App Store Optimization (E-book)

A Complete Roadmap to
App Store Optimization

Table Of Content
What is ASO.............................................................................................................. 3
Why you should do ASO ............................................................................... 4
ASO Checklist ........................................................................................................ 6
Competition Research ..................................................................................... 7
Keyword Strategy .............................................................................................. 10
Categories ................................................................................................................ 12
App Name ................................................................................................................ 14
App Description ................................................................................................... 16
App Icon ..................................................................................................................... 18
App Screenshots ................................................................................................. 20
Video Preview ........................................................................................................ 22
Localization .............................................................................................................. 24
Ratings & Reviews .............................................................................................. 25
ASO Tools ................................................................................................................. 27
Bonus : Why apps get rejected from app store .......................... 28

What is ASO
App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of improving
the visibility of a mobile app in an app
store
- Wikipedia
It is similar in principle to the search engine optimization
(SEO) for web.
The goal of successful ASO is to drive
traffic to your app page on app store and
which will turn into more downloads.

Why you should do ASO
6 OUT OF 10
People discover apps by general
browsing in an app store
10% out of total apps on app store had
500,000 or more downloads
- app-promo
Successful apps spend 14% of their
time on marketing
-app-promo
Currently, there are 1,252,777 apps available in the App
Store, and as many as 60 thousand apps are added per
month – and this rate is itself growing.

Why you should do ASO
Contd..
Higher ranking in app store will ensure more downloads as
compared to the app without ASO .
The key is to keep fine tuning your ASO strategy until you get
desired results.
Higher ranking means more visibility, more downloads, more
conversions which will derive more revenues .

ASO Checklist
#1 Competition Research
#2 Keywords Strategy
#3 Category
#4 App Title
#5 App Description
#6 App Icon
#7 App Screenshots
#8 Video Preview
#9 Localization
#10 Ratings & Reviews

#1 Competition Research
What to research ?
Competition research is the first stepping stone of App Store
Optimization. It equips you with crucial inputs about your
competitors.
Search for your primary keywords in app store and see which
apps rank higher
Identify Top 8-10 apps which rank higher in your category and
those which have similar functionalities as your app
Install these apps and thoroughly understand their functionalities
See what makes them different than others
Compare app features, pricing and monetization
What's making them rank on the app store ?
Find clues in app store reviews - which feature users like the
most, what they don't like etc.

#2 Keywords Strategy
Defining Right Keywords
Fixing on right keywords can make or break your app when it comes
to app store downloads. The keywords you finalise at this stage will
be further used in your app title and description to boost the app
store rankings.
Don't just guess the keywords. Identify the actual keywords that
users are searching for.
Make the most of iTunes’ keyword field 100-character limit. Use
all the characters in keyword field.
Use keywords with high relevancy, high search volume and low
competition.
Separate keywords with commas
Don’t use the same keywords you used in the app title these
keywords have already been targeted.
Don’t mention competitor's app names as keywords

#3 Categories
Selecting Right Category
Positioning your app in right and the most relevant category can
boost your downloads significantly in two ways -
a. Getting into the top charts for that category
b. Recommended in related apps sections
Identify two to three categories which are most relevant to your
app
Analyse the competition level in these categories
If your app is new, select the less competitive category to
improve the chances of getting higher rank

#4 App Name
Picking the right App Title
App name has to be unique and easy to remember. Here you also
need to consider the best way to optimize the app. Drafting a
tagline which contains keywords can alone drive significant number
of downloads.
The app title should be easy to remember and easy to spell
It should attract users' attention and generate curiosity
Most importantly, check if there is any other app on the app store
by the same name. If there is, try different name
Use 2-3 primary keywords in the tagline which will appear next to
your app name.
The limit for app title in Apple app store is 255 characters. In
Google Play Store, it can have 30 characters.
Don't make it too long
Don't stuff too many keywords
Apps with keywords in the title rank, on average, 10.3% higher
than those without a keyword in the title.
Awesome

#5 App Description
Optimizing your app description
App description plays key role to drive downloads for your app.
Though your app description is not searchable in Apple app store
as compared to Google Play Store, you just cannot afford to ignore
it. Majority of users decide whether to download the app or not
simply by reading the app description.
Focus on getting the message out in first few lines
A good description explains what app does for the user along
with it's important features
Adding short testimonials from your users in the description
always helps.
Use keywords with a relevant density; don't just stuff them
Keep it clean and simple. Avoid technical jargons
Most importantly, don't forget call-to-action text like
"Download Now", "Install Now" etc. towards the end of the
description to trigger the download decision.
Double check for any misspelling or grammatical mistakes

Example
Social Proof
Features
CTA

#6 App Icon
Best Practices for App Icon Design
App’s icon is the first thing people notice about the app, you
can't afford to sideline it.
A stellar app icon can boost your click-through rate in search
results, as well as install rates ont the app page.
It should also stand out among number of other apps
installed on users phone to intice user for the usage.
Remember, your app icon represents your brand so
adhere to general branding priciples
You app icon should reflect your app's functionality. For
example, if your app shows nearby shops, it makes sense
to include location symbol in your app icon
Avoid using words in app icon. It should be made of
pattern or a single number / character best describing the
app
It should be simple and easy to remember.

