In May of 2015 Google released a document called Mobile App Marketing Insights, it indicated that more than 40% of mobile applications were discovered through the searches in the app store. This is currently a trend, the importance of appearing in the search results made by users, is the pillar of growth for mobile applications.
How can we reach the top positions in a search? In the past and since the existence of Google we talked a lot about SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but in the application stores the search tendencies are slightly different, that is where ASO (App Store Optimization) was created, a way to improve the visibility of mobile applications in stores, alluding to very similar factors for positioning; everything is based on a description with sense and oriented to certain keywords.
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App Store Optimization is the key to positioning
While the classic “Keyword Research” tools are focused on the web search engines, they can help improve an important aspect in the way users find our application on this channel, and it is the inclusion of metadata that helps interpret Google’s algorithm regarding what the application is about. Writing a good description is key.
Let’s look at some tools that will help us write descriptions that can help us get to a better position in both web results and app stores:
This service allows you to perform automatic searches by testing various ordered combinations, this is done by generating long-tail keywords of high value with each letter of the alphabet, numbers, and even characters.
Plus, it allows segmenting by category and by country, which makes it a very effective tool.
#2 KeywordTool.io & #3 UberSuggest
A very similar tool is called “Keyword Tool”, which also makes combinations of keywords, but also has filters to exclude words, language, and the country selection plus the pro version reveals keywords that do not appear in the free version.
On the other hand, UberSuggest allows you to search for keywords on sites like YouTube. Also, it is possible to install an extension for the Google Chrome browser that shows the CPC.
This tool allows you to calculate the difficulty of positioning a keyword in the web browser, and it also shows relevant information to our paid campaigns such as CPC (Cost per Click) or the movement of the search volume of a word.
This is one of the most complete tools for keyword research, its pro version allows you to extend all your services. It has a tool for analyzing the competition and even knows which sites link to that keyword, so it is quite useful for finding information on how the word is moving in social media.
This tool uses diverse sources to generate keywords for “long-tail” types, although the free version only allows making three searches daily, the priced version of it is affordable and unlimited.
On the same website, they mention that the results from instant searches are their main source of information extraction.
All of the tools listed above are for web analytics or app store results, but this one specifically shows trends and keyword statistics shared on social networks like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and Pinterest.
It also allows us to filter different types of content, whether they are articles, infographics, interviews, among others. It is an essential tool for generating content ideas.
It is a specialized tool to spy on the competition, shows suggestions of related sites that are within our slot, and are positioning keywords similar to ours.
It is ideal to do “off-metadata” optimization, that is done outside the tab of the application store, so optimizing our website or landing page with this tool would be essential.
And now what?
The App Store Optimization does not end with writing a description that includes keywords. Currently, there are various factors such as the following:
- Name of the application.
- Category in the app store.
- Icon.
- Screenshots.
- Application size.
- Video preview.
In addition to those that are made out of the tab in the application store, which includes, relationships with influencers of the area to talk about the application or publication of reviews in specialized portals. Other companies, for example, engage in these kinds of tasks, but go much further, doing “Growth Management” and allowing a quick response to user problems or failures that they might have in application stores and have a great impact on the user’s decision to install a mobile application or not.
