Intro
Have you ever thought about how many apps exist? The data collected by statista (statista(apple),statista(Google)) in Q1 2022 shows that there are 3.8 million apps in Apple App Store and 3.3 million apps in Google Play Store. It means there are more than 7 million apps out there, and the number is increasing even now. So it is getting more difficult for app developers to make users to discover their app. You put out your utmost effort to create your app, but you may feel like your app is going to drown under the myriad of competeting apps. However, do not lose your hope yet. There have been many success cases where the apps survived and prospered in this giant app market by conducting appropriate measures. And ASO is a must-take measure.
With that being said, let’s find out what ASO is and how it works.
Contents
What is ASO?
App Store Optimization(ASO) literally means optimizing your app. Imagine you searched something on the app stores. You probably have looked at the first app whether it is the app you were looking for or not. Wouldn’t you want your app to rank high? If so, you may need to consider ASO, for the purpose of ASO is to increase the search ranking of an app, make it exposed to more users and increase download.
The Importance of ASO
As mentioned above, the purpose of ASO is to increase the ranking of an app in Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and maximize the conversion of the app (the number of installs). If ASO is properly conducted, organic download will increase as the app will be exposed more, and user acquisition cost (UAC) will be reduced substantially. In addition to these benefits, ASO can draw users with high life time value (LTV). ASO has indeed become an essential element for the growth of an app.
According to Apple Search Ads, more than 65% users downloaded new apps through search. As this number shows, search is the most fundamental way how a user discovers a new app. This means that it is critical to implement ASO to bring more users to your app, and it will even lead to success when advertising the app.
How ASO Works
ASO can be largely sorted out to MKO and CRO. MKO stands for meta keyword optimization (MKO) and it aims to increase the search ranking, while conversion rate optimization (CRO) helps the number of downloads to increase.
What is MKO?
It has been discovered that keywords that are used in an app’s title or subtitle play a significant role in determining the search ranking of the app. To find the right keywords for the app, keyword analysis has to be conducted. The analysis then trims out inefficient keywords and provides a list of keywords for the developer to finalize keyword selection. This process of analysis and selection adds up to the primary purpose, that is, to increase the search ranking. This is MKO.
One important note! Apple App Store and Google Play Store have different factors that are related to the keyword ranking. So it is important to understand each app store and its factors when implementing MKO.
Apple App Store
- Title
- Subtitle
- Keyword Field
Google Play Store
- Title
- Short and Full Description
Factors mentioned above influence how the search ranking is calculated, so the improvement of each part is key to successful MKO. Before moving on to CRO, take one more note. Among these various factors, the app’s title plays the most important role whether it is provided in Apple App Store or Google Play Store because the keywords used in the title directly influences the search result. So why don’t you start your MKO with your title?
What is CRO?
To make your app continue to grow, you need more than increasing visibility of your app by implementing MKO. Conversion’s optimization (CRO) has to follow. CRO attempts to optimize every route of an user may take to be “converted” from a simple viewer of the app to an actual user. Creative elements like the app’s icon, screenshots, or preview video affect CRO.
For the purpose of CRO is to bring more active users and let the app grow continuously, it attempts to optimize the product page. Yet, you shouldn’t think that the optimization of product page will solve every problem; rather, it is essential to improve the in-app UI/UX and the quality of the service along with CRO.
CRO Methods
- Icon A/B Test
- Add Preview Video for the App
- Improve Screenshots
- Enhance in-app UI/UX
- Improve Service Quality
- Increase User Satisfaction
- Ask Amicable Users for Reviews
The rating of an app and the number of reviews are crucial criteria that users consider before they decide to download an app. Accordingly, it is important to improve the service quality and send request to amicable users for reviews to result a successful CRO.
Outro
It is easy to feel overcome by the size of the app market and the rapidly increasing numbers of available apps. Yet if the app market was really hopeless, the app market should have stopped expanding long ago. Along with the growth of the app market, data has been complied, and proper strategies have been developed. And among many, ASO has shown its fundamental and substantial importance in the app market. So ASO your app and see it grow!
ASO Index is a ASO tool developed by aix Inc., and it serves your app to grow by providing in-depth data and concise analysis and research.
