How to improve your performance in App Store Optimization?

How not to be part of the 80% of applications called “zombies” on blinds? Today, nearly 1.5 million applications are available on both Google Play and the App Store: competition is fierce! The “zombies applications” are all those that do not reach 500 downloads: this concerns 80% + apps. How to be visible on these blinds, and generate over 500 downloads? How can appear in the top results of a search by keywords, how to appear in the top of a category?

App-Store-Optimization

The blinds ranking algorithms take into account three criteria:

  • 1 / the number of downloads within 24 to 72 hours,
  • 2 / retention (number of openings of the application, session time), and
  • 3 / Note average given by the users, of your application and the number of reviews.

It is therefore important to work these 3 key points:

the number of downloads more downloads you accumulate, the more the application is visible in the rankings, and therefore you generate downloads “organic” free thanks to the users who will see the app for themselves in the app stores. It is a virtuous (or vicious, according to the marketing budgets that has …) where the apps that generate the most volume manage to generate more in stride.

Retention of its application more user will use an application, the better it will be ranked in the rankings app stores. This is anyway a key element for a developer to basics: to ensure that its application contends to be well ranked. But that is not neutral on the overall rankings: Apple and Google are giving more and more importance to the concept of retention to determine their rankings, which is why we now find in the top rankings of many apps that an inherently high retention: Facebook, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. To the detriment of other types of apps.

The scores given by users: there too, they are a function of what the application, but it is possible to maximize the notes by placing data in the application message to ask users to put a note. The developer can thus have an impact on this element.

Studies show that about 50% of an app downloads come from search by keywords. How can we improve performance by ASO (App Store Optimization)?

The first thing to do is optimize the keywords associated with your application. On the Apple App Store, a field of 100 characters is dedicated to keywords for each language: make sure not to leave any space between words in this field and to use only singular words. On Google Play, there is no field dedicated to keywords: Google takes into account all of the words and their occurrence, present in your title, short description and your long description. Make sure to place your priority keywords in your title and short description; Also make sure to repeat each of your keywords 5-6 times in your description.

How to choose the best keywords for ASO? In theory, your goal is to be ranked No. 1 in the search results bar for each keyword that you think is critical. If you appear too low, beyond the top 5-6 in the results given for a keyword, users will not see your application.

Review the current ranking of your keywords, using tools offered by sites like SearchMan or Sensor Tower. Identify the keywords for which you are not sufficiently visible and abandon them. Brainstormez to create a large list of potential keywords, inspiring you from your competitors, for example. Compare your keywords according to their characteristics: relevance (Is there a connection with my application?), Difficulty (my keyword-it is too used by my competitors?) And traffic (volume of searches users for this keyword).