App Store Optimization (ASO): how to make your app more discoverable
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 10:00 am
Congratulations, your app is completely finished, (hopefully) bug-free and ready for the app stores. Upload and wait for those first downloads, because your app will be found anyway. Right? Not quite. That findability is something you have to work on yourself. Does App Store Optimization (ASO) ring a bell? If ASO is still unfamiliar territory for you, pay extra attention. ASO is the new form of SEO, but specifically for apps in the app stores!
With enough capital, turning an idea into an app is not that hard. You pay a company, hire some freelancers or you know someone who will build it for you. They will then make everything to your liking and you are done. Upload the SDK to the app stores, add a nice story and the new Snapchat is born. Or not?
Did you know that the two largest app stores (Apple and Google) have more than 1.5 million apps separately? To stand out among all these apps, you have to do more than just add czech republic telegram number list some screenshots or come up with a good text or catchy title. No less than 63 percent of all downloads come from searching in the app store. It is therefore very important that you do everything you can to stand out. By applying ASO in the right way, you increase the chance of increasing your conversions, getting more downloads and therefore a greater chance of a higher ranking in the app stores.
3 Visual Factors to Score Fast with App Store Optimization (ASO)
With the help of the following three aspects you can quickly and easily score well in the app stores. I call it the visual factors; these three points will be the first things the user will see and thus make the choice to download the app or not. The title, your app icon and the accompanying screenshots must be attractive and clear enough to immediately persuade the user to download the app.
1. Title
In the Apple app store (for iPhone), the first 23 characters of your title are the most important. These are still visible, so make sure they are relevant to your app and the keywords. In the Playstore (for Google), this number is 30 characters. It is important for both stores that the most important keywords are at the beginning of the sentence!title
2. Icon
Developing an icon may seem simple, but have you ever tested how it converts? A common mistake is underestimating the value of the icon, which causes people to 'forget' to test the icon for conversion. Use A/B testing to find out what is considered a good icon. So design multiple icons and choose the best one! Split test them by creating two different landing pages. Then send the same amount of traffic to each icon. You can easily do this in your Google Analytics account.
In the example below, you send 50 percent of your visitors to icon A and 50 percent to icon B. If you have four icons, for example, it would naturally be 25 percent to each icon.
AB appstore3. Screenshots
Apple gives you the option to use five screenshots, Google gives you eight. Use them all! It is also important to give a short explanation (maximum one sentence) of what is happening with each screenshot. This way, the user immediately becomes familiar with the various functions of the app.
The video option should not be forgotten either. At Apple this is only 30 seconds and there are various websites and tools with which you can do this quite easily. At Google you can even upload a video of 120 seconds, but the use of YouTube is mandatory. Videos are often a very convincing way to convince users to download your app. In addition, videos are a fun way for your users to become familiar with the various functions of your app!
Below you see four screenshots. The screenshots are clean, simple and clear. Within one line you know immediately what the function in question entails.
With enough capital, turning an idea into an app is not that hard. You pay a company, hire some freelancers or you know someone who will build it for you. They will then make everything to your liking and you are done. Upload the SDK to the app stores, add a nice story and the new Snapchat is born. Or not?
Did you know that the two largest app stores (Apple and Google) have more than 1.5 million apps separately? To stand out among all these apps, you have to do more than just add czech republic telegram number list some screenshots or come up with a good text or catchy title. No less than 63 percent of all downloads come from searching in the app store. It is therefore very important that you do everything you can to stand out. By applying ASO in the right way, you increase the chance of increasing your conversions, getting more downloads and therefore a greater chance of a higher ranking in the app stores.
3 Visual Factors to Score Fast with App Store Optimization (ASO)
With the help of the following three aspects you can quickly and easily score well in the app stores. I call it the visual factors; these three points will be the first things the user will see and thus make the choice to download the app or not. The title, your app icon and the accompanying screenshots must be attractive and clear enough to immediately persuade the user to download the app.
1. Title
In the Apple app store (for iPhone), the first 23 characters of your title are the most important. These are still visible, so make sure they are relevant to your app and the keywords. In the Playstore (for Google), this number is 30 characters. It is important for both stores that the most important keywords are at the beginning of the sentence!title
2. Icon
Developing an icon may seem simple, but have you ever tested how it converts? A common mistake is underestimating the value of the icon, which causes people to 'forget' to test the icon for conversion. Use A/B testing to find out what is considered a good icon. So design multiple icons and choose the best one! Split test them by creating two different landing pages. Then send the same amount of traffic to each icon. You can easily do this in your Google Analytics account.
In the example below, you send 50 percent of your visitors to icon A and 50 percent to icon B. If you have four icons, for example, it would naturally be 25 percent to each icon.
AB appstore3. Screenshots
Apple gives you the option to use five screenshots, Google gives you eight. Use them all! It is also important to give a short explanation (maximum one sentence) of what is happening with each screenshot. This way, the user immediately becomes familiar with the various functions of the app.
The video option should not be forgotten either. At Apple this is only 30 seconds and there are various websites and tools with which you can do this quite easily. At Google you can even upload a video of 120 seconds, but the use of YouTube is mandatory. Videos are often a very convincing way to convince users to download your app. In addition, videos are a fun way for your users to become familiar with the various functions of your app!
Below you see four screenshots. The screenshots are clean, simple and clear. Within one line you know immediately what the function in question entails.