THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK APP STORE OPTIMIZATION: The Definitive Playbook 1 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 Introduction 3 What Is App Store Optimization? 4 Making a First Impression 5 App Icons 6 Screenshots 8 Video 11 Testing Your Creative Assets 14 ASO Cheat Sheet: Making a First Impression 15 Improving Discoverability 15 Choosing Keywords 20 Monitoring the Competitive Landscape 21 Discovering Keyword Opportunities 22 Where to Place Your Keywords 24 Categorizing Your App 26 Keeping Tabs on Competitors 26 Creating a User Feedback Loop: The Influence of Ratings & Reviews 29 Influence of Search Ads on Discoverability 31 Using Mobile Web to Increase App Store Traffic 35 ASO Cheat Sheet: Discoverability 37 Going Global: How ASO Factors into Market Expansion 37 Improving Discoverability in an Existing Market 44 ASO Cheat Sheet: Going Global 45 Optimizing & Measuring Success: Why ASO Is a Living Process 46 About App Annie 2 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK INTRODUCTION: What Is App Store Optimization? The app market is one of the most competitive spaces in the world. And it’s crowded — with approximately 2 million iOS App Store apps and 4 million Google Play Store apps. Between the sheer number of apps and the skyrocketing costs of advertising, successfully acquiring and retaining users is more challenging than ever. As a mobile marketer, your job is to cut through that clutter and get in front of the right audiences. Increasing exposure for your mobile presence helps increase app downloads, boost store rankings and ultimately drive revenue for your business. A complete mobile strategy is comprised of both mobile web and mobile apps. While mobile web casts a large net and can be a great funnel for initial interest, mobile apps allow for more personalization, a more optimized experience and tend to see greater engagement. For this reason, apps are typically the ultimate goal for most mobile marketers. Jane Butler, Managing Director, App Promotion, Americas at Google explained, “People expect fast, reliable, personalized experiences from the brands they interact with, and we often find that the best way to deliver that experience is through apps.” According to Apple, 65% of app downloads come through organic searches on the iOS App Store. A highly valuable strategy to increase long-term exposure is App Store Optimization. App Store Optimization, or ASO, can be defined as the ongoing process of testing and measuring updates to app store marketing assets, with the goal of increasing visibility and driving more downloads. ASO is the product of two distinct goals: 1) discoverability — increasing search traffic to your app and 2) conversion — convincing users to download your app. For many app publishers, the first thing that comes to mind when they think about ASO is building out a keyword strategy. While certainly an important component, optimizing your app for organic discoverability goes well beyond keywords. 3 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK ASO is much more robust and strategic than many may think, comprising research, testing and a lot of creativity. In this playbook, we’ll equip you with best practices for improving app discoverability and downloads among quality users. In addition to App Annie’s expertise, we’ll share insights from the industry’s best and brightest, and offer actionable advice and tips you can apply to your own ASO efforts. Making a First Impression: App Icons & More Someone in your life has probably told you at some point “You only have one chance to make a first impression.” The same applies to introducing your app to potential users. The way you merchandise your app in the app store — choosing the words, images and videos to include — makes all the difference when it comes to convincing users to give your app a shot. ASO isn’t just about getting your name and keywords right — it’s about using both visual and written elements to tell a story about your app and let users know what they should expect post-install. In this chapter we’ll look at the various assets you can use in your app store preview, including your: • App icon • App name and description • Screenshots • Video We’ll also cover best practices in testing to make sure you know what your highestperforming assets are. Let’s start with what’s arguably your most important creative asset: your app icon. 4 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK App Icons Despite containing only a few thousand pixels, your app icon wields immense influence over whether or not a user will download your app. This is the first visual element people see when they view an app store listing. All those pixels have to come together to convey what your app is about, in the simplest manner possible. But what makes an ideal app icon? We turned to Michael Flarup of app icon design agency PixelResort, who’s well known for his app icon templates, for best practices. “We’ve found that the best app icon tests come from trying out completely unique variants from the original. Once we identify a winning image, we then test minor modifications until we arrive at what we consider an optimized winner. We often back-test the new designs against the original control icon to validate results.” – Jeff Gurian, Senior Director of Marketing at Kongregate Tips for Designing the Optimal App Icon Keep it Simple: Complex icons can be difficult to distinguish on smaller devices (or when nested in folders on a smartphone or tablet) and should be avoided. Design for Scalability: One of the most important aspects of an icon is scalability. Because the icon is going to be shown in several places throughout the platform — and at several sizes — it’s important your creation maintains its legibility and uniqueness. Overly complicated icons often fall victim to poor scalability. Be Recognizable: Your icon will be vying for attention among thousands of other icons with the same 1,024-pixel canvas. While scalability is a huge part of recognizability, so is novelty. Try out several variations on your design. Line them up in a grid and glance over them, seeing what design aspects catch your eye. 5 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Check the Competition: Make sure you’re up to speed on what your direct competitors — plus top apps — are doing. Having an icon that’s too similar to another app can cost you valuable brand awareness. Stand Out From the Crowd: This almost goes without saying, but try to make something unique. Mimicking a style or a trend is perfectly fine, but make it your own. Your app icon is constantly competing with other icons for the users’ attention, and standing out can be a perfectly valid argument for a design. Test, Test, Test: The quickest way to find the app icon that will perform best is through sequential A/B testing; however, note that the way you can execute on this will vary by app store. Android developers have it a bit easier, as Google Experiments allows you to easily set up tests and collect results. iOS developers will have to use a third-party option. Of course, sometimes you need to balance science and intuition in order to create an iconic app icon. Spotlight on a Great App Icon: Tinder Mobile dating app Tinder is an excellent example of an effective app icon that excels in nearly all areas: It’s simple, scalable, and recognizable. In this instance, simplicity and scalability are connected. Tinder’s simple design allows it to look good at any size on any device. The icon is tied to key elements of the app, making it immediately and meaningfully recognizable. It cleverly tells users what they’re about to experience before they open the app. App Screenshots While your app icon may pique attention, the screenshots drive home the core features and benefits. Each screenshot should highlight a specific benefit and use supplemental text, whenever possible, to help explain key features to the user. Get the Most Bang for Your Buck with Screenshots Use All Available Spaces: You can use up to 10 screenshots in the iOS App Store and eight in the Google Play Store to promote your app. Use them all to maximize visibility and sell your app’s value. 