Since SEO for mobile applications is a process in continuous change as it happens with SEO, a certain update and complement of the contents is necessary from time to time. Surely these new aspects, tricks and additions will be of great interest to you.
What is ASO ?
To be able to make a ranking guide Aso App first you have to understand what is the ASO. A simple explanation would be as follows:
"ASO is SEO for mobile apps."
Another more complete definition for those who don'T know what SEO is might be:
"ASO is seo ranking for mobile apps in the App Store and Play Store so that they appear first for certain searches."
Once we have seen this, the next thing we should analyze are those elements of an SEO ranking strategy for mobile applications that most affect the order in which the results are displayed in the application marketplaces. The analysis of these elements and their correct use will make us undoubtedly improve our ASO Marketing strategy.
What aspects influence SEO for mobile apps?
🔖 1. Number of App downloads: popularity
As happens in SEO ranking with the number of visits, the number of downloads, it will be a determining factor of the ranking of an application and one of the most important aspects to take into account in an ASO Marketing strategy in the marketplace.
The higher the number of downloads, the better position we will have in the app stores. It's a good way for users to find you, since in many cases the App stores have search categories/filters for the most downloaded or most popular Apps.
To achieve the first downloads, vital for the beginning of any App project and that search engines have information with which to start working and index, it is essential to use various ways of attracting users such as:
Management of profiles in social networks and publication of promotional ads of the App from these.
Download websites of applications and computer software for Android such as:
- 👉 ApkmaniaXL
- 👉 ApkmaniaFull
- 👉 AndroidFreeDownload
- 👉 FileCrop
- 👉 PandaApp
- 👉 Apkure
In-App advertising: there are platforms like Admob and Tappx to promote your app in other related Apps.
Use recommendation apps and download other paid apps for free and also as download platforms for Android.
Use special applications such as gift cards for example from Google Play Store or money in Paypal. The best known are the following:
- 👉 FreeMyApps
- 👉 Slide
- 👉 FeaturePoints
- 👉 AppBounty
- 👉 AppNana
- 👉 Cash For Apps
- 👉 Apptentive
- 👉 Appbot
Collaborations with influencers through brokerage platforms such as:
- 👉 Coobis
- 👉 Blog on brands
- 👉 Brantube
- 👉 SocialPubli
- 👉 Niche
- 👉 Publisuites
Payment by prescription in recognized means of the sector:
- 👉 Apploide: Recognized Medium about Apps
- 👉 AppsFlyer: Advertising and web marketing partner with its own advertising network.
- 👉 Andro4all: Recognized Medium about the App World.
- 👉 ElAndroideLibre: Very recognized Medium about the App World.
- 👉 TheAppDate: Very recognized Medium about the App World.
You can also carry out a process of searching and managing actions in other applications based on gamification strategies to get downloads through them in exchange for points for that App or any other benefit for the user, the amount of which will be to be faced. That is, get downloads of applications through other Apps that suggest them to us in exchange for points in those same. That is, the classic dating applications or games which functions with gamification systems and have a strong acceptance Pro part of the users, who perform all kinds of actions from it in order to get new advantages in that App.
Launch of the App in different languages in order to reach more markets and get a greater volume of downloads, as long as it is a potential market for it, since the fact of getting downloads to get them, can be counterproductive if there is subsequently a huge uninstallation ratio.
Advertising in Google Adwords both for the search network, as the display Network, applications (universal) and videos on Youtube.
Publication of the application in different marketplaces depending on the type of application, country or geographical area where you want to launch:
- 👉 Amazon Store
- 👉 Windows Phone Store
- 👉 Mobango
- 👉 DRPanda
- 👉 PCappstore
- 👉 Applandinc
- UpToDown
- 👉 Googles Glass
- 👉 Opera
You can even create your own app store with Applandinc
The number of downloads is a data that alone can encourage users to download the application. On the contrary, you will always have to keep in mind that if the number of uninstalls increases, your App will lose ranking and begin to descend positions. In fact, this is a topic that we treat below as one of the most important aspects to consider in an SEO strategy for mobile applications.
One aspect to be taken into account in this regard and that has not been taken into account for a long time except for the monetization strategy of the application is the way in which it is distributed. That is to say if the App will be paid or free. That will be an element that will have to think in advance, since there are fewer and fewer paid Apps and the user generally prefers free since there are many alternatives on the market without having to pay money. Although it should also be borne in mind that if you offer a unique service and the App is completely differential to what is being developed in this niche, you can contemplate the option of offering it for free. Each case is a world.
🔖 2. Momentum: stability of App KPIS
It is very important to maintain the moment or trend of the application throughout the first month to secure it in the SERPs and in the different rankings/categories for which it may appear in the marketplace.
For this, it is important to continue to achieve, increase and/or maintain the levels of :
Interaction and Feedback of users: reviews, comments and ratings, which continue to be shared on social networks. In this sense, internal actions can be carried out as survey forms in which the user is encouraged to leave their positive review or rate the App through some type of gift (free points, unlocking some freemium option…)
App downloads.
For this reason, it is imperative to take into account the last month of life of the application (that is, the last 30 days) since it will be with the data and information collected during this period with which the search engine will work to position the application.
A council about it, is that not only serves to spend so much on advertising at the beginning just like with a website to publicize it and generate the first visits or during the launch of the App if this investment is not going to keep in time, because at the level of ASO, will surely worsen the results. In addition Google (Adwords), in the case of Android, lives on this advertising and generally treats better those who pay the most.
