ASO Guide for Beginner: How App Store Ratings & Reviews Affect App Visibility?

As the mobile app market continues to grow, standing out from the crowd has become more challenging than ever. App ratings and reviews are key indicators of how users perceive your app. They have a significant impact on an app's visibility and growth in app stores.

Therefore, ASO practitioners must monitor user feedback and incorporate it into their ASO efforts. By paying attention to user feedback and continuously improving the app's user experience, ASO practitioners can improve app ratings and reviews, leading to increased visibility and growth.

In this blog, we'll talk about how app ratings and reviews impact your conversition rate in an effective app growth strategy, as well as how they affect your app's visibility and even your organic traffic in app stores.

You'll dive into the following topics:

• What app ratings & reviews mean for app marketing: App Store vs. Google Play
• Drive your user acquisition with app ratings & reviews strategy
• How app ratings & reviews impact on your app's conversion rate, even app ranking?

What app ratings & reviews mean for app marketing: iOS App Store vs. Google Play

To better understand the differences, let's first define ratings and reviews.

• Rating: a score is given between 1 – 5 stars by your users. Visitors prefer an app with high score since it always means good experience.
• Reviews: app feedback comments based on good or bad experience from users after they installed your app.

While Apple and Google define ratings and reviews similarly, there are some significant differences between the 2 platforms:

1. On Google Play, review content will affect your keyword ranking and search traffic opportunity.

Different from the iOS app store, app reviews that include your targeted keywords will much helpful for your searching keyword ranking on the Google play store. This benefit does not apply to iOS apps.

2. Google Play store ranking algorithm on downloads conversion rate.

Our app ratings and reviews strategies and efforts will have a greater impact on an app's overall rating score and reviews performance. Users are willing to choose ASOWorld app reviews and rating services together with ASO campaigns to drive their conversion rate on downloads, even the app ranking results.

⚡ Related reading: App Store Ranking Algorithm 2023: iOS App Store vs. Google Play Store

The significance of app ratings & reviews to user acquisition

App ratings and reviews are essential indicators of user satisfaction and can greatly influence potential users' decision to download an app. If an app has positive ratings and reviews, it's more likely to be downloaded by potential users.

This means that the star rating of your app will have a significant impact on your conversion rate.

Let's have a look at some data on user experience and conversition works:

• According to the analysis, increasing the rating of your app from 3 to 4 stars can increase conversion by nearly 90%.
• Around 80% of users will take app ratings and reviews as good advisers before downloading an app.
• Almost 70% of visitors in the app store have their opinion or impression of a brand with a 4- or 5-star rating.

At the same time, the app's ratings and reviews will also play a role in the app's ranking in the app market. Google Play and the Apple App Store use complex algorithms to rank apps based on various factors, including the number of downloads, ratings, and reviews.

Apps with higher ratings and positive reviews are more likely to appear higher in search results and recommended app lists. Some data into our eyes as below:

• App rating score: Most Top apps which with high category rankings have star ratings greater than 4.0.
• Ranking algorithm in App Store: Both iOS and Google Play tend to feature apps with ratings higher than 4.0. If your app has a low rating, it is unlikely to be featured, limiting its potential visibility.
• App category ranking: Since category ranking is based on app downloads, a better conversion rate on downloads and installs will benefit your app category ranking.
• Keywords ranking & searching traffic: About 70% of visitors find their desired app by searching a certain keyword. The conversion rate of app downloads will influence your keyword ranking in search results.
• Visibility & organic traffic: An app with more keywords being ranked well means higher visibility, also more organic traffic in this way.

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How app ratings & reviews impact on your app's conversion rate, even your app ranking?

We previously stated that visitors are willing to download an app with higher ratings and positive reviews including helpful content.

How the ratings and reviews of your app impact on the app growth?

• Keyword visibility
• Brand trust and download conversion rate
• app downloads acquisition and ranking algorithm
• Opportunity to get recommendations on the app store

 

Keyword Visibility

As we all know, app stores take the popularity of an app into consideration when they rank apps or games. And the popularity mainly appears in app downloads, installs, user retention, and user feedback(app ratings and reviews).

The more downloads you get, the higher ranking you win. The high app ranking you reached, the more visibility and organic traffic are not far away!

⚡ Learn how to conduct effective keyword research for your app using ASOWorld

Brand trust and download conversion rate

Apps with good ratings and reviews have a better chance of getting the trust of potential users, leading to better conversion rates, more downloads, high ranking & visibility, and increased growth. 

How to decide whether an app's rating is good or harmful for conversion?

An app should aim for a rating of 4.3 to 4.9 stars, but at the very least, it should have a rating of at least 4.0. Otherwise, the conversion will be significantly hampered.

 

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App downloads acquisition and ranking algorithm

Given that an app's ratings and reviews have a direct impact on conversion, and a low conversion rate means a negative impact on your keyword and category rankings, ASA strategy, and ability to be featured, also means fewer app downloads acquisition and poor ranking capability.

Opportunity to get recommendations on the app store
According to our research, an app with a poor rating score of fewer than 4 stars, will not be featured on the iOS app store and will not be included in Google Play's featured app list. A quick glance at each app featured on Google Play's "Editors' Choice Apps" page reveals that they all have a star rating of 4.3 or higher.


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Conclusion

To summarize, it is critical to constantly monitor, analyze, and work to improve the rating and reviews of your app (Appranking can help you) together an effective ASO strategy.

In general, having a positive rating score will make it much easier to reach your app's visibility potential and ASO goals!