6 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Prioritize Key Messages: The first three screenshots are the most visible; in fact, they show up in search results for the iOS App Store. Make sure your more important selling points are featured in these screenshots. Tell a Story: Screenshots are your opportunity to tell an engaging story to your target audience before they interact with your app. Make sure your screenshots address their needs. Spotlight on Screenshots: Airbnb In just six images, Airbnb is able to communicate four key features and illustrate why the app is efficient and useful to a prospective traveller. The first two screenshots can also stand alone to entice prospective users to install with key verbs that relate to actions a user would either be directly taking or ideologically embodying when in the mindset for travel. The next four screenshots illustrate the key value propositions that communicate why Airbnb is a strategic companion for an on-the-go traveller, including the ability to find and book accommodation, message your host — an action native and streamlined to mobile — and find new experiences in your destination area. 7 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Since Airbnb is generally used in portrait mode, it’s a natural fit to display screenshots in portrait mode, which could also be confirmed through A/B testing. However, this choice often differs based on the app or game. For instance, we’ve seen game publisher Supercell make a deliberate choice in terms of the image orientation of screenshots for Boombeach. Because the game is played in landscape mode, the screenshots are all in landscape orientation. Airbnb uses compelling visuals and text to succinctly communicate the core features of the app to prospective users. As of 2019, many apps, like Airbnb, feature a larger image that spans across multiple screenshots as well as key value propositions called out in each subsequent screenshot. View live app icon, screenshots, videos and details. Video Both Google Play and iOS App Store permit the use of a short video to highlight the key features of an app. This is your chance to give users a sneak peek into the in-app experience. Videos are no small investment, so make sure you take a few tips into consideration before committing to video. We turned to Apptamin, well-known for its app videos and trailers, for pointers on how to create an eye-catching — and effective — app marketing video. 8 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Pacing & Structure 1. The first five seconds are critical. You want to compel the viewer to watch the next few seconds, then the next few, and so on. 2. In a similar vein, be mindful of length. Currently 15 to 25 seconds is the industry standard, with a maximum length of 30 seconds. Use those seconds wisely. 3. Keep the pace brisk, but not too fast. Just enough speed to keep the viewer interested without losing them. 4. Focus on the best features first. Be selective, since it may not be feasible to mention all core features in your video. 5. Tell viewers what to do next. Whenever possible include a direct call to action. Production 1. If you’re going the in-house route, keep your video simple. As tempting as it may be to use lots of effects and transitions, they may look cheap. 2. Music is an important element in setting the tone. Find something that evokes the right emotion; avoid overused music. 3. Since some users are watching with the sound off, use text and motion graphics to explain key points that may be covered by audio. Fine Print 1. It should go without saying, but be sure not to violate copyrights with your images, music or words. 2. Follow all app store guidelines for app preview videos. 9 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Spotlight on Video: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite The preview video for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, the augmented reality (AR) mobile game by Niantic, quickly highlights the overall on-boarding and general gameplay. The video assumes a basic knowledge of the Harry Potter storyline. For games without a strong IP or apps not attached to a large well-known brand, more explicit communication of key value propositions may be necessary. The video introduces the brand right off the bat, leads into a brief illustration of the AR map and takes the user through a condensed on-boarding process of being ‘sorted’ into your Hogwarts house and creation of your wizard avatar. The remainder of the video focuses on examples of action-oriented gameplay. Each frame showcases value and key features. A strong ending frame closes the video with an eyecatching repetition of the game’s name: “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite”. Harry Potter Wizards Unite’s preview video succinctly communicates its value proposition to prospective gamers. 10 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Testing Your Creative Assets Chances are, your first asset designs won’t be the final ones. It’s crucial to continuously test new designs to identify the ones that attract high-quality users and convince them to download your app. We asked StoreMaven, an app store creative testing and mobile growth technology platform, to share tips and best practices for testing creative assets to improve ASO. App Store Design: Providing Content Users Crave On-boarding doesn’t begin when users open your app for the first time — it begins at the app store. Providing the right mix of app metadata (e.g., your name, description, and creative assets) helps to reduce friction during discovery, download and first use. Finding the right assets, driving the most relevant messages and matching user expectations are crucial. According to data from StoreMaven, testing app store elements can increase your conversion rates and prevent conversion decrease over time. Two Types of Users The most fundamental thing to understand when you begin working on app store design is that the majority of users will not interact with your full content. StoreMaven has found a correlation between those who interact and quality, but still recommend on focusing on both those that do not interact with your content. 