Checklist for App Store Optimization: How to Launch a Popular App

What is (ASO) App store optimization? Understanding this concept can be easier if you are familiar with SEO – which stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization. Essentially, when a user searches for a certain keyword or term in the search engine, there is an order in which the results are ranked. The one at the top is the result that is best optimized for the keyword/term. The process of optimizing any website to show up higher in the SERP is known as SEO.

Similarly, when an app is created and uploaded in the app store, it needs to be optimized so that it shows up when a user searches for a term related to it. If there is no optimization, the app will simply lie in one corner without being noticed.

In order to launch a popular app, you have to make sure that the optimization is done properly. Otherwise, your application, regardless of its impeccability and excellence, will fail to come to the notice of users. If you’re not very sure where to start, don’t worry. In this post, we are looking at some steps and measures that you can take to better optimize your app to maximize clicks and downloads.

Checklist for App Store Optimization

1. Creating the App Name and icon

The name of the app is probably the most important factor that contributes to its potential of being spotted by users. Before trying to sound fancy and catchy, it is imperative to give the app a proper name that describes its use and functionality.

The search algorithm is going to check the name of your app to decide its relevance to the entered keyword or term. Many popular apps have a hyphen (-) in front of their names, which is followed by a descriptive phrase that tells the viewer what the app is for. For example, when looking at the Uber app in the Play Store, you will see ‘Uber – Request a Ride’.

Once you have managed to give your app a self-explanatory and elaborate name, try and focus on making it catchy and creative.

The icon should also follow the same line of instructions as the name. It should be descriptive, clear, and not feature a lot of snazzy glitters and decorations. If you go wrong with the icon, you can drop the overall attraction of your app.

2. The App Description and Keyword Optimization

In the App Store (Apple), you will have the option of entering keywords for your app. When putting in the keywords, choose them carefully and select some popular ones to maximize the chances of getting ranked close to the top. This is integral to app store optimization. 

In the Play Store (Google), on the other hand, there is no option of entering keywords for the app. You will have to make do with using them in the app description instead. While doing so, be sure to check out the keyword usage guidelines and strategies so that your app doesn’t get penalized by the search engine. 

Other than using the keywords in the description, the latter should be professionally and engagingly written. The keywords should be used discreetly, and not in such a way that the content feels forced. Grammatical errors in the description can have a very bad effect on the integrity of your app, so be sure to check, double-check and triple-check when writing it out.

3. Screenshots

When users get interested in your app, they’re going to click on it. Once they are at the app page, the details and particulars you have mentioned on the same will either convince them to give your app a shot or it will drive them away with a hasty tap of the back button.

Screenshots are one of the biggest and most prominent details that will be visible to the visitor. When creating the screenshots, it is an excellent idea to add captions and text to explain the various functions being displayed. Check out these screenshots on the Google Translate app page:

As you can see, every screenshot has a piece of text on the top to explain what the displayed function is used for.

4. Increasing User Traffic via other Platforms

Although this one doesn’t have anything technically and strictly to do with app store optimization, it can still help enormously to boost the popularity of your app. If you have a blog or a website where you get a steady stream of visitors, you can utilize it for promoting and advertising your new app. You can create a post or a catchy button somewhere on the home page that users can easily see.

The benefit of this approach is that even if your app is not rising very rapidly in the search results on the app store, you will still be able to get some traffic to it by reaching out via your other online platforms. And subsequently, if people start to view, download and rate it, the app will rise steadily in the store as well.

5. Reviews

Even if you have, as a consumer, yourself wanted to download an application, you would have noticed that you automatically get attracted to the one that has the highest number of reviews. The more positive ratings an app has, the more reliable and trustworthy it becomes in the eyes of potential users.

To boost the reviews on your app, you can give your users a prompt every now and then, in some discreet and not-very-annoying way. Remember, interrupting users, when they are busy using a function of your app, to tell them to leave a review can make them annoyed. The result would be negative ratings instead of something positive and hearty. Some good spots to add rating prompts are when the user is exiting your app or when they are in the settings/options menu.

Conclusion

If you need help in creating your app or in properly marketing it to potential users, take a little trip to Axe Tech Solutions. Axe Tech Solutions is a digital agency that helps clients make websites, and apps, and improve their digital marketing strategies. If you’re not sure how to properly get around app store optimization, you can get in touch with the professionals and have them take of it for you.

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