ASO Guide For Beginners

With thousands of apps being added to the App Store and Google Play DAILY, competing with those millions of apps in the library seems totally impossible. Fortunately, it’s not that bad, and several facts about App Store Optimization (ASO) and ASO tips prepared by the Asolytics app marketing team will help you see that clearly. 

How Does ASO Work?

ASO is a field of app marketing that focuses on proper app store page content and maintenance for the sake of attracting more users to download a listed app. The process involves:

• working with keywords based on keyword performance research data;
• understanding who the target users are and what are their typical app store behaviors;
• having fresh insights on how the app stores operate;
• Understanding the ranking factors and their effects. (Read on to see app store rankings explained)

ASO Ranking Factors

App store search ranking factors include two main categories:

1. On-metadata factors – these include modifiable elements of apps and their listing pages. They can be tuned to improve keyword rankings, product visibility, and conversion rates. These tunable elements include app title, description, icon, subtitle, category, promo text, video, screenshots, URL, developer name (Android only), and the Keyword field (iOS only). 
2. Off-metadata factors – these are external factors that can’t be controlled by the app developer, including exact user engagement level, app ratings, and reviews, and the number o figure out what users’ search queries to target.

App Store Optimization Steps

ASO for apps is a well-established algorithm of actions that will teach you how to do app store optimization step-by-step. Although app store optimization factors are quite similar for both Apple’s and Google’s marketplaces, you need to remember that:

• Google indexes all the fields on app listing pages, while the App Store offers a special field for keywords that it analyzed separately from the rest of the page;
• Apple indexation usually works 3-5 days longer than Google’s;

• Both tech giants keep their algorithms a great secret, but, fortunately, we already know some of their principles due to research and a long history of trial and error. 

Keyword Research 

App Store keyword field allows up to 100 symbols worth of keywords, while Play Store analyzes keywords all over the product page. The most important keywords for Google’s algorithm are app title and description, so you have to pay the most attention to these items. Fortunately, the keywords in web searches are most often the same across the entire web, which means you can use top ASO tools keyword research tools to find the most popular ones. 

App Name

For many users, your app’s name can already be the reason for tapping on your app’s icon or keeping scrolling. You have to think well about your title to make it help users receive the right message and take a look at your app. All you have is 30 characters in Play Store and up to 50 in the App Store.

Icon Design

The quality of your app’s icon is also one of the most powerful factors. It’s necessary to optimize it perfectly well so that users see the colors, dimensions, and shapes properly and have the right early impression.

App Description 

Google Play app description must be detailed and catchy yet include all the important keywords. As Apple doesn’t index descriptions, you can simply use the same one or an alternative decision that looks more straightforward.

App Store App Preview, Google Play App Video & Screenshots 

Both platforms let you upload videos and screenshots to let users quickly see what your app looks like and how to use it. 

App Updates

Even if you use app store keywords best practices, you still need to regularly update some keywords, app icons, description, app screenshots, and videos. It’s a small maintenance step, but it’s very effective as users love seeing the new content.