11 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK There are two distinct groups of users to any store page: Decisive Users: They will view only the most visible elements and decide whether or not to download based on their first impression. Decisive users either click the install button (Instant Install), or leave the page (Instant Drop) — no other action is taken. According to StoreMaven, 65% of users won’t swipe past your first two images. Explorers: They will interact with your content before deciding to download (Explore and Install) or leave the page (Explore and Drop). Explorers will watch the video, scroll through the gallery, and interact with the description and reviews. They make a more informed decision than Decisive users, who may have a false impression of your app which could lead to disappointment and uninstalls. For that reason, an Explore and Install user is of higher quality than an Instant Install user. They have higher long-term potential to be a strong user and are significantly less likely to bounce after initial download. The decision of whether to Instant Install, Instant Drop, or Explore (as well as the quality of that exploration) is based on the user’s first impression of your store pages, making those visible elements the most important. Different Views for Different Stores The first view of your app makes Google Play and iOS App Store users fundamentally different. Developers are often confused to find that their best performing Google Play creatives perform drastically lower on the iOS App Store. On Google Play, users see the screenshot gallery and video poster frame upon page load with a short description text on the bottom. On iOS, users could see a prominent featured graphic at the top of the page, an app icon and — depending on the presence of a feature graphic — either the full view of the first screenshot and a partial view of the second or a partial view of both. 12 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Tips for Creative Testing Based on App Store Based on the app store you use, your testing focus may change — and your creative assets will likely change as well. Keep these tips in mind. Google Play iOS App Store Video: If there is a video then the poster frame is extremely important as only 6%-10% of users ever click to watch the video. 100% of them will be exposed to the poster frame. Keep videos short (about 10% of users will drop off every five seconds!) and show your strongest messages first. Video — but only when done well — can impact conversions by 24%. Screenshot Gallery: Within the screenshot gallery, the focus should be more on the first screenshots that appear in the first impression (which also depend on the orientation and the chosen screenshots resolution). 37% of users who scrolled through the gallery installed the app. This is up nearly 40% from the previous Google Play Store design where screenshots were below the fold. Icon: Your icon is crucial for a good conversion rate. Plus it’s the one element that stays relevant after a user downloads. Testing icons can increase conversions by 11%. Short Description: 100% of your users will see the short description text (the 80 characters before the “read more” button), and only an average of 5% will expand your full description. Changing this text can increase conversions by 13%. Feature Graphic: The feature graphic is new to iOS. For some apps, this will be the first image users see — appearing at the top of the app store page and visually occupying approximately one-third of the screen. On Google Play, StoreMaven found feature graphics could lead to a 31% lift in conversion rates. First Two Screenshots: On average, 31% of users scroll through your gallery and only 8% see your full gallery, so your first two images by far have the most impact and can improve your conversion rate by 18%. Poster Frame/Video Presence: When you add a video to iOS, it takes the place of your first image, fundamentally impacting the way users engage with the page. On iOS, the poster frame (the image beneath the video) must be a frame from your video. You absolutely must be aware of this when designing your video. While only 7% of users will actually watch your video on iOS, 100% will see your poster frame. Testing poster frames and videos can increase conversions by 40%. Icon: On iOS, your icon has more prominence than on Google Play, increasing your conversion potential by 18%. 13 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK ASO CHEAT SHEET: Making a First Impression App Icons • Keep it simple, scalable, recognizable and unique • Keep testing until you find the most effective variation Screenshots Maximize visibility: That means five screenshots in the iOS App Store and eight in the Google Play Store. Tell a story, but start with the close: Your screenshots should have an engaging narrative, but make sure to show your two best screenshots first. Video • Keep them short, sweet and punchy • Choose simplicity over flash • Sound and text are equally important Testing It’s important to continuously test new designs to optimize for the highest performing creative assets. Keep the potential of each asset in mind — and the app store you’re focusing on — and prioritize accordingly. How App Annie Can Help Use App Annie Intelligence, to inform your asset optimization strategy by researching your competitor’s icons and screenshots within the app store. Dig deeper into the performance of your own app by connecting to App Annie Connect and check to see if your latest screenshot update impacted downloads and usage. Other Resources • StoreMaven • Store Listing Experiments (Google Play only) • SplitMetrics Next Steps Grow conversion from page views to downloads by leveraging competitive research for apps across countries, and see how your own asset updates impact usage with App Annie Connect. 14 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Improving Discoverability: The Power of Search There are many ways a user may stumble across your app; one of the most common is search. While most resources emphasize a keyword strategy for ASO, it’s better to think of it as one tool in your arsenal. In this chapter we’ll look at the ways you can boost your app’s visibility in the app stores including: • Choosing keywords • Categorizing your app • Keeping tabs on competitors • Improving ratings and reviews Choosing Keywords With millions of apps available between the app stores, choosing keywords that will move the needle for your business is no easy feat. Your keyword strategy should neither exist in a vacuum or be static — it must be fluid and continuous, taking into account competitor and cultural changes plus the impact on your app’s ranking, downloads, engagement and revenue. 15 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK On Google Play in the US, Spotify has optimized for the keyword “podcasts” — a key part of its demonstrated strategy to branch out to other types of content from music streaming. View Keywords (ASO) Tool. So how can you select the right keywords to start with? Let’s dive into the most effective methodologies. Categorize Yourself for Discoverability: In addition to keywords, you’ll want to consider the categories where you want to compete. Your category strategy should take into account where you’ll be most competitive as well as where you can organically attract the most relevant users. Pay Attention to Competitors: Finding the best keywords means closely tracking and monitoring competitors. By analyzing how a competitor ranks for a specific keyword, or determining which other apps rank for your app’s keyword, you can strategically select keywords to help your app rank higher. Dosh, a cash-back app, saw phenomenal growth in iPhone downloads in November 2018 in the US. At the beginning of November 2018, Dosh incorporated the keyword “coupon” into its keyword strategy and jumped 15 ranks. Throughout the lead-up to Black Friday 2018, Dosh broke into the top 10 for the keyword, beating other shopping apps in the top 5 by iPhone downloads. Monitoring competitor’s keyword strategy can give you invaluable insight into how to optimize your own keyword strategy to leverage high search volume keywords during pivotal times for your industry. Keep tabs on competitors’ keyword strategies with ASO Keyword. 