywords
Use Google Trends to identify keyword phrases
that have a lot of interest and seem likely to trend
upwards in interest in the immediate future.
If a similar app has a website, scan its website with
SEMRush to see the kinds of keywords it’s ranking
for. Then assess their popularity and value.
Type your app’s name into SensorTower to see
whether apps with competitive names exist.
Google Trends
Best for checking the popularity
of keywords
SEMRush
Best for comparing the keywords
competitors are targeting
SensorTower
Best for checking the uniqueness of
your app title
17

Chris Anderson, former editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine
first wrote about the long tail in an October 2004 article.
He later released a book on the same topic in 2006. The
idea of the long tail is one of fragmented consumerism.
In today’s age, Anderson argues mainstream products
and markers are less important. They have been replaced
with niche products. If this holds true, it’s good news for
app developers.14
For our purpose, the short and long tails relate to the
specificity of targeting. A keyword that could be considered
part of the short tail is popular with high search volume.
By comparison, a keyword that falls into the long tail is
highly specific. When choosing a short or long tail keyword,
consider the potential search volume. Analyze whether the
high traffic of a short tail keyword will be more impactful
than what could be a highly specific or motivated audience
searching for a long tail keyword. Best case scenario?
Find a happy medium, a golden zone keyword where the
competition is low enough and the search volume is high
enough to provide the desired download rate.
Apple App and Google Play Store users aren’t
afraid to explore. It’s important to note general
browsing in the app stores isn’t far behind
recommendations from friends and family as an
impetus to download. This could indicate the
“long tail” as noted by research firm Nielsen
is playing an increasing role in user behavior
navigating both app stores.13
What is the “long tail”?
The long tail in the world of app listings
Considering the
emergence of the
“long tail” in mobile
app keyword
selection
Long Tail
Products
Popularity
Head
18

A large part of keyword research is understanding
the landscape and where your competitors have
decided to play. So, make a list and note how
they’re ranking. Look to determine how popular
they are. Use downloads and the positivity of their
reviews as your guide posts. Begin to determine
where your app would rank in the list.
Competitive listings can also provide inspiration.
You may see important keywords in their listings
that you hadn’t thought of yourself. Also consider
looking at competitor’s reviews to see what their
users are talking about. This can be helpful for
keyword selection, as well as crafting a compelling
app description (based on what users are calling
out and talking about the most).
Keep an eye on
the competition
If X number of apps exist in the competitive space,
how hard will it be to rank for those keywords?12
• Easy - 25 apps
• Medium - 25-100
• Competitive - Keywords used in 100+ apps
Although these numbers provide a good
benchmark, it’s all relative. If all 25 of the apps
in a given competitive space are optimizing their
listings really well, it could be more difficult to
break through then in a category where 100 app
lists are optimized very poorly. It’s also entirely
possible that ranking eighth for a competitive
keyword could serve your interests better than
ranking first for a keyword no one is querying.
Approximate difficulty ranking for keywords
19

Besides your title and category, the icon you
choose to represent your app is one of the first
ways users assign credibility. The cleaner, more
unique and more impactful your icon is, the more
visual credibility it conveys. So don’t leave your
icon selection up to intuition. Test it. There are a
variety of ways you can assess whether your icon
choice is a good one. The most common is to
leverage social, search or banner advertisements
to see how potential users are reacting to the
visual identity system and how effectively the
icon you choose drives conversion action.
Make a good
first impression
Conversion optimization differs from rank optimization and
is measured by how likely users are to actually download
the app after they view it. A more polished icon with a more
concise title might attract users to convert and download
your app compared to a more highly ranked option.
Create a few different visual styles to test and release
them as paid social promotion via Twitter and Facebook.
Also consider Google Ads. Target the same keywords
you are planning for your app store listing and see what
performs best. Then use that intelligence to make your icon
selection. You only have a few seconds to entice users to
download you app. Make them count.15
Pay attention to conversion optimization
A/B test your icon options
• Consider omitting text
• Ensure consistency between your icon, app and
corresponding website
• Create a border within your icon, so no matter
the user’s phone background, it stands out
Icon pro-tips
21

