Mobile devices and mobile applications have become a tool that is totally and definitely integrated into our lives and accompanying us everywhere we go. In the beginning, as in almost all sectors, there were few applications, and they were usually directed to databases, that is, to search for sites, whether they were restaurants or addresses. There are currently millions of mobile applications, and each of them will make your life a little easier, be it a mobile application which analyzes your movement to offer you a detailed study of the exercise you have done, or another that tells you where you left the car parked, or another that allows you to start the car from the smartphone.
There are so many applications that warrant differentiating your app from others. The way to access apps is through the search engine of the application stores. It is critical to optimize the app so that your app is in that top search results. This and others are the objectives of
app store optimization (ASO) or SEO for mobile applications.
1. Understand the meaning of ASO
For this reason, ASO was born whose purpose is to optimize a mobile application which developed by mobile app developers to improve its visibility and downloads within an app store. In summary, ASO is the process of optimizing an application in order to appear in the first results when the user searches in the application stores.
Like any SEO process, ASO includes the selection and optimization of keywords. In this way, the keywords that a user uses when searching for an app are identified. The goal is to appear above the competition in the search results.
The most famous or important application stores on which to apply the ASO are the following:
- Apple App Store
- Google Play
- Amazon AppStore
2. Know the differences between ASO and SEO
ASO and SEO are two similar positioning strategies. SEO is for positioning websites, and ASO is for mobile applications. In reference to the concepts to follow for positioning, they are very similar.
But why is an ASO strategy so important?
* More than 63% of Smartphone users download mobile applications through Apps stores
* Millions of apps exist in the databases of App stores
* The users spend most of their time on applications
The data is important. There is such an amount of apps that an ASO strategy to position applications above the competition is critical. Most
app developers are not investing time or resources in optimizing app store apps. A complete review of the applications is necessary to be able to fight on this battlefield.
3. Know the ASO factors
As with SEO or web positioning, there are also 2 parts; On Metadata and Off Metadata:
Factors of On Metadata
The ASO On metadata factors are as follows:
- Name (Title): As in any
SEO strategy, the title is essential. We will use the title to introduce some of the most relevant keywords for which we want to be found.
- Icon: Keep in mind that the icon of an application is the first thing a user sees when they are searching the App Store. Therefore, it is important that it is designed to be the exact size and that it transmits the values of the brand and the usefulness of its application. In the search results of the App Store, an icon is one of the only ways in which its brand and utility can be transmitted. You have to think of it as a fundamental part.
- Description: The priority objective of the description of a mobile application is to capture the user's attention and explain its benefits or virtues in a few words. With a good description, we will prevent the user from getting confused. For this, we will use keywords within the text (the first 3 lines will be the most important), we will be as simplistic as possible, we will have the summary (we must be concise). The Play Store accepts 4000 characters.
- Keywords: Always with moderate use and prioritizing quality over quality, it is necessary to include them in all possible sections. Only for iOS, they do not exist on Android.
- Screenshots (mobile and iPad): Like the description, before buying a mobile application, it is important to show a preview. Offering a series of screenshots to users to know what they will find when they buy or download the app can be the difference between downloading or moving on to the next one.
- Category: Placing the app in the correct category is more important than it seems. There are not many, but making a mistake in this step may not be discovered by your "fans."
