App Store Optimisation (ASO for short) is often overlooked once an app has been released, but should it be considered as a key growth strategy for your app? And is it something that can add value to your business? This is not going to be a technical how-to, but instead a breakdown of what ASO is, and why you may want to assign budget to give it a try.
ASO in its most basic form can be thought of as SEO for your APP. Businesses pump tonnes of money into their marketing strategies but can neglect app discoverability with a “set it and forget it” mindset. The benefits from ASO can be vast, and the effort to do so it its most basic form can start small. So what are you waiting for?!
What is ASO?
ASO is the process of optimising your app listing and marketing strategy to drive more customers to your app. This can be achieved both within the AppStore environment, or external (such as your website, or a paid ad). Your goals for ASO can vary, whether you would like to increase your conversion rate once a user has landed on your app listing, or climb the rankings for a new keyword, the investment into ASO can be the difference between a growing or a stagnant app.
Setting Your Goals
Before you start, you need to set some goals. Are you looking to become more visible? Increase your conversion rate? Increase your tap-through rate? Climb for certain keywords? This is all really important before proceeding to the next stage. Your agency will work with you to identify this in more detail, but this is something you should put some thought into beforehand to make sure you have a good steer for what your business is looking for.
Optimising your AppStore Listing
This is the process of updating your app listing inline with the goals. Things like your app title, images, description, keywords, even down to how responsive you are to your reviews will be reviewed in order to create a strategy that edges closer to the goal. This is one of the main tasks for ASO and can be a difficult one to master, but a well-optimised listing will pay dividends in the long run as your app picks up pace.
External Optimisation
Now, many people consider ASO to be just the process of optimising your app store listing, however, there is a lot to be said about ensuring that your entire ecosystem is geared up towards the same goals. If your goal is to attract more users and increase your visibility, using all of the guns in your arsenal should be a consideration.
Your website, social media accounts and wider marketing strategy should also funnel users to your app. Are you pushing users to your app from your website effectively? Are you using tools like deeplinking to keep this process seamless on a mobile device? These are all considerations that can be taken when assessing the overall visibility and strategy for ASO.
If at first, you don’t succeed…
Like all forms of marketing, the process of App Store Optimisation is one that can take trial and error whilst you find what works. Your users are a unique bunch, you need to figure out how to engage them. Putting the time and budget behind a strong ASO strategy can be the difference between an app that is profitable and an app that dies. If you have not yet considered ASO as a tool, give it a try.
We offer ASO as a service. If you are interested in seeing how ASO could benefit you please give us a message or a call!