16 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Leverage User Reviews: One of the best ways to describe your app uses language from user reviews — their words may resonate better with prospective users than the ones you had in mind. Additionally, reviews can provide new cultural and geographic insights into certain user segments. Diversify Branded vs. Generic Keywords Strategically: A complete keyword strategy is comprised of generic keywords like ‘shopping’ and complemented by branded terms ‘Target’, which may be a prominent label your app partners with or carries, or a close competitor. While you may not want to openly list your competitors in your app name or description, it is good to be aware of which branded competitor keywords you rank highly for, and vice versa. A healthy mix of branded and generic keywords should be considered within the context of your market. Stay on Top of Your Ranking: Once you’ve selected a group of keywords, it’s important to review how these keywords will impact your ranking. In addition to monitoring keyword impact on key performance indicators (KPIs), you should also pay attention to other factors that will affect ranking, such as: • Download levels • Download velocity • Paid vs. organic downloads mix In the example above, App 2 saw a dramatic increase in organic downloads tied to an exclusive content release. App 3 appears to have timed ASO updates to piggyback on this success and also see a sizable increase in organic downloads, and notably, maintain that increase in the weeks to come. Use this insight to find the optimal time to launch your ASO updates and reach the most users. View Paid and Organic Downloads of competitive set. 17 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Create Optimal Visibility and Driving Traffic: Choosing a keyword is part art and part science. Luckily, we are here to help with the science. Ranking, search volume, difficulty to rank, traffic share and downloads and revenue estimates help you make informed decisions on your keyword strategy. It is important to assess how competitive certain keywords are for you and your competitive set. In this instance, “stream” is being used by several apps across a variety of categories, indicating that perhaps it is not the best search term to focus on to maximize discoverability. To back up this intuition, look at the Search Volume and Difficulty scores associated with this keyword. While “stream” has decent Search Volume (meaning a good amount of users are searching for this term), it has an extremely high Difficulty to rank (meaning a lot of other publishers are prioritizing this keyword in their — possibly quite established — app’s ASO strategy, making it competitive to rank highly), which in turn resulted in a lower Search Volume / Difficulty ratio and indicates the keyword may not be optimal for increasing discoverability. 18 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK The sweet-spot is to find a keyword with a high Search Volume / Difficulty ratio, indicating strong consumer demand and relatively low competition to rank highly. View Keyword Search to identify optimal keywords. Furthermore, monitoring the percent of Traffic Share that a particular keyword is driving for an app can give you a window into how much an app is relying on this keyword in its overall ASO strategy. The download and revenue estimates give you an indication of the overall success of the app ranking highly for that keyword. Take this a step further by seeing if the keyword is in the title. This helps you quickly ascertain the importance of the keyword to the app’s strategy (inclusion in the name generally connotes high importance) as well as provides insight into the location of this keyword — whether in the app description or keyword bank on iOS. You can view its app summary page to see if the keyword is used in its description as well as its frequency of use. If the keyword is not in the description or the title, you can relatively safely assume the publisher has included the keyword in its keyword bank, which is powerful competitive knowledge you are normally not privy to — more on this in the next section. View Keyword Search to uncover your competitors’ keyword strategies. 19 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK There are other elements that may factor into app store ranking (e.g., uninstall rates, keyword density). While it’s important to take into consideration the many micro-signals that could impact your ranking and work to optimize them, it’s difficult to say with certainty that they will positively or negatively impact your rankings in the iOS App Store or Google Play Store. We’ll focus on the afore-mentioned method-ologies in the next sections. Monitoring the Competitive Landscape ASO is a swift and constantly changing environment. It’s critical to be on top of what your competitors are prioritizing and analyzing if these keywords are paying off for them. This will help you discover opportunities to take advantage of, keywords to avoid and keywords where organic tradition is not enough to sustain steady traffic. Ultimately, this helps you decide where to allocate budget to paid search ads and where you should double-down with organic keyword optimization. In the competitive food delivery industry, apps like Grubhub should regularly analyze its performance against competitors to maximize its search traffic and app store visibility. View Competitive Keyword Analysis to keep tabs on the players that impact your top line. 20 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Discovering Keyword Opportunities With the competitive landscape in mind, it’s important to generate new keywords to expand your audience reach. View keyword suggestions in Discover Keywords. Now that you have a list of new keywords to consider, factor in the search volume and difficulty to rank of each keyword to determine viable new opportunities. 21 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK PUBG Mobile can leverage Keyword Opportunities to see that “cod mobile” is in the optimal (top left) quadrant — meaning it has a strong search volume to difficulty ratio and could present the strong keyword to include in their strategy. This quadrant also highlights keywords to avoid (bottom right), popular keywords that are difficult to rank for — but may be good candidates for paid search ads — (top right) and those that attract niche audiences (bottom left). Discover keyword opportunities to up-level your ASO strategy. Where to Place Your Keywords Now that you’ve chosen your optimal keywords, it’s important to choose the best location based on their intended use and app store. You can place your keywords strategically in your keyword bank, app name and app description. 1. Keyword Bank: On iTunes Connect, you are equipped with a keyword bank of up to 100 characters. The keyword bank operates as a signal to Apple and its ranking algorithm that these words are important and relevant to your app. The keyword bank is only visible to you and Apple, making it a great place to trial new keyword strategies without competitors being able to emulate them. Google Play does not have a keyword bank. 2. App Name: Across both iOS and Google Play, you can incorporate a keyword in your app name in hopes of ranking higher for that keyword. We’ve seen this pan out with YouTube. On October 16, 2017 YouTube added “Watch”, “Listen” and “Stream” to its iOS app’s name. Uncover ASO updates with Timeline. 22 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK As a result, on October 17, 2017 YouTube ranked #2 for “listen” and #3 for “stream” — up from previously not ranking for either keyword. View Keywords (ASO) tool to view how competitor’s have ranked for a strategic keyword. 