How to improve App Store Search Rankings with Mobile SEO...for Beginners

How to implement SEO for Apps
inside the App Store

Did you know ?
56% of users ﬁnd apps by searching the AppStore

by SearchMan.com

Copyright 2011-2012 SearchMan & AppGrooves Corp. All Rights Reserved. 1

FAQ: Is Search Important?

Q I thought nobody used App Store search. Is it
really that important?

A 56% of users ﬁnd apps by searching for them
Ranking
Search 56%
Word of Mouth
Ads
News / Blogs


FAQ: How hard is App Store SEO?

Q We are 2-person team, too busy building Apps.
Doesn’t SEO take a lot of time?

A Well, if you can afford to buy ads for $2-$3 per
download forever, then forget SEO.

But if not, you just need 3 minutes a day of
tracking and tweaking. We will explain how.


FAQ: How many free downloads from SEO?

Q I want to know how many incremental
downloads we can get with App Store SEO.

As these numbers are not made public by Apple, it is
A
impossible to attribute search-results-driven downloads
accurately at this time.

But based on anecdotal feedback from developers, and
by watching volatile changes in search rankings under
many important keywords, it is clear that between 100’s
and 1000’s of free, high quality, organic downloads a day
are indeed possible when you improve Search Results
visibility inside the App Store.

FAQ: Is Chomp integrated into the AppStore?

Q Apple acquired Chomp for a reported $50M to
improve AppStore’s search engine. Is it already
integrated?

A Yes it seems that way but so far, only affects the
U.S. App Store.

In other countries, the previous search engine
seems to be still active.

(As of 07/29/2012.)


FAQ: How big is Chomp’s impact?

Q What impact has Chomp had on AppStore
search?

A Much more volatility. Here’s what we have heard:
“My app was #1 under a certain big keyword. After the change, my
app is no longer #1 under the same keyword. I lost 90% of our
downloads in the U.S.”

“Our app initially grew so nicely because of AppStore SEO. But after
the change, our daily downloads decreased by 80%..”.


Ready to dive into App Store SEO?!
…tips for the US Market!


What affects SEO in AppStore? (in U.S)
1. External review sites seem to now matter for SEO.
Places
Limitations
SEO Impact
Apple review
AppName
3-255 chars
Super high
Y
Apple’s suggestion: < 35 chars
iTunes Keywords
100 chars (incl. commas)
high
Y
Description
No limit
low
N
External Review Sites
-
Super high
-

2. Total #ratings seem to matter.
i.e. Ask your friends to rate your app!

3. “Freshness” of the app does not seem to matter much


AppStore SEO Strategy (in U.S.)
1.  Assemble the entire list of keywords important for
you.
2.  Put everything into your description (in a human
readable form.)
3.  Sort the keywords ordered by the importance.
1.  Pick up 1-5 most important keywords in your App
Name.
2.  Put as many as possible into your iTunes Keywords.
4.  Ask external app review sites (like 148apps) to
write a review for your app.


3 simple steps for AppStore SEO

Track

Fix
Research


Developer Best Practices?!
!

SearchMan analyzed how thousands of our
customers ﬁx their SEO and we have outlined some
of the best practices we are hearing about.


Split your task based on frequency

Daily

Track

Fix
Research

Before submitting a new version
Weekly


Before your start, prepare 2 lists

Keyword List
Keyword1
Add keywords whenever you come up with a new
Keyword2
idea of keywords.
Keyword3
Grow this list as much as you can.

Competitor App List
Competitor1
Add Competitor app which you feel are competing
Competitor2
against your app.
Competitor3
Add to this list whenever you ﬁnd a new competitor.
Grow this list as much as you can.


Daily: Track

Track
n Simply track search rankings across all
Fix
Rese
arch

Keywords

x
Competitors

n If you ﬁnd new emerging competitors,
add to Competitors


Once a week: Research

Track
n Check the ranking trends of your app
Fix
Rese
arch
for all of
Keywords

n Check all Competitors

in detail.

n If you ﬁnd some keywords which Competitors
are ranked better than your app, add
these keywords to
Keywords


Before submitting a new version: Fix SEO

Track
n By now you should have gathered all
Fix
Rese
arch
candidates keywords.

n Sort all Keywords
in the order you see
as important.

n Author your new Description, App
Name, iTunes Keywords.


SEO Life (without SearchMan)

Daily 60 min
x
Track

Fix
Research

x
5 hours
Weekly 3 hours
x

Save your time with SearchMan

Daily 3 min

Track

Fix
Research

Weekly 15 min
60 min


Sign Up @ SearchMan.com to Start

Free to start. No Credit Card.
founders@SearchMan.com


FAQ: How much is SearchMan?

Q How much does it cost to use SearchMan?

A It is freemium, i.e. sign up for free and pay if you
like it.

After free trial, it will only cost $20/app/mo to use
full functions. (Of course, you can cancel anytime.)

You can always use some limited functions for free.


FAQ: How awesome is SearchMan?

Q Tell me why you are better than other services.

A SearchMan tracks 650K apps * 1M keywords
both for iPhone and iPad every single day.

Therefore there’s no need to wait to access
data.

Our data is robust and we make keyword &
competitor recommendations every day.

Thanks for reading.

SearchMan.com


Appendix!
SEO in markets outside the US where
Chomp has not been integrated yet…


What affects SEO in App Store? (outside U.S)
1. App Name seems to matter for SEO.
Places
Limitations
SEO Impact
Apple review
AppName
3-255 chars
Super high
Y
Apple’s suggestion: < 35 chars
iTunes Keywords
100 chars (incl. commas)
high
Y
Description
No limit
low
N

2. “Freshness” of the app seems to matter too.
i.e. Submit updates intermittently.

3. #DLs, #ratings might not matter that much.
i.e. Indie developer apps have better chances in SEO!!


App Store SEO Strategy (outside U.S.)
1.  Assemble the entire list of keywords that are important for
you.
2.  Track search results for these keywords to verify who you
will be competing with.
3.  Put all words into your description (human readable = in
sentences, not just a laundry list)
4.  Sort the keywords ordered by the importance.
1.  Pick up 1-5 most important keywords and try to place them in your
App Name.
2.  Put as many as possible into your iTunes Keywords (100 character
limit)
5.  Update your app as frequently as possible.


Tips: How to choose your App Name
Good Example:
AppGrooves – App Discovery & Recommendations for Apps

Human readable (not a spammy list), contains important keywords like
“app discovery” and “recommendations”, and it makes sense.

Bad Examples:
AppGrooves
Nobody searches by your brand name (unless you are Instagram!)

AppGrooves, App Discovery, Recommendations, Apps

Spammy. Apple might reject because of this AppName.


How to improve App Store Search Rankings with Mobile SEO...for Beginners

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How to improve App Store Search Rankings with Mobile SEO...for Beginners