MDPI(1x)
Icon size guide
22
Apple App Store16
The short answer: 512×512 pixels, PNG format.
The long answer: Different screen displays require different display densities
marked as dots per inch. The table below captures the size variety needed.17
Google Play Store
iPhone 6 Plus
(@3x)
180 x 180px
iPhone 6, 5,
and 4 (@2x)
120 x 120px
iPad & iPad
mini (@2x)
150 x 150px
iPad 2 & iPad
mini (@1x)
76 x 76px
App Store
Icon (@1x)
1024 x 1024px
MDPI
(1x) 160 DPIICONS
HDPI
(1.5x) 240 DPI
XHDPI
(2x) 320 DPI
XXHDPI
(3x) 480 DPI
XXXHDPI
(4x) 640 DPI
48px
32px
16px
24px
Launcher
Action Bar
Small/Contextual
Notification
72px
48px
24px
36px
96px
64px
32px
48px
144px
96px
48px
72px
192px
128px
64px
96px

Tactic 3: Strategically choose visuals
23

Beyond the app icon, screenshots are the next best
way to help users connect with your app visually.
Better yet — it gives them more insight into the
experience. The first two screenshots are the most
important. These appear in search.18
Get visual with
your listing
Think beyond a screen capture. This is your chance to
communicate information to users in a small amount
of time and using a small amount of real estate.
Consider adding additional text or overlays to explain the
functionality of your app.
• 5 screenshot maximum
• 1 screenshot minimum
• 72 dpi, RGB, flattened, no transparency
• High-quality JPEG or PNG image file format
Create your screenshots in any of the following sizes:
• 640 x 920 pixels for hi-res portrait
(without status bar) minimum
• 640 x 960 pixels for hi-res portrait
(full screen) maximum
• 960 x 600 pixels for hi-res landscape
(without status bar) minimum
• 960 x 640 pixels for hi-res landscape (full screen)
maximum
• 8 screenshots allowed for each supported device
• 2 screenshots required at a minimum
• Minimum dimension: 320 pixels
• Maximum dimension: 3840 pixels
Pro tip: Add additional information
to your screenshots
Apple19
Google20
24

Adding an informative video to your listing that
shows your app in action can be a very good thing,
enticing potential users to convert and download.
There’s no question a video shows an app’s
capabilities better than five or eight screenshots
ever could. On the other hand, if it’s not well-
executed, users will be able to tell, and with a
swipe of the finger they’re on to the next thing.
Only include this if you have the dedicated creative
and financial resources to create media that offers
an informational or visual wow-factor.
When writing your app descriptions, think about
what should go above-the-fold versus below-the-
fold (where you need to click to reveal).
Extra visual
considerations
Considering a video?
Plan what to show above the fold
25

Tactic 4: Choose the right category
26

27
Most popular apps in the Apple App Store,
July 2015 22
Picking the right category to classify your app can
also spell the difference between high visibility and
a great idea gathering dust. Apps can be listed in
two categories in the Apple App Store, and three
categories if it’s a game. The Google Play Store
allows only one category to be assigned.21
App store category
selection Games
Business
Education
Lifestyle
Entertainment
Utilities
Travel
Books
Music
Health & Fitness
Productivity
Sports
Food & Drink
Photo & Video
Finance
Reference
News
Medical
Social
Navigation
21.8%
10.33%
9.79%
8.57%
6.5%
5.05%
4.42%
3.67%
3.05%
2.81%
2.81%
2.6%
2.5%
2.41%
2.36%
2.34%
2.32%
2.05%
2.03%
1.16%