3. App Description: Same as with your app name, you can include your keyword throughout your app description in hopes of signaling to Google and Apple’s algorithm that this is a relevant function or otherwise important feature of your app. YouTube Music ranks highly — specifically 7th — for the keyword “stream” on iPhone 23 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK in the US on June 23, 2019, one rank above YouTube: Watch, Listen Stream. YouTube Music includes “Stream” as the first word in its subtitle and in its description — two key signals to Apple that this is an important keyword describing the functionality of this app. Given its high rank, it is also possible that YouTube Music also includes “stream” in its keyword bank. View App Summary to uncover keywords in app descriptions. Categorizing Your App There are two ways to be ranked in the app stores: by category and overall. Every app publisher is responsible for choosing how to categorize their own app; it’s important to choose a category that is relevant to your app, but also one where you stand to best the competition. On the iOS App Store, you can choose a primary and a secondary category. The primary is most important as it’s where your app will be displayed in search results and the top charts. Photo Credit: Apple Developer Site 24 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK So how should you choose your primary category? Things to keep in mind: • Where you believe your app naturally fits • How target users will search for your app • How competitor or similar apps are categorizing themselves To improve discoverability, some publishers recategorize their apps to move into less-cluttered territory. In 2016, Twitter changed its iOS categorization from Social Networking to News, an ASO tactic that enabled them to largely occupy the #1 daily downloads rank for News apps compared to being in the top 10 Social Networking apps in the US. Explore App Store Rankings. For iOS, publishers can select up to two categories for apps, and three categories for games. Remember that you’ll want to select categories that will be relevant for your app, but not overly saturated. For Google Play Store, publishers can only choose one category for their app, so it is even more critical to choose carefully. 25 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Keeping Tabs on Competitors Before you dive into selecting the categories for your app, you should first research what your closest competitors are doing. This will help you determine the competition in that category and show how users are searching for similar apps. Choosing a less competitive category could improve discoverability for your app. Creating a User Feedback Loop: The Influence of Ratings & Reviews Now that we’ve gotten the more well known ASO tactics out of the way, let’s focus on lesser-known tips. You probably know that positive ratings and reviews affect your app’s performance in the app stores, but did you know you have more control over them than you think? Optimizing for higher ratings and reviews can improve your app’s ranking as well as the amount of organic traffic it receives. Users of the Calm app, refer to “meditation” nearly 2.5x more than “mindfulness”. However, reviews citing “mindfulness” see a 10% lift in overall rating score. These nuances can help inform Calm’s keyword optimization strategy for attracting certain target personas. Explore Ratings and Reviews. Beyond traffic, positive rating and reviews influence your download conversions. They offer a signal to prospective users on the value of your app and can be a major influencer on whether a user downloads your app or not. En masse, this can be the difference between thousands of prospective customers. 26 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Encourage Optimal Reviews & Ratings An app’s initial debut rarely goes off without a hitch. There may be persistent bugs, performance issues on different devices, or features that don’t yet exist that users would like to see. This can lead to some very low ratings and reviews in the beginning. Don’t get discouraged — even unfavorable reviews may be rife with information on how to update your app. As long as you’re swift and take user feedback seriously, changing public opinion can go smoothly. Reactively updating is not the only way to improve ratings. Great moments in an app can also spark positive reviews. For example, on a dating app you could ask for a rating after a successful match or first reply message. In a game, it may make sense to prompt users after they complete a hard level or unlock a power. The quality of your app’s first ratings and reviews can vary, but it’s very important to get honest reviews early. Prompt Users for Direct App Feedback You can prompt a user if they are enjoying the app experience, which is often most timely after great moments in the app. Leveraging Intelligent Ratings Prompts enables you to ask a user after they have completed something satisfying, like their first rideshare, if they are enjoying the app. If the user responds yes, then they are sent to leave a review on the app store. If the user responds no, they are sent to a separate internal form for submitting feedback. This can help you take care of issues upstream and limit the impact of future negative reviews before they happen. Another tool in your ASO tool kit is to respond to reviews across the app stores. “Responding to users on Google Play is one of our favorite ways to improve store ratings. With one-to-one customer service, we typically find the underlying reason for 1-star and 2-star reviews, resolve it with the user, and ask them to revise their rating. The result is a higher rating, and more importantly, an active and happy user.” — Alex Mackenzie-Torres, CMO, Moovit 27 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Gain Honest & Trusted Reviews Reviews show potential users the pros and cons of downloading and using your app. What can be more troubling than bad reviews are no reviews at all, and when an app goes live the review section on your app page will be barren. Rather than waiting for an unknown user’s first impression, ask your trusted network to submit reviews documenting their honest thoughts. If your app has beta testers who know the ins and outs of the app, ask if they’re willing to submit a review. Their experience will be more credible than a new user’s, whether or not the feedback is positive or critical. Another good avenue is to approach professional peers whose opinions you trust — people who have made similar apps or are experts on the app’s content — to see if they’ll download and review your app. Diligently Improve Ratings & Reviews Turning negative ratings and reviews into positive ones will take time and consistent action. The faster you respond to user feedback and update your app, the happier users will be. In the end, more and higher reviews will result in better ranks and more downloads. Knowing just how and when to gain ratings and reviews is also important: key interactions are a great time to gain 4 and 5-star ratings. Depending on the platform you develop on, the way you address user reviews may be slightly different. For instance, both Google Play and iOS allow developers to respond to user reviews. Having a visible record of positive developer-user interactions may factor into a prospective user’s decision to download an app. One of the best ways to collect user feedback is through custom forums. For teams that don’t have a dedicated engineer for that (or the additional budget), third-party software development kits like UserVoice are a good alternative. To uncover how ASO and User Acquisition (UA) work together to drive app downloads and drive revenue, download The Ultimate Mobile Marketing Playbook. 