So, you've finished building your app and are new to the app store. The first thing to get your app up and running is to start with App Store Optimization. Implement an ASO strategy to make your app a success.
But developing a strategy is relatively easier than knowing the mistakes to avoid. That's why we're here to help you, so next time you can develop a solid results-driven ASO strategy for your mobile app. Remember to avoid these mistakes, because they could sabotage your ASO efforts!
Take the ASO and SEO as same thing
SEO and ASO are not the same thing. If they are similar, it is a mistake to assume that they work the same way.
SEO is the process of optimizing a website for visibility in Google searches. ASO is the process of optimizing an application and its listings to increase visibility, increase conversions (and thus downloads), and reduce user acquisition costs.
Another difference between ASO and SEO is that paid campaigns have an impact on ASO, but not on SEO.
ASO and SEO are related because you can work on SEO for your listings to index their URLs on Google search, but they are not the same.
Ignore the quality of your app
This is a very important point, and you may think it's obvious, but it's very important to take it into account.
Did you know that app stores consider app downloads and speed, user engagement and retention, and even Google Play user reviews to rank them? In addition, they are unlikely to rank and recommend apps that have bugs and don't work well.
Having a quality product is important for user satisfaction, and it can actually bring you more natural downloads. If your users are happy, they will spread word of mouth and rate your app well, which may prompt other users to download the app, etc.
It's also important to consider push notifications, inbound marketing, CRM, communication strategies, app value, and other factors to engage with users, improve rankings, and increase the visibility of your app in the store.
Finally, it is also important to have a great product, because if your users and reviews are negative, they can have a very bad impact on your conversion rate.
Limit your app name as brand name
Some app owners mistakenly believe that keeping their app title "clean" and limiting it to a brand name is good for their app's ASO. Even well-known brands like Spotify add strategic keywords to their app titles and subtitles. This approach allows music streaming apps to reach more potential users in the app store at zero cost.
Tips for creating app titles
- Add the most strategic keywords to the app title as it is considered to be the most important ranking factor in ASO.
- Use all available characters to give users a better understanding of your app. Try to cover as many search queries as possible.
- Use other languages. In the App Store, you can increase the number of keywords your app ranks for by using other language environments. For example, English-US and Spanish-Mexico can both be indexed in the United States.
To learn more about app names, you can check "
ASO Creation Strategy: How to Create a Perfect Name?" of our previous articles.
Not evaluating keywords before using them
Keywords are the cornerstone of successful ASO, so some people choose keywords they think are relevant and use them. But not all keywords will help for two main reasons: they don't get enough traffic or the competition is too strong.
To avoid this common pitfall, you should do the keywords research firstly before you use them. You should look for two things.
- Keywords that get search traffic - check the popularity score of the keywords and choose the ones with the highest popularity. Whatever you do, try to avoid using keywords with single-digit popularity scores.
- Top ranking results for keywords that get similar scores to your app - Before optimizing for a keyword, check the number of scores the top results get and make sure your app is within 20% or less. If your ratings are much lower, the chances of ranking in the top 5 (which is important) become very small.
To learn more about app keywords, you can check "
How Do Keywords Boost the Discoverability of Your Apps & Games?" of our previous articles.
Use easier-ranking but irrelevant keywords
Sometimes it is difficult to find popular, less competitive and relevant keywords. Therefore, some developers look for keywords that are slightly less relevant to rank higher.
However, if you do this, you will end up with fewer downloads because the people searching for those less relevant keywords are not looking for your application. Even if your app is the first result, they will skip it, or worse, download your app thinking it does something it doesn't do. Once they realize it doesn't, they'll uninstall it.
Apply same ASO strategy for Google Play and App Store
Some developers use the same keywords in their iOS and Android apps, but Apple and Google have very different algorithms.
The data they use to determine which keywords are relevant to your app is different - Apple has a list of keywords, while Google uses long descriptions. They even use different data sets to determine how to rank apps - Google looks at downloads, uninstalls, and crashes over all time, while Apple looks at downloads and new ratings over the past few days.
This is why it's important to research keywords and use the ones that make the most sense when considering specific stores. Copying and pasting lists from one store to another rarely produces positive results.
To learn more about ASO strategy differences, you can check "
App Store vs. Google Play Store In ASO Strategies" of our previous articles.
Not localizing your app
According to AppAnnie's research, the top countries in the world for app downloads are China, India, the United States, Brazil, and Russia. Doing an ASO only for English-speaking markets means you lose nearly 90% of your potential app users. In addition, you are more likely to get recommendations from Apple in your target country if the app pages are localized.
Here's what minimum viable localization involves.
- App title, subtitle, and keywords
- Screen shots with notes and CTA
- App description - Google Play complete, App Store visible section
To learn more about app localization, you can check "
The Complete Guide to App Localization" of our previous articles.
Ignore low rating and negative reviews
Not answering negative reviews is one of the most serious mistakes an app can make. It will immediately affect the visibility and conversion rate of the app. In addition, low ratings and negative reviews on average can kill your chances of getting recommended in the App Store and Google Play.
Tips for improving app ratings and reviews
- Check app ratings and reviews regularly. A great time-saving tip is to use a service like AppFollow to get reviews from both stores in one place, analyze and respond immediately.
- Respond to featured reviews. Featured reviews are the first reviews a user sees on your app page, so they have the most impact on a user's decision to download your app.
- Respond to long reviews. The fact that users spend a lot of time writing detailed reviews deserves your attention. Even if users aren't complaining, your response will make them feel appreciated.
- Notify users when the problem they report is resolved. Once the issue is resolved, don't hesitate to ask them to update their reviews and ratings.
- Use the in-app rating request. This tool will increase both positive and negative reviews as the request prompts users to give a 1 to 5 star rating. Therefore, timing is critical when implementing in-app rating requests to get more positive reviews. The best time to send a rating request is after the user has successfully completed a task or passed a game level.
To learn more about ratings&reviews, you can check "
How Do App Reviews and Ratings Affect Users' decisions?" of our previous articles.
Not monitoring your competitors
You should always monitor different types of competitors.
- Your product competitors - mobile apps/games that compete directly with you in terms of product
- Your ASO competitors - mobile apps/games that compete with you in terms of browsing and ASO ranking in search
- Your product and ASO competitors - mobile apps/games that compete with you on both fronts
It would be a shame not to track these 3 types of competitors because you can learn a lot from your competitors and how they optimize their products and listings. By monitoring them, you can see how the changes they implement in their listings affect their rankings and find good practices/what not to do.
To learn more about competitor research, you can check "
Competitor Research: How To Improve Aso Skills & Marketing Strategy From Your Competitor" of our previous articles.
Do ASO as a one-time thing
Another common mistake for app marketers: thinking you need to work on ASO once and stop doing so when you get results.
ASO is a process and should not be seen as a one-time effort or something you can work on from one day to the next. Keyword optimization, browsing rankings, A/B testing, user retention, KPI tracking, competition monitoring ...... all of these take time and effort.
We believe there is always room for improvement in app store optimization. In fact, things are always changing, algorithms, stores ...... you always need to keep an eye on the app store and how your app is doing, whether your keywords are going up or down, etc. Another concrete evidence of the long-term - running effort is that more and more new apps are added to the store every day, which means you will always face more and more competition, which will affect your ranking in search and browsing.
In short, monitor the main KPIs of your app regularly (daily if you can), pay close attention to the changes you notice and analyze where they come from and why.
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