6 ASO Factors You Should Consider to Improve Your Ranking

Gone are those days when you could rely on your website for online marketing. The mobile app has reduced the predominance of websites. Look at your surrounding. Everybody is lost in their mobiles. How do you start your day, by the way? Well, most of the people look for their mobiles soon after opening their eyes in the morning. Throughout the day, our eyes get stuck on the mobile screen most of the time until they get extremely tired and fall asleep. It is known to all that marketing trends are ever-changing and this change is based on the changing lifestyles and market scenario. At present, there is no other medium for a business as good as mobile to reach their potential customers.

If you desire to reign mobile market, you need to win in the apps. According to several studies, consumers spend almost 85% of their time on Smartphones in apps. In order to win in apps, you need to improve the search because 65-80% of the app installs are an outcome of the search. Here, I am talking about Google Play and App store search, don’t confuse it with a search on Google or Bing. Apple revealed that 65% of all iOS app downloads usually come from a search on the app store. Herein lies the importance of app store optimization or ASO.

I have studied a number of apps to find out the top reasons that have a deeper impact on search as well as app store optimization.

1. Keyword Selection

There are a number of ASO factors that should be taken into consideration. The keyword is one of these factors. People tend to search for apps with keywords, even without knowing that they are using a keyword. Therefore, it is really important to use the most effective keywords for your app. To pick the best keywords, you need to research and find out the words or phrases that can rank high in the searches. A keyword having a higher rank in the search may invite more competitions as well. When you are competing with a much more popular app for the same keyword, then your app has fewer chances of being picked. Therefore, it would be better if you pick a keyword that is unique and gets sufficient search traction. These keywords are good for getting higher ranks for your app. Don’t forget to include the main keywords in the app title and app description.

2. Multiple Keywords

Your keyword is getting ranks. It’s all right, but it’s not enough. For instance, the position of your app is 35 with a particular keyword. It is not a good indication for you. Users can hardly find an app with such a position. In most of the time, people are in a hurry, so they have no time to go through the long list. When your app ranks in the top ten, you can reap the benefits of ranking. If you want to assure a top ranking, you need to work for multiple keywords. More the keywords will rank high, more the app will get better result and visibility.

3. Understanding of the Competition

You can’t compete unless you know who are your competitors. Obviously, every app in an app store is not your competitor. You need to compete only with the apps, similar to yours. For instance, on iOS, it is much easier to rank in the books category, where average apps rank for 26-29 keywords. Now, let’s look at the health and fitness category, where you can find the average apps ranking for over 100 keywords. If you are dealing with a game app, you will find a number of sub-categories under the game category.

To execute a proper ASO strategy, you need to research your competition first of all. Try to find out all the apps in your category, similar to your app. Now, you need to notice what language they are using. You should also observe the most common trends in the popular apps. If you can incorporate that tone in your writing and focus on your main keywords, you can get a satisfying result.

4. Installs / Uninstalls

When many people click on the same app, Google Play and App Store take it as a good sign. The app stores want to offer the people exactly what they are looking for. Therefore, whenever an app gets installed by a number of people, the app stores consider the app as a popular one. Then, they will show that particular app more often.

On the other hand, instant uninstallation of your app immediately after being downloaded has a negative impact on you app store optimization. Even, uninstallation after the release of the latest version is equally negative. Users can uninstall the app for a number of reasons, among which immediate dissatisfaction is a major reason.

5. Organic Download

When a potential user comes to your app through the search mode and downloads the app, it is organic download. In such cases, the users are not aware of your app and are looking for an app using the words that you have used as the keywords in your app download page. It improves your rank on the search results in the app stores. To improve your organic download rate, you should work on the mobile marketing strategies which includes content marketing, in-app referrals, and social media campaigns.

6. Visual Representation

How are you presenting your app? Is it appealing to your eyes? Visual representation has great contribution in the improvement of ASO. Why do people look at your app? First of all, the user-experience and the features attract people. Next, visual representation draws the attention of the users. Therefore, you should take special care of your app logo and screenshots. Provide a short and interesting video if it is possible.

A Final Takeaway

It is true that app store optimization is not all about keywords and ranking, there are many other things to discuss, which are not possible to cover in a single article. Initially, you need to consider the issues discussed here to improve your app store optimization.