Example
W H I T E A N D Y E L L O W
P A G E S
( Y E L L O W P A G E S A P P )
L I F E L I S T
( T O - D O L I S T )
U R H E R E
( N A V I G A T I O N )

#7 App Screenshots
Best Practices
Your screenshots should clearly reflect what your user will
see once he installs the apps and starts using it.
Visitors make the decision whether to download an app or
not based on how attractive it looks in the screenshots.
Look at screenshots as an early conversion point.
Try to maintain the flow of functionalities among all the
screenshots
Show the user what the experience is going to be like.
Strictly follow app store guidelines
Upload high resolution images
Use all available screenshot slots - 5 for Apple’s App Store,
and 8 for Google Play and Windows. Consider each
screenshot as an opportunity to generate a download
Add short texts describing each screenshot.

#8 Video Preview
Best Practices
Video previews provide an opportunity for you to tell the user how
to interact with your app, what is fun about your app.
Consider it as chance to elevate your app detail page to the next
level
Video previews take good efforts to craft but it's all worth it
You can always post it on YouTube and other video sharing
platforms, promote it on your social media channels and place it on
your marketing site / landing page.
You video should focus on selling the major features and
functionality of your app
Keep it short. Apple app store - 30 seconds, Google Play Store -
120 seconds
Hire a professional if required to produce a good quality video
Maintain branding elements throughout the video
Try communicate your message in a story format
Don't violate copyrights of music and visuals

#9 Localization
How to localize an app
To maximize your app’s revenue, you should start thinking beyond
the U.S market.
Localization offers great way of expanding your app audience at a
global level through optimizing your app for various languages &
geo locations.
However, even though app localization is simple and straight
forward, it stil lrequires some work. You need to make sure that
your app is designed from the ground up to support localization.
You can build multiple versions of your app with the in-app
content in different languages
The other way is to create translated versions of your app
metadata - the title, description & keywords - in different
languages. Publish your app, with the translated ASO content, in
the relevant country stores (every other country gets the English
version) and based on results, localize the in-app content
Make sure to get your translations right. Hire a
professional translator if required

#10 Ratings & Reviews
Best Practices
App Store Reviews and Ratings play key role when it comes to
downloading your app by users.
Positive reviews and ratings ensure more downloads
Reviews also help you reflect upon whether you are moving in the
right direction.
They also contribute to search rankings within the app store.
Ask users for feedback whenever possible. Add call-to-action for
reviews and ratings
Respond to unhappy users quickly with solutions to their
problems
Find clues from reviews for new features or functions that might
be included
Users tend to shy away from low and unrated apps, so you must
keep an eye on your score.

ASO Tools
SensorTower :
Mobile SEO and Keyword Optimization for iOS Apps
AppTweak :
Instant App Marketing and ASO report
AppMind :
Discover any iOS app’s keywords
App Annie :
App Ranking, Analytics, Market Intelligence
Jargon :
Ship your app in any language (SDK)
iCanLocalize : Expert translation

Bonus :
Why Apps Get Rejected From App Store
Long load time :
Apple does not likes apps that take more than 15 seconds to
load. The load time means the time from which the app icon is
tapped till the first screen of the app appears. Lesser loading
time also leads to more impressed users.
App Logo & Screenshots do not adhere to the 4+ age rating :
No matter you are submitting the app with 9+ or 17+ rating but
your app should always have a logo and screenshots adhering
to the 4+ age rating. Apple has a very strong reason for it - even
if the users (4+ rating) cannot install the app they can still see
the app icon and the screenshots.
Mentioning other app stores :
Apple rejects the apps that have a mention of other app stores
or if the app promotes the users to download the same app
from different app stores.

Contd..
No way to report user generated content :
If your app has user generated content (images and videos
uploaded by users, user comments, etc), there should be a way
in the app for other users to ‘report’ or ‘flag’ that content as
inappropriate.
Outside payment integration :
If the users of your app has the ability to purchase digital
content through the app, then it should always be only through
the iTunes in-app purchases.
Unfinished apps :
Apple does not allow beta versions of the app or unfinished
apps to be released for the users. So make sure your app does
not have any partial functioning features.
In-app purchases :
If your app has in-app purchases, the users should have the
ability to restore the previous purchases

Contd..
No privacy policies :
Apple recommends a detailed privacy policy for the app. If not
directly into the app, the app should atleast have the link to
some external webpage from where the privacy policy of the
app can be easily accessed by the user.
No iPad Compatibility :
Even though you are building the app only for iPhone users
make sure your app looks good also on iPad. Guideline 2.10
states that the iPhone apps should run without any
modification on iPad at 2x iPhone 3GS resolution.
Trademark and logo violation :
Strictly avoid using Apple logo anywhere in your app or your
app store page. Also do not use any Apple trademark icons in
your app

App Store Optimization (E-book)

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App Store Optimization (E-book)