28 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Influence of Search Ads on Discoverability While Search Ads are technically paid User Acquisition (UA) and not covered in depth in this playbook, it’s important we discuss their impact on organic discoverability. Offered by both iOS and Google Play, Search Ads effectively give your app the ‘top’ ranked spot — or one of two top spots in the case of Google Play — for the chosen keyword. How does this affect organic ranking? The #1 organically ranked app now visually ranks “2nd” beneath the iOS Search Ad and shares the page with Google Play Search Ads, albeit still appearing “1st” in the case of the latter. When dealing with milliseconds of actions, this placement can mean the difference between users downloading your app and downloading your competitor’s. Search Ads are used both defensively and offensively, meaning app publishers often bid on their own branded keyword as a defensive measure to prevent a competitor ranking above them for their branded word as well as offensively bidding for other generic and branded keywords. 29 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Monitor the Competition’s Keyword Bidding Strategy Using App Annie’s Paid Search feature, you can uncover who is bidding on what keywords, how that translates into share of voice, keyword ranking and traffic share and where you stack against the competition. This gives you a window into your competitors’ paid search strategies and empowers you to act both on clear market opportunities and if are being out-bid and losing out on potential audience share. Expedia can track who else is bidding on keywords, monitor their resulting share of voice and uncover competitors’ strategies — giving them a unique view into the paid search tactics of their peer group. Uncover app store keyword bidding strategies with Paid Search. 30 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Keep Tabs on Branded & Generic Keywords A robust organic keyword strategy should include being aware of your competitors’ priorities, particularly for your branded keywords and prioritized keywords within your strategy. This window into the competition empowers you to act defensively by bidding on both your — as well as the competition’s — branded keyword. Grubhub retained its #1 ranking for share of voice on its branded keyword “Grubhub” on iPhones in the US. However, competitor DoorDash is not far behind. This is critical knowledge for Grubhub — alerting them of potential encroachment on its audience. Uncover the paid share of voice on keywords that matter. For a deep dive on paid UA, download User Acquisition: The Definitive Playbook. Using Mobile Web to Increase App Store Traffic A holistic and successful mobile strategy is comprised of mobile web and app. App Annie's Web Journey provides a unique view into the customer journey. By casting a large net, mobile web can be used strategically as a marketing funnel for potential customers. Mobile web’s role in your UA strategy: • Marketing Funnel - convert web traffic to app users • Brand Awareness - measure customer intent • SEO / Discovery - garner traffic, brand awareness • Location-Based Searches - visit in-store or download the app through a timely prompt • Referral Traffic - identify key partnerships to optimize marketing spend • Exit Traffic from Your Site - understand why users disengage with your site (e.g., go to a competitor, end their browsing session) and implement changes to steer user behavior towards the goal 31 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Understand Your Current Mobile App & Mobile Web User Base The first step in leveraging mobile web to drive traffic to your mobile app, is to take stock of your current mobile app and web user bases, how they compare to competitors and how they are evolving over time. This will show you where you need to focus your marketing, product and investment efforts and how you should prompt users along the way to move them closer to actions that impact your bottom line — purchasing a pair of shoes, placing a food delivery order, purchasing a plane ticket, applying to rent a house or subscribing to a news provider — and encourage the customer to return: signing up for a loyalty or rewards program. 32 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Uncover which users are unique to mobile web and app and how much time they are spending across each platform to identify areas of opportunity to convert mobile web visitors to mobile app users. View mobile web and app overlap. Drive Traffic with Mobile Web Consider leveraging mobile web as a wide net for leads — a top-of-funnel (TOFU) introduction to your brand. It allows consumers to acquaint themselves with your products and services and, and then be funneled to your app — which can offer a richer, more streamlined customer experience. Approximately 10% of all time spent on mobile is spent in mobile web; 90% of time spent is in apps. This speaks to their inherent benefits — web is great for research and driving widespread interest, and mobile apps reign supreme for forming habits among consumers to act on that research and engage with your brand. Mobile web is a critical component of driving traffic to your app store page, with users generating frequent, short duration sessions that answer critical questions for the consumer and provide them with the timely information they seek. After all, 10% of all time on mobile being spent in mobile web is significant. This is equivalent to the amount of time Americans spent in gaming apps in 2018. 33 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Uncover Strategic Partnerships Leverage mobile website traffic to inform your marketing strategies and partnerships based on cross-usage and likelihood of engagement. premierleague.com is a vital component of Premier League’s overall mobile strategy. Leveraging cross-usage and affinity data can give insight into potential marketing partnerships. View Cross-App/Web Usage. Convert Web to Mobile App Users Ultimately, when mobile web and mobile app work together, they can create greater gains for a company than in isolation. For example, food delivery companies can leverage mobile web as a marketing channel — porting organic searches for local restaurants into the mobile app for a better user experience. News companies can leverage signals — such as users who read 5 articles or view 3 pages — on mobile web to drive highly engaged users to their mobile app, which has a more streamlined experience and can foster subscription signups. The bottom line is, a mobile strategy is only complete with both mobile web and app working together. Jane Butler of Google, said it best, “We often hear that either an app or mobile web is most important, but we’ve found it’s not either-or, it’s “and.”” For more on how to craft a holistic mobile strategy with mobile web and app, download The Definitive Guide to a Winning Mobile Strategy. 34 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK ASO CHEAT SHEET: Improving Discoverability Selecting a Category It’s about fit, user behavior and your competitors. Before selecting an app category, consider your app’s most natural fit as well as how your target users are most likely to find you. For additional inspiration, look at what competitors and similar apps are doing. Remember: you only get one category on Google Play and two in the iOS App Store. Monitoring Keyword Changes Maximize visibility: Keep tabs on competitor activity. Track key changes to competitor keyword rankings and monitor lifts in downloads and downloads rankings. Monitor organic downloads lift and paid search ads share of voice. Following strategic ASO updates, monitor for changes to your app’s organic and paid download volume and velocity. Watch competitors’ organic and paid downloads to understand how ASO fits into their overall mobile marketing strategy and where competitive opportunities exist. Generating Organic Reviews Pay attention to what your users are saying. Track your rankings and reviews to see how users respond to new updates and features. Not only do these impact your performance in the app stores, they’re often filled with usable insights. Be responsive. In addition to