App Store Optimization: Everything You Need To Know About How Apps Are Optimized

The business of apps is booming to new heights by every passing year. There are millions of apps launched every single day both on Android and iOS. To stand a chance to get noticed on a store is becoming increasingly difficult for apps. One modern day solution to this problem is the concept of optimizing your app for the store it is supposed to go on.

The concepts are pretty much similar to that of search engine optimization. Only difference is that the search engine here is the App Store or Play Store. Both platforms require dedicated optimization techniques for apps to get maximum discoverability. 

What is App Store Optimization?

App Store Optimization is a process by which you improve the visibility or discoverability of your app on a platform. The concept revolves around practices that improve impressions and engagements. The engagement then results in either app download or a purchase made inside the app.

Every app has a certain category that it falls under. The essential practices of App Store Optimization are done to ensure that the search result of your app in that category is improved. The concepts of App Store Optimization are very much similar to that of search engine optimization. While professional search engine optimization services focus on results on just one search engine, goals for app optimization are to improve the relevant search results on multiple platforms.

Indicators for App Store Optimization

There are 5 indicators by which you can judge the situation for your app on a store. These indicators define your app’s ranking and overall performance. Here are the indicators concerning App Store Optimization.

1. Ranking

You can judge your app’s performance in a process of optimization by monitoring its rank. Ideally, the rankings should improve with every step and users should be able to see your app within the first few pages of the search result. 

2. Impression

Impressions are user interactions with your app. This can be both with and without the app download. Any interaction with any of your app’s functionality can be considered as impressions. Higher the impressions, better the engagement and chances of app download.

3. Share

Social media plays a key role in everything these days. There are buttons on every page to share an app. Sharing an app results in higher engagement apart from the obvious benefit which is to make someone aware of the app.

4. Engagement

Engagement is defined by how users use the functionalities on your app. While impressions are mere interactions, engagement is a start to end experience of any of the app’s features. The focus for optimizers in an App Store optimization agency is always to have improved app engagement to drive more downloads.

5. Downloads

Download is one of the ultimate aims for the whole process of optimization. You ideally want the users to download your app after apt impressions. Number of downloads helps rank the app better and the number of downloads is also the biggest factor defining an app’s success.

The aim at the pre-download stage for app store optimization is to make users interact with your app to an extent that they are then compelled to download and use the app. While the focus at post-download stage is to ensure that the user uses the app as much as possible with a likelihood of in-app purchases.

Popular Practices for App Optimization

There are ways by which you can optimize your app’s performance indicators. These methods require specific applications and understanding of how each app store works. Take a look at some of the most popular app store optimization techniques.

App Documentation

Description of an app is a very important document. Everything in the documentation process from the URL , name, subtitle and description matters for optimization. If you have used apt information and relevant keywords in describing your app, it is very likely that it will meet relevant search results for the users. 

Make sure that the information in the description is relevant and not spamming. The subtitle contains information and all the images within the app too have proper captions and texts. The developers’ name, subtitle, description and screenshots have to be optimized for users to get encouragement for a download.

In-app Content 

Apps must produce content on a regular basis. The most common way to showcase content to the users is app notifications. If you curate your notifications well enough, your app will see a rise in its usage. The notifications have to be about features from your app and should have an exciting and intriguing syntax.

Every other piece of information inside your app should also be researched and match the keywords density. Digital marketing services earlier only included posting of articles and blogs but with apps, it’s the notifications that do a similar job. The local search bars on devices often show results with in-app content. Naming of every category and settings should be done in an optimized way.

Ratings & Reviews

Reviews and ratings define your app’s organic growth. You can optimize all the content you want inside your app but it is eventually the users who define how your app will fare on an app store. Positive feedback on your app will help it rank better. Similarly if you have negative feedback, it will affect the search ranking negatively. 

Motivate your users to rate your app and to say a few nice words about your app. Keep reminding the users about rating the app on regular intervals. Ask more users to write reviews and provide apt ratings to your app. Curated rating and reviews campaigns can also lead to better ranking.

Advertisement 

Both Android and iOS offer great advertisement support for your app. You can choose from the available ad campaigns. Both Android and iOS offer really good packages that showcase your app as a sponsored result on top of every search. Your app is posted on the explore page as a sponsored product. You can also post ads for your app on other websites and pages. 

Local Search

It is very important to focus on local device searches to optimize your app. The local search bar of an Android or iOS device showcases local results. With advancements in the software versions, these search bars are returning more and more relevant search results.

For both iOS and Android, the local search bar returns with relevant search results that include some page content on your app, a menu for settings or the home page. iOS calls this search spotlight and Android has a broader search bar that also includes Google search results. It is important to understand what some popular keywords are for local search trends and incorporate them in your app’s local content.

Taking care of these things will surely help your app rank better. App optimization is a process that needs constant efforts and innovation. For instance, the local search aspect has emerged as a popular way to optimize an app in recent times. This is because of iOS’s spotlight enhancements. Android on the other hand always had a broader search bar on its home page.

Conclusion

To ensure great visibility on a store, your app must have relevant information packed with apt documentation. Description for images and menu names should be optimized keeping the search trends in mind. The documentation part mostly dictates your search rankings. Apart from usual app advertisement campaigns, recently, the emphasis on local searches and in-app content has been significantly high. The trends suggest that notifications are a great way to deliver short forms of content about anything on your app to the users. These notifications influence how much a user is likely to use your app. The local search from home pages of both Android and iOS is also a great way to utilize your app’s optimization. User data helps you understand search trends and carefully placed keywords will then help your app rank and perform better.

Pritesh Gajjar

Pritesh has extensive 10+ years of experience serving SEO & Digital Marketing Services. He is always ready for a challenge, he is most interested in data analysis and pulling together information from a variety of different sources in order to see the bigger picture. Outside the working hours, he’s an avid Traveler & Trekker, extreme sports enthusiast, and a biker.