🔖 3. Frequency and time of use of the App
Frequency and time of use by the user are very important KPIS for ASO Marketing. For its management and improvement it is necessary:
Review all kinds of statistics of tools and tools Aso and web analytics such as Semrush, Analytics…
Manage interactions and comments in search of possible problems and their improvement.
Carry out a list of errors where your can see all the problems that may arise and have in this way a history of the application for possible future changes and Prevention of possible inconveniences.
Optimize the weight and loading speed of the application as much as possible.
Use of Push notifications to improve return, branding, engagement and user loyalty.
Carry out periodic updates of the App but taking into account minimum limits so as not to damage the user experience.
🔖 4. Number of app uninstalls
This is another determining aspect for the Aso App since uninstallations count more than the installations themselves. That is, it is more important to get few users and retain them because they are really interested in the App than to get many downloads and have a wild uninstallation ratio.
This is because the higher the number of uninstalls that occur, the worse this will be considered by the search engines of the app stores. That is, if an application is uninstalled many times in a short time, the search engines will understand that the App does not work, does not fulfill the functions it offers or does not like. This entails a penalty at the level of Aso App, which will result in a decrease in positions and even the practical disappearance of the application of SERPs.
To prevent users from uninstalling the application, a series of actions can be carried out, among which we can highlight the following:
Review all interactions carried out by users on social networks both externally and internally to the App, in order to detect possible failures and points of improvement of the same.
Test and check the possible failures and in such case, solve them in order to offer a good user experience at all times. Although it may seem a lie, the user is becoming more and more demanding, and small details tell a lot.
Improve loading speed and optimize weight as much as possible as it is usually one of the main reasons for uninstalling applications.
Carry out all kinds of internal actions to achieve loyalty to users such as promotions, discounts and special offers to those users who have been using the App for some time.
Use of feedback services to prevent possible uninstallations, extract information about the causes that caused them and redirect users to other applications that may be useful such as Quicktapsurvey or the old service of Appjolt.com to create interactive forms currently acquired by Bridge. As we find more tools of this type, we will include them in this mega guide (if you have any recommendations, do not hesitate to leave your comment below). This kind of form-based actions allow us to ask why the user uninstalls the application, redirect him to another application that we are also interested in promoting…
SEO for mobile apps App on Site or internal Aso App: how to do it step by step?
🔖 1. Title or title of the App
Any SEO Ranking strategy for mobile applications should include the creation of an attractive title for the App (containing a Keyword or referring to something that has to do with the function for which the App was created, if possible) that is simple to remember and different from any other App so that it is easy to identify by users.
Play Store allows up to 255 characters in this field, while App Store puts a limit of 30 characters in it. This is something that must be taken into account so that the App has the same name both one and the other system, and that clearly reflects the need for a short and concise name.
🔖 2. App icon
Create an eye-catching and distinctive app icon that is easy to remember and recognize by any user. To do this, you can perform different color tests and analyze their impact using a/B testing and recommendations drawn from professionals, people close to you and opinion polls.
🔖 3. Structure and design of the App
This is a more typical aspect of App development but that is very linked to ASO, since if a good product is offered (that is, the quality of what we offer is the right one), the user will meet their expectations and will not uninstall the application.
Pay special attention to the design and structure of the App as an application with a look too overloaded functions (an application should be simple and easy to use) or too simplistic can lead to the failure of the App if users do not feel attracted by the same and the features it offers (the interface, the features, colors, etc) is Also something that will surely show in the images, ScreenShots, or screenshots to promote the App.
🔖 4. App category
You should always categorize the App in the different App stores where appropriate, that is, if your App is an action or adventure game, you will have to tag it in that specific section. This is very important because depending on the category chosen and that best fits the features of the App, there will be a greater or lesser competition and a greater or lesser volume of downloads. It is not the same to position an app based on gamification as a game as a social network, since each category will have its own intrinsic aspects that will have to be evaluated beforehand.
🔖 5. Search keywords for the App: keywords and Longtail
Study of keywords and complementary words that are related to the function for which the App was developed and thus position it. You must enter all possible keywords (without exaggerating either) in the contents of the App whether metadata such as the title and descriptions, as in contents on the official website of the application.
🔖 6. App description
The description or detail in the search page of the application in the App Store is very important for promotion and Ranking since it is one of the first things that the user will see when finding it and it is an opportunity to include Keywords and Longtail to help position the App. This fundamental above all for Google Play Store, since it takes it into account in the Ranking Aso App, something that does not happen the same in iOS.
It should be a dynamic and catchy text of a short extension, that is easy to understand and that conveys all the features and differential factors that your App offers, compared to those of the competition.
🔖 7. App Developer
For ASO Ranking, it is very good that the App developer has already registered or registered as an application developer for the Apple Store and / or Google Play Store and that he has made other Apps previously, that is to say that he has experience recognized by these platforms.
This is because the App Store or app stores better value developers with whom they have been working longer, than new ones, and this can be a fairly competitive advantage, especially in new segments in the App market.
🔖 8. Screenshots of the App
Include ScreenShots in the search page of your app within the App Store showing the App inside (its functions and features) and recurring and eye-catching content that can differentiate it from the competition. This is a very important aspect and must always be carried out. A very good web tool for creating ScreenShots is Appure.
🔖 9. App promotional video
It is a format that is increasingly gaining strength and presence in the promotion of applications. And is that it is a format that allow to publicize the tool, show its use, and generate trust in the user in the face of its possible download in a clear and easy to understand way for these.
SEO for mobile apps App Off Site or external Aso App: how to do it step by step?
🔖 Management of reviews in the App
Getting good reviews, comments