addressing user feedback behind the scenes, take the time to show that you’re listening. This can be done through your blog and release notes. On both iOS and Google Play, you can respond directly to user feedback. Prompting User Feedback Target high points. Improve the likelihood of receiving a positive review by asking for feedback when a user is having a great moment with your app — for instance, when they’ve just completed a challenge or key action, or have leveled up. Approach trusted reviewers. Consider asking beta users and professional peers to provide honest reviews. Leveraging Mobile Web Traffic Drive awareness with mobile web. Utilize mobile web’s ability to cast a wide net, especially for location-based searches, and consider funneling that interest to your app store page. Convert mobile web users to app users. Measure signals of mobile web users to gauge their level of intent and convert those users to app users, where the experience is often richer, better 35 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK How App Annie Can Help • Determine the best category for your app by researching your competitors’ categorization using App Details • Leverage Keyword Search to improve your presence in the app stores by identifying optimal keywords to add to your strategy • Boost your app’s rank by keeping tabs on user feedback within Rating and Reviews • Measure success of your ASO initiatives and keep tabs on the success of competitors’ strategies through Paid vs. Organic Downloads • Uncover your true mobile audience between web and app and identify how to use mobile web to drive app store traffic and convert to app users using Mobile Web and App Data • Use Paid Search to see who is bidding on keywords and how it is affecting your audience growth • Leverage Keyword Discovery, Competitor Analysis and Keyword Opportunities to understand the lay of the land and identify new keywords to incorporate into your strategy. Other Resources • Google Play Developer Console • iTunes Connect • Instabug • doorbell.io Next Steps Analyze the impact of ratings and reviews for competitor apps to build a more informed user engagement strategy and improve conversion rates. Sign up for App Annie to get started. 36 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Going Global: How ASO Factors into Market Expansion Part of developing an app expansion strategy is successfully moving into other markets. Just because your ASO strategy works in one market doesn’t mean it will extend well to others. This is where localization comes in. Localization is the process of adapting your app, content, creative assets and marketing tactics to new locations or markets. In addition to language differences, localization takes into account cultural differences. Global ASO supports two primary goals: 1. Improving discoverability for your app in a market where you already have a presence. 2. Developing a strategy and tactical plan for launching your app in a new market. Improving Discoverability in an Existing Market Your global ASO strategy, which includes the same core components as your overall strategy, should be tailored to play to cultural nuances within the major regions where you have a presence. While it may seem like you don’t need to localize beyond language — for instance, don’t all under-25s love social media? — cultural norms and references can affect how users respond to your app. This is another area where diligently paying attention to user reviews can play to your advantage. For example, in the international sensation Trivia Crack from Etermax, many user reviews were positive in Spanish-speaking countries, but negative in other markets. Why? Because consumers didn’t gravitate to predetermined topics that related more to Latin America and Spain, such as “soccer.” Once Etermax realized this, they allowed users to submit their own questions to the app — and Trivia Crack shot up in rankings, especially in the US. The team also brought on localization managers to make sure all questions and answers were both culturally relevant and accurate. We turned to app localization experts at OneSky for their best practices and tips to keep in mind when expanding into new markets. 37 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK It Starts with Translation Even if people in your target country use an English-language app, they may not use English-language search. Localization starts with app store optimization (ASO) in foreign languages. First, translate the title, description and keywords to help users find your app easily. Next, translate the text within your app for a better overall experience. Depending on the country, the iOS App Store may index for more than one language. Apple provides a list so developers can see which languages are indexed for each store. For example, Japan’s iOS App Store indexes in both English (US) and Japanese — which means that you actually have 100 characters for the keyword field for each language. And this is true for both app stores: If you use multiple languages, you end up with more than 100 total characters for keywords. Utilize this double-up opportunity wisely. Start by translating to the official language of the country. When you’ve completed that, and monitored download and rating progress, add other languages. Many countries have smaller international bases that speak specific dialects and unofficial languages. 38 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Optimizing for Conversion Once you’ve localized your keywords and app title, you’ll want to consider localizing other elements of your app to appeal to specific regions. To do this, think about ways to customize your screen-shots, videos and app icon to relate more to regional culture. Localizing assets like screenshots make it immediately clear to users that they’ll be able to use your app in their local language. That giant Empire State Building on your app store page? Consider replacing it with the Eiffel Tower when your expansion strategy takes you to France. Amazon’s localization strategy includes multiple apps dedicated to specific countries. Its ASO strategy differs for each country. For instance, the images used, the layout and the localized text in those screenshots all differ among Amazon’s primarily English app, Amazon’s app for France, Amazon FR, and Amazon’s Japanese app. 39 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK You can monitor changes to competitor’s screenshots and ASO strategies across both iOS and Google Play with our timeline feature including changes to: Descriptions, Icons, Names, Price, Screenshots, and Versions. In the example below, you can gain insight into BURGER KING App’s evolving ASO strategy. BURGER KING App underwent a major mobile app update in April 2018, followed by subtle updates in May 2019. Monitor how these updates have changed over time to gain insights into a business’s evolving strategy. 40 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Researching New Markets for Launch If you’re considering launching your app in a new market, the best place to start is with research. Get an understanding of regional competition, categories your competitors are listed in, and the strength of the local active user base. Viewing top performing apps by country across app stores is a great place to start with your market research. View Top Charts Matrix. 41 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK You can also explore deeper with custom comparison groups, top charts by monthly active users (MAU) and market sizing. This initial round of research will inform updates you make to keywords, descriptions and assets for your app and help you grow exposure and convert prospects into downloads. If you want to see which keywords will resonate more in a new market, scan for keywords and phrases that competitors are using, and see how their apps are ranking for these keywords. Additionally, you can use your own reviews to quickly see which keywords people are already using to describe your app by filtering by country. 