App Store Optimisation (ASO) —

App Store Optimisation (often shortened to ASO) is crucial to the success of an app: in just the same way that making sure your website ranks well in search engines is essential to site traffic, ASO makes sure your app can be found when users search an app store.

Need a hand getting your app ranking better in the app store? Get in touch with us to get the ball rolling.

What is App Store Optimisation (ASO)?

ASO is the process of researching & implementing changes to app store listings to ensure they appear in front of users searching for new apps. By optimising your listing, you can improve your app’s rank in the app store, ensuring that it can be found by a wider audience.

Why ASO?

There’s no escaping the popularity of mobile devices, with more and more people choosing them as their go-to way to surf the web with each passing year. 

So for businesses that offer an app, or even ones where their app is their main touch-point with their customers, making sure their app ends up in the right hands is a major player in their success. 

There are many factors that determine what apps show up when you search an app store, and by making sure your app listings are well-optimised, you’re greatly increasing the chances of your app being shown to potential customers. 

Key stats:

• Statista estimates app stores will gross over $730 billion in revenue per year by 2027
• Mobile users are estimated to spend 88% of their mobile usage time in apps
• 70% of people discover new apps by searching the app store, with 65% of all app downloads coming from searches from the app store, according to App Radar

Is ASO the same as SEO?

ASO and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) have a lot in common: both rely on doing keyword research to find out what your customers are searching for, making sure those keywords are well-utilised and that other ranking factors (ie. linking, reviews and relevance) are also taken into consideration. 

Because each app store is its own platform and separate from search engines, the keywords you optimise your site for might not be the same as the ones you need to optimise your app page for, so your app listing needs to be its own unique touchpoint. 

Is optimising for the Apple App store the same as optimising for the Google Play or Samsung app store? 

Each app store has its own unique areas that need to be optimised for the most visibility; some utilise backend keyword tags, while others rely more heavily on keyword inclusion in the text, URL and subtitles. 

Having a strategy that accommodates all of your platforms will help make sure your app can be more easily found by your audience whichever app store they prefer to use.