What Is ASO? The Role Of Optimization In App Promotion

ASO is the optimization of a mobile application page in the App Store and Google Play to improve its visibility and convert visitors into downloads. It includes complete text optimization of the title, subtitle, and descriptions of the application, as well as optimization of graphic materials.

App Store Optimization (ASO) for iOS and Android is similar to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It has been around for a while and involves choosing the appropriate metadata and assets (such as screenshots and icons) to rank higher in keyword searches and page visits.

The Origins of ASO Marketing for iOS and Android

The capacity to identify the ideal target audience with the help of an app marketing agency has become increasingly critical as the application market becomes more competitive.

The main task is to present your application in such a way that the user wants to download it and use it. Most of the time, users learn about new apps through search and selection in stores, which means you need to be at the top of the list wherever possible.

The concept of App Store optimization involves various ways to improve the position of an application in search results for the desired search term, maximizing conversion.

The rules on which ASO is based on the App Store and Google Play are pretty simple:

• If your app is not visible in the search results, then your application is “hidden” from most users.
• If you are in the search results, but your icon (plus screenshots in the App Store), title, or rating are not attractive, and users don’t want to click on them, you are losing the lion’s share of your target audience.
• If users still click but don’t like the application page (screenshots, reviews, lack of in-app events, and promo content), you lose another part of the downloads.

Your marketing job is to maximize every step of attracting organic store users to your app. App Store Optimization is a comprehensive approach to working on the content of a mobile application page in Google Play, App Store, and other app stores. Enhancing page visits and increasing conversions to downloads are the two main objectives of app store optimization.

The Main Stages of Working on ASO

The ASO work cycle can be divided into several stages. This is a conditional division because sometimes you must concentrate resources on only one component and skip some stages. However, for optimization to be effective, it must often include an audit, work on texts and graphics, and adjustments to the rating.

ASO Audit

An audit involves a comprehensive study of the store page and competitive analysis. The focus here is on impression-to-install conversion. It is compared with the average vertical indicators, and conclusions are drawn based on the results.

For example, if an app ranks highly for keywords but has few installs, this indicates a need for on-page optimization. Next, the experts check the text and graphic parts, localization (if necessary), rating, and study reviews.

Before adding new graphics and text, do A/B testing to understand how changes impact user behavior and rankings.

Text Optimization

After the audit, you should proceed to the most important part of ASO in the App Store and Google Play – text optimization. You must collect the semantic core and fill in the metadata fields at this stage.

The semantic core is all the search terms that can be used to find an application in the store. As a rule, in the process, a massive list of any words that are at least somehow related to the topic of the application is typed. You need to select the most relevant search terms from this list and try to include them in the metadata.

Text metadata includes title, subtitle, short description, and long description. It’s important to note that working with keywords in different app stores is different. For example, the App Store additionally provides a keyword field that is not available on Google Play.

Working with Ratings and Reviews

App ratings and reviews directly affect conversion. This is one of the critical factors for users. This is quite logical because people trust the reviews of those who have already tried a product more than even the most vivid description. There are two main ways to receive feedback and ratings: use the integration of the system rating request in iOS and Android applications.

A comprehensive approach to collecting feedback and ratings, involving direct user engagement and leveraging motivated users, can significantly enhance your app’s credibility and trust.

App Store Optimization in 2024

Nowadays, different strategies for App Store Optimization are needed for each store. As you can see, certain page elements and descriptions are compatible with Google Play and the App Store.

The main general steps of optimization can be highlighted: the name of the application and its SEO keywords, semantic core, icon, screenshots, and ratings.

Try to work through them before launching the application so that you have a high-quality basis for the first release. Based on them, move forward in iterations, monitoring improvements. ASO is a long process of incremental improvements in which every step matters.