ASO – Position your App in the App Store or Google Play

Before to start with ASO, I’m going to write updated data on this topic.

Somedays ago in the iPhone 7 keynote, Apple said to su that the App Store have more than 2 millions of apps and 140 thousand of millions of downloads. In Google Play the numbers are higher.

This information shows us a market with thousands of millions of dollars of invoicing. In the second quarter of 2016 both markets of apps had a billing of 2.37 thousand of millions of dollars, that is a 55% more in the same quarter of the past year.

Datos de las Stores ASO

Taking into account this data it is inevitable to think in the happy idea of making an App that makes us rich. We need a version for iOS, another for Android and a server in Amazon Web Server with very good sizing that supports millions of request, etc… ok just not as much.
Idea App Movil ASO

 

But apart from talking about this data, this articles is about how to position our App in the big mobile markets.

A few things exist how the sensation of publish a new App, better that use for first time new shoes.  Those first days when you can check the first data of downloads, the first reviews, the first earnings, and  check the all time rankings.

In most of the cases the data does not meet your expectations, you have to work so hard in your App, it works perfectly, but nobody knows it, it does not appear in the searches, it does not appear in the top of the rankings, and it’s diluted between a huge quantity by applications in the markets.

In the world of the Apps publication there are to dedicate a quantity of time to market study, scope, marketing equal or higher that the development. That is APP Store Optimization (ASO).

App Store Optimization ASO

 

And not only time, also money. Perhaps you have to invest in design to have a great and descriptive icon, in a positioning tool in order to know the position of your App in the markets, in a tracking tool in order to know how the users use your App, in translate services in order to show the key features of your App in all the languages availables in the mobile markets, etc

Five Keys to taking into account to apply ASO

This article does not ensure the success but it is a good point to start, so I’m going to talk about five points to take into account for your next App or the next release of your App:

Cloud Music Busqueda App Store ASO

1.- Search Appearance

It’s extremely important that your App shows a nice and descriptive publication.

 

The icon is the first thing that the users can see to find the App in the stores. If the Icon is not nice, great and related with the search it could be dismissed. I read an article that says that an user spends less that one minute to decide wether to download or not an App only seeing the icon in the search list.

The detail images must show the key features of your App with text and descriptive symbols understandable in the user language.  Does not worth a simple screenshot of your device. There is a lot of work in this part and prioritize the order of the images in order that the first are the key features of your App.

 

The markets allow that you show a short descriptive video, take advantage of that to show a complete use cycle of the App and use software to edit it in order that the result will be professional.

 

2.- Localization

If your App has the global market as a goal, your App has to give support to each region and in your App publication must use the localization options of each market in order to provide professional translations.

You have to pay to have professional translations, a bad translation can sound strange to the located region users and you have lost a percentage of downloads in that country.

Make sure they are professional, you’ll have to pay for it. A bad translation could seen strange to users from a certain region and you have lost a big percentage of downloads in that country.

Traduction ASO

 

3.- Keywords

There are some important parts in the text of the publications that are related with the positioning of your app. First take into account that improving could not only your App is appears once before in the mobile markets but from some time ago your app appear in the Google searches, that is called App Indexing.

App Indexing ASO

There are 3 key places in the text that must be well done.

Vaughan Trending ASO

  • The Title. Is essential that the title position your App. In the case of App Store, all the words included in the title must be does not appear in the reserved space for keywords. The first part of the title could be position you App in a way that the Market complete the title when a user are introducing the first part of your App title in the search screen or that appear in the trending view, it would be an indelible success.

 

  • The keywords. Google Play does not allow keywords. App Store allows one hundred characters split by commas. It’s important to work hard with theses words to find the words that define better your App. Besides the words should be complementary to form possible search sentences. Remember to put the words in the correct language depending of the country market.  Later you can read about tools to help you find the better keywords for your App.

 

 

  • Description. This one must be specific and concrete. Research about your rivalry and you can highlight your key functionalities that make your App different. The words on the description are part of the searches but in the case of Apple the value is minor.

4.- Reviews

Also the reviews and ratings of your App will be taken into account in ASO. As logic if your App has a lot of ratings and reviews and the reviews have a good value this will be great for the positioning of your App in the market but also important the quality of your reviews.

If your users write words in your reviews that are part of your title, keywords or description, this review will have  extra value inside of the internal markets score.

 

5.- Positioning Tools

There are different tools to apply ASO that are analyzing your App inside of the markets and identify situations over time. It is important dedicate attention to these situations and modify the title, keywords and descriptions in each release and then check how those changes impacts in the markets. I recommend using SensorTower y App Annie, although both duplicate some features, both complement each other in order to control your App in all mobile stores over the world.

Sensor Tower ASO

Sensor Tower is a paid solution and is not cheap but has valuable features. It is bases in the premises that the searches produce 60% of the downloads in the mobile stores. Therefore very important that your App will be very visible in the searches and for that it has to use the best keywords.

Besides Sensor Tower helps you identify the keywords that are better words depending of the country where is published the App and also provides you a tracing of the value of that keywords.

And not only your keywords but also the keywords that your rivalry use and how is working in their cases.

 

Sensor Tower Spy App Example ASO

 

App Annie has free features and others payment, so far I have only used the free part. App Annie has the possibility of following the rankings of your apps in more countries than Sensor Tower and it also adds the possibility of check the future payments in your local coin that you will have related with Apps and In-Apps sold and for consumed Ads.

App Annie ASO

 

So that ASO is a constant work of research and test to take advantage at the same time that you increase your app development. In these lines I have tried to talk a little of what things you to take account to start to apply ASO.  Once you start you will discover a lot more possibilities. Besides the funniest thing is that the markets algorithms are always changing, one thing about positioning your App a lot right now does not work.

 

¿Which is your experience with ASO?

 

3 thoughts on “ASO – Position your App in the App Store or Google Play”

  1. Nice Article, I tried so hard to rank my Hotel Travel App Vtrigo and today i see Results. Don’t give up and results will show.

    Reply
  2. Very nice and useful article.
    I’m an Android developer who has just published his first app, TestMe! and as a newbie I has much to do and learn but I fully trust I will succeed.
    Thanks for all this useful hints.

    Reply

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