42 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Gaming publisher King released a special version of Candy Crush Saga for China built specifically for the WeChat messaging platform. This special effort in localization paid off in spades. After Candy Crush Saga relaunched in China with a completely localized app built specifically for WeChat, downloads spiked and remained at an elevated level. To monitor localization strategies of top publishers, view Unified App Analysis. It can’t be emphasized enough: Just as ASO is more than keywords, localization is more than translation. The culture and attitudes of a given international market may mean a change in features, naming or even approach. 43 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK ASO CHEAT SHEET: Going Global Translation Translate key text to improve discoverability: Keep in mind that even if users understand English, they may still search in their native language. Translating the title, description, keywords, etc. will allow users to find your app easily. Capitalize on markets that index multiple languages: The iOS App Store may index multiple languages, depending on the country. Use that valuable real estate wisely. Creative Assets Make assets locally relevant: Adjust your screenshots, videos and app icons to make them as relevant and impactful as possible in the regions you’re targeting. New Markets Start with research: See what competitors are doing as well as the apps your target audience gravitates toward. Be sure to check keywords, descriptions, reviews and the creative assets being used in market. How App Annie Can Help • Easily search keywords among dozens of countries on iOS and Google Play to identify the best keywords to target for your localization strategy and improve visibility with App Annie Intelligence • Identify local competitors and add their brand names to your keyword fields to enhance your app’s discoverability • Track keywords at the country and category level to develop a tailored presence in the app store using App Annie Intelligence • Develop an expansion strategy using competitor activity as a benchmark with App Annie Intelligence Other Resources • OneSky • Smartling • Transifex Next Steps Optimize your localization strategy by using App Annie Intelligence to identify competitive insights and market trends to improve your app’s discoverability around the world. Sign up for free now. 44 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK Measuring Success: Why ASO Is a Living Process So you’ve updated your creative assets, improved your ratings and reviews and successfully boosted your app’s downloads and rankings. All done, right? Not exactly. ASO is an ongoing process, something that requires nurturing and attention and, you guessed it, optimization. This means: • Monitoring your keyword rankings (and your competitors’) • Spotlighting new features and UI enhancements • Updating and testing creative assets to highlight app updates • Analyzing reviews and rankings and leveraging feedback • Adjusting the marketing levers that drive downloads and spark reviews • Localizing your app’s metadata to increase discoverability and conversion across regions • Optimizing your mobile web presence to drive traffic to your app store page and convert to app users • Tracking your paid vs. organic downloads mix to uncover efficacy of your ASO efforts • Monitoring competitors’ keyword bidding Implementing a holistic and iterative ASO program will not only improve organic discoverability, it will increase your chances of convincing users to download your app. In an increasingly cluttered app store, it’s no longer enough to choose the right keywords. You also need to think through how you’re telling a story to target users around the world. And the only way to improve over time is to stay on top of your rankings, reviews and ratings — as well as your competitors’. As the industry standard for mobile intelligence, App Annie was ranked the #1 ASO company in 2019 by Business of Apps and can make monitoring your ASO performance easier than ever. You’ll be able to see the impact of key changes to keywords, categorization and creative assets, and uncover new avenues to success. ASO is a critical part of your overall mobile marketing strategy. To complete your mobile marketing strategy, download The Ultimate Mobile Marketing Playbook and User Acquisition: The Definitive Playbook. New to ASO? Sign up and get started today. Ready to take your program to the next level? Request a demo for App Annie Intelligence. 45 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK About App Annie App Annie is the industry's most trusted mobile data and analytics platform. App Annie's mission is to help customers create winning mobile experiences and achieve excellence. Founded in 2010, the company launched the first mobile market data solution. In 2020, App Annie launched Ascend, an advertising analytics solution, making it the first company in its space to offer a side-by-side view of market data and companies’ own data to support mission-critical business decisions. Together, these solutions comprise the industry's most complete mobile performance platform. More than 1,100 enterprise clients and 1 million registered users across all geographies and industries rely on App Annie to drive their mobile business. The company is headquartered in San Francisco with 12 offices worldwide. 46 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020 THE DEFINITIVE ASO PLAYBOOK App Annie Intelligence Optimize your app store presence and gain visibility into your competitors’ user acquisition campaigns Boost your app’s discoverability and continually improve your app store presence with the help of our ASO tools Leverage mobile web and app data together in one holistic platform to inform your total mobile strategy Monitor key competitors across critical user lifecycle metrics including downloads, engagement, revenue, retention, paid and organic downloads, demographics and average user engagement Access a breakdown of paid and organic advertising spend to determine how many paid downloads, and indirectly how much ad spend, you need to support a successful campaign or product launch Uncover who is bidding on critical keywords, how that translates into share of voice, keyword ranking and traffic share and where you stack against the competition Get a window into your competitor’s paid search ads strategy Keep tabs on competitor advertising activity by tracking when and where ads are running Robust ASO tools to help you assess keyword search volume and rank difficulty Creative gallery that helps you get insight into your competitors’ advertising initiatives Identify new business opportunities by uncovering the networks where advertisers are running user acquisition campaigns Gain transparency into your campaign to find out exactly where your ads are running at the publisher level Detailed view of top advertisers and publishers to better inform your user acquisition strategy Metrics to help shape your advertising strategy by analyzing the percentage of impressions running across an advertiser, publisher or ad network Surface deeper, meaningful insights, fast with Insights Generator Access robust ratings and reviews data including ratings overtime and sentiment analysis Take your app marketing strategy to the next level. Request a demo today. 47 COPYRIGHT | APP ANNIE 2020
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