ASO: Best Practices 2015
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AppFollow.io ASO: Best Practices 2015 Anatoly Sharifulin CEO & Co-founder, AppFollow
Transcript of ASO: Best Practices 2015
AppFollow.io
ASO: Best Practices 2015
Anatoly Sharifulin CEO & Co-founder, AppFollow
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ASOAppstore Search Optimization
What?
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ASOSEO for mobile apps
What?
No analytical tools
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However
‘Would you be so kindly to clarify then, what exact
position would we take? Because better is not very certain…’
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Question
ASO is free app promotion
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free
What for?
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One change can lead to a 4–5x time growth of installations and marketing budget savings
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Question
‘I would like to know the approximate order of numbers,
will the costs pay off or not?’
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When?
• A new app (before the first release)
• An app with a small amount of downloads per day
• A leader-app (almost a leader,a top-20 of category)
MAY
MUST
SHOULD
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ASO recommendations:
siliconrus.com/2014/07/aso-ostrovok/
siliconrus.com/2014/10/aso-ostrovok-2/
siliconrus.com/2015/04/aso-3/
How?
Russian articles
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• Expanding the visibility of an app due to new keywords
• Improving positions in search results
• Increase view conversion in app installation
How?
Three optimization strategies:
ASO — is a complex and permanent work on app
optimization
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permanent
How?
First step: Basic optimization
Working in all areas major changes in the meta-data, everything that can dramatically improve the situation
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How?
1. App ASO analysis• It is necessary to identify bottlenecks, all the possible errors in the meta settings:
• Wrong chosen keywords, singular vs. plural, word declension
• Word repetitions in the title and keywords
• Poorly drafted title
• Unsuccessful screenshots and an icon
• ‘Video is in Russian and the app is used in other countries as well’
• App category
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Basic optimization
2. ASO analysis of competitors• Competitors always exist, even if they are indirect, these apps take over
the search traffic
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Basic optimization
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A list off appscompetitors
in taxi category
• Competitors always exist, even if they are indirect, these apps take over the search traffic
• Every app’s analysis (see point 1):
• ‘Everyone has blue icons and one app has a red one’
•
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2. ASO analysis of competitorsBasic optimization
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Due to the app icon it will stand out in the search results
• Competitors always exist, even if they are indirect, these apps take over the search traffic
• Every app’s analysis (see point 1):
• ‘Everyone has blue icons and one app has a red one’
• ASO changing history (title, description, screenshots, video, icon). It is important to understand the motivations of these exact changes
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2. ASO analysis of competitorsBasic optimization
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ASO changes history
• Competitors always exist, even if they are indirect, these apps take over the search traffic
• Every app’s analysis (see point 1):
• ‘Everyone has blue icons and one app has a red one’
• ASO changing history (title, description, screenshots, video, icon). It is important to understand the motivations of these exact changes
• Competitors prompt the possible categorieswhich may be more organic
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2. ASO analysis of competitorsBasic optimization
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Categories in whichcompetitors’ apps are placed
• Competitors always exist, even if they are indirect, these apps take over the search traffic
• Every app’s analysis (see point 1):
• ‘Everyone has blue icons and one app has a red one’
• ASO changing history (title, description, screenshots, video, icon). It is important to understand the motivations of these exact changes
• Competitors prompt the possible categorieswhich may be more organic
• SERPs research for each app
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2. ASO analysis of competitorsBasic optimization
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Easy Taxi #3when you
search ‘uber’
3. Creating the semantic core • How to create a core of searches for the app:
• Common sense
• Words from competitors’ app titles
• Yandex Wordstat and Adwords Keywords only to select new words
• Related keywords (for US locale)
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Basic optimization
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Related keywords
• How to create a core of searches for the app:
• Common sense
• Words from competitors’ app titles
• Yandex Wordstat and Adwords Keywords only to select new words
• Related keywords (for US locale)
• Competitors’ titles usage in transcription :-)
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3. Creating the semantic core Basic optimization
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• How to create a core of searches for the app:
• Common sense
• Words from competitors’ app titles
• Yandex Wordstat and Adwords Keywords only to select new words
• Related keywords (for US locale)
• Competitors’ titles usage in transcription :-)
• Search of target audience’s phrases and dialect in reviews on the apps of competitors
• Suggest from App Store and Google Play for prioritization and ranking!
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3. Creating the semantic core Basic optimization
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Semantic core example
Semantic core selection is the most important part of ASO
optimization
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Basic optimization
most important
4. Generation of titles, keywords, descriptions and phrases for screenshots
• Title:
• Length is limited
• Elaborate visible part of the title
• Transfer popular keywords into the title
• Several variations of titles (esp. for Google Play)
• NB! Some may be rejected (point 3.1 and point 3.4 in App Store Review Guidelines)
•
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Basic optimization
While changing the title it is necessary to change keywords
so that total coverage from semantic core stayed preserved!
