ASO – App Store Optimization; How does it work in Google Play?

With millions of mobile applications in major App stores, giving visibility to yours is the main problem that you find to get started in the sector. If you are a startup, thinking of creating an application or want to increase your downloads, you need to know the main technique of app market that will help you achieve ASO – App Store Optimization, ie, optimization in various App Stores either App Store for iOS or Google Play Store for Android.

The questions that usually arise after the development of an application are: And now how do I be in the charts of the App Store? What are the main Apps doing that I’m not? Is it just luck?
The fact that you’ve built a great application will not make you appear suddenly at the top Apps stores. It has never been so, and it won’t change. To achieve top places in the store, you must use the tools necessary to promote your app, but above all, have to take into account the ASO positioning of your mobile application.

First things first … What is ASO?

App Store Optimization, i.e. ASO is basically the process to optimize the mobile apps that allows them to become visible in the search results of a particular app store. The better the ASO positioning of an application, the more visible it will be to potential customers and, therefore, more downloads will occur in App Store.

The aim of ASO is to attract more traffic to your app page in the App Store, for a specific action to occur: downloading the application.

Therefore, the ASO process requires a thorough analysis of who your potential customers are, focusing primarily on keywords that are used to find applications similar to yours.

With hundreds of thousands of applications in each of the stores, every app competes to be on the top; however, many apps fail for the reason of not investing in the ASO optimization. So do not miss, and begin to learn about how you can leverage the App Store Optimization.

How to create a strategy for ASO Google Play?

To begin your strategy ASO positioning, you must develop a comprehensive plan with major and minor factors that affect the optimization of your App. The operation of these factors depends on the store where your application is: Google Play (Android) or App Store (Apple).

Google Play is perhaps the best-known store for SEO experts. Being a Google product, the store has access to all search indexes collected by the main search engine. If you have decided to create a mobile application for the Google Play store, note that the strategy should start to follow for optimizing your app:

On-Page Optimization:

App Title: This is the basis of an optimization, regardless of the medium and the target, the title will be decisive. Just as you do with the title of a website, make sure it is descriptive and clearly explains what it is for your application. Android applications are used by many brands and different screen sizes; therefore, it is difficult to know how many characters are optimal for the title of your App.

The best strategy for the ASO positioning is to keep it as short application title as possible so that search engines can read the whole thing. There is nothing worse for the user experience than a title too long. Another thing that “penalizes” Google is the “repetitive or irrelevant” use of keywords in the title and description of the application. So, be very careful about this.

App Description:  App description is very similar to the “meta description” of a blog or a website. Be clear to explain what is your application, what it does, and what its benefits are. Note that App description is the second marketing tool to promote your App as the content of the description will be the first contact with the user once the app gets on Google Play. You must use it wisely and with the appropriate keywords.

Keywords:  These are the words that will make you appear in the results. It is the key to the whole process of ASO. If you manage to find the right keywords, you will achieve more users. The users will be visiting the landing or description of your App. This can help to download the application and finally to get revenue.

App icon:  Give your app a face with an app icon on the app store. The icon must explain the theme of your app while being creative. It should be attractive and original. Difficult yes … but not impossible!

Type App:  For Google Play there are only two options: Applications and Games. So select the appropriate type. Easy!

Screenshots: Most of the decisions made in a store are dependent on the visual sensations. And when we talk about mobile applications the first impression is crucial. Use this advantage and capture sample screens striking your application from within.

Category:  Properly define your product for a specific category. You can also spend belonging to various categories; try to choose the most appropriate.

App Demo on YouTube: This is a relatively new feature in the Google Play store. It allows you to upload a video on YouTube about the performance of your application. They usually last about a minute and can be relevant for your App ASO as it is included in the same place where the screenshots are shown. Use it to highlight the best parts of the application.

Google Plus Rules: All applications on the Google Play store will be in some ways related to the social network and search engine. And therefore, you need to take it into account the popular social network “Google Plus”. Try to get “+1” in each of the Apps Store to get more visibility. It is clear that Google Plus will affect the ASO positioning for your App. So, do not forget to create an account, and follow closely the comments made by the social networks.

Off-Page Optimization:

Get ratings and votes in the application. This is a very important factor for the ASO in the Google Play store, and especially for getting more downloads. If a user encounters an application that has a 1000 rating of 5 stars, it is a great application indeed. The position on the first page of Google Play is undoubtedly a combination of reviews, ratings, downloads and +1 on Google Plus.

User comments: Like the user votes, comments are very important for the positioning of the app. The more positive comments you have on Google Play Store, the more improved the position you get in the app market.
Number of downloads: Obviously, the more people install your application will gain more visibility on Google Play.

Link building: As we have said this earlier, don’t get tired of repeating for the prominence of your app; Google Play has access to all Google search indexes. What does it mean? The more links you have from interesting websites and popular forums, the more visibility you get on Google Play Store.
Now that you know all tricks, use the above-given strategies. This will help you get the top place in Google App Store for your application.