Since both of the app stores factor the positivity
of reviews into their algorithms, reputation
management is key to boosting the visibility
of your app. The best way to do this? Mitigate
negative reviews and nurture highly-engaged
users. One way to accomplish this is using your
app for two-way communication with users and
building review collection into the experience. That
way it’s easy for the most highly engaged users
to add their input and help boost your scores.
However, don’t be too aggressive.
1. After a certain threshold of engagement
(maybe opening your app five times), add a
prompt asking users to rate/review your app.
Only display this once.
2. If the user responds, “Yes,” link them to provide
a review. If the user responds no, direct them to a
form where they can offer constructive criticism.
Using this process you’re helping to gate the
reviews your app receives, encouraging positive
reviews and deflecting the negative user feedback
that can harm the visibility of your app.
Manage your
reputation
Recipe to successfully collect reviews
28

Parting tips
Let’s say you release your app and it becomes
apparent that another set of keywords would fit
your app and target audience better. Know that
when you release an update, you can replace or
add keywords.23
If users can’t understand your app, how can they
use it? That’s why only apps in the user’s language
will show up in their search. By investing the
resources to translate your app, you open up usage
to a whole new population. Think of the potential
to earn a leg up over the competition.
1. We all need a “take-two” sometimes.
2. Expand your reach. Translate your app.
29

MentorMate has designed, delivered and staffed digital experiences since 2001. Along the
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Register for our next event at mobcon.com
MobCon developed by MentorMate
855-403-5514
info@mentormate.com
Ready to innovate? Contact us to learn more about App Store
Optimization. We’re all ears.
Talk with an expert
mentormate.com | 3036 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55408 | (855)-403-5514

Parrish, Adam. (Accessed: 2015, August).
Simple Android icon size guide for Lollipop 5.1.
https://www.creativefreedom.co.uk/icon-de-
signers-blog/simple-android-icon-size-guide-
for-lollipop-5-1/
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15
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9
2
3
4
5
6
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available in leading app stores as of July 2015.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/
number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-
stores/
Saccomani, Pietro. (2015, March 10). App store
optimization in 9 steps.
http://www.mobiloud.com/blog/2015/03/
app-store-optimization-9-steps/
Johnson, Robin.(2015, March 17). Actionable
tips for app store optimization [infographic].
https://blog.optimizely.com/2015/03/17/
actionable-tips-for-app-store-optimization-in-
fographic/
iOS Developer Library. (Accessed: 2015,
August). Icon and image sizes.
https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/
documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/
MobileHIG/IconMatrix.html
Galazzo, Laurie. (2015, March 6). Apple App
Store vs. Google Play Store: 3 major ASO
differences.
http://www.applift.com/blog/ios-app-store-
google-play.html
Urban, Diana. (2015, February 6). How to name
your app to get more downloads.
http://info.localytics.com/blog/how-to-name-
your-app-to-get-more-downloads
Kissmetrics. (2013, June). App store
optimization – a crucial piece of the mobile
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https://blog.kissmetrics.com/app-store-opti-
mization/
Perez, Sarah . (2014, October 3). Roughly half
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http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/roughly-
half-of-users-are-finding-apps-via-app-store-
search-says-study/
Anderson, Chris. (Accessed: 2015, August).
About me.
http://www.longtail.com/about.html
See Tune.
Tune. (Accessed 2015, August).
How users find apps.
http://in.tune.com/MAT-How-Users-Find-Apps
Chou, Jacky. 2015, Jun 11. Extensive guide to
app store optimization (aso) in 2015 – part 1:
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zation-guide-apple/
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find-smartphone-apps-for-download/
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mula-deconstructed-in-5-mad-science-exper-
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20
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(Accessed: 2015, August). Graphic assets,
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https://support.google.com/googleplay/an-
droid-developer/answer/1078870?hl=en
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popular-categories-in-the-app-store/
Rossi, Evaldo. (2014, September 19). How
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804359ec96e3.
See Leeflang.
References
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