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Important
• Title:
• Length is limited
• Elaborate visible part of the title
• Transfer popular keywords into the title
• Several variations of titles (esp. for Google Play)
• NB! Some may be rejected (point 3.1 and point 3.4 in App Store Review Guidelines)
• You can get keywords of competitors’ apps
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4. Generation of titles, keywords, descriptions and phrases for screenshots
Basic optimization
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Research matrix of competitors’ apps
• Title:
• Length is limited
• Elaborate visible part of the title
• Transfer popular keywords into the title
• Several variations of titles (esp. for Google Play)
• NB! Some may be rejected (point 3.1 and point 3.4 in App Store Review Guidelines)
• You can get keywords of competitors’ apps
• Increased keywords through the use of secondary locales (English UK for RU, Spanish for US)
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4. Generation of titles, keywords, descriptions and phrases for screenshots
Basic optimization
4. Generation of titles, keywords, descriptions and phrases for screenshots
• Description:
• Pay attention to the first sentences in the description of the app
• UTF-8 symbols: ▶ • ✓
• You can use the HTML markup for Google Play
• Elaborate 5-8 short phrases for screenshots and other marketing activities, you will come back to them plenty of times
• Obligatorily:
• Advantages of the new title’s, keywords’ and descriptions’ version over the current version
• What are the expectations from the SERPs’ change?
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Basic optimization
5. Screenshots, video, promo banners, icon• Custom screenshots with short phrases:
• Contrast background, large text
• All sizes
• Video:
• The easiest way to make a video of how the app works is via Quick Time or AndroidTool
• Promotional banners:
• You can elaborate a text using popular words from semantic core
• The icon must accurately reflect the essence of the application. Either way it will be better to make a lettering
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Basic optimization
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Question
‘Do custom screenshots and ASO have any impact
on getting into featuring?’
Create two ASO documents: researches and changes
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Important
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Second step:Additional optimizations
Further optimization of at least 3-4 iteration changes, testing the change only of keywords, screenshots, video, or category.
Aim: To understand what influences and what does not influence on the organic traffic
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How?
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It is recommended to release ASO of apps in the App Store regardless the product plan
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Important
1. What influences search results?• Downloading apps from search results
• It is important to keep track of everything that happens with your app and competitors’ apps:
• Rating and number of reviews, how fast an application is gaining ratings?
• ”Similar” section
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Additional optimizations
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From the ‘Similar’
section
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From the ‘Similar’
section
• Downloading apps from search results
• It is important to keep track of everything that happens with your app and competitors’ apps:
• Rating and number of reviews, how fast an application is gaining ratings?
• ”Similar” section
• Reviews’ texts
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1. What influences search results?Additional optimizations
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There are mentionsin some reviews
• Downloading apps from search results
• It is important to keep track of everything that happens with your app and competitors’ apps:
• Rating and number of reviews, how fast an application is gaining ratings?
• ”Similar” section
• Reviews’ texts
• References and links to application
• Video views and Google +1
• Internal metrics: launches, removals, and others
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1. What influences search results?Additional optimizations
• Add an iPad version of the app
• The app doesn’t show in iPad search results, but it may be shown in Top Apps
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2. What else can be done?Additional optimizations
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Search matrix for taxi apps on for iPad
• Add an iPad version of the app
• The app doesn’t show in iPad search results, but it may be shown in Top Apps
• Competitors take on the whole search traffic, even on your own keywords
• App unbundling is creating multiple apps from a single one. Examples:
• Sports.ru: flagship, football / hockey, leagues, teams (200+)
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2. What else can be done?Additional optimizations
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• Add an iPad version of the app
• The app doesn’t show in iPad search results, but it may be shown in Top Apps
• Competitors take on the whole search traffic, even on your own keywords
• App unbundling is creating multiple apps from a single one. Examples:
• Sports.ru: flagship, football / hockey, leagues, teams (200+)
• Guides and offline maps: main parts and cities
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2. What else can be done?Additional optimizations
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• Add an iPad version of the app
• The app doesn’t show in iPad search results, but it may be shown in Top Apps
• Competitors take on the whole search traffic, even on your own keywords
• App unbundling is creating multiple apps from a single one. Examples:
• Sports.ru: flagship, football / hockey, leagues, teams (200+)
• Guides and offline maps: main parts and cities
• Apps clones
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2. What else can be done?Additional optimizations
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You can check product hypothesis without writing the
code using ASO :-)
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Hack
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So how do we measure?
• If there is no promotional activity, we do it via Crashlytics (but the first run does not mean the installation was during this period)
• App Analytics: views, installations, launches (data do not reflect the whole picture, but you can test changes from one version to version another)
• Dev Console Google Play: integrated A/B testing
• A/B testing of changes of individual advertising campaigns
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B*TCH!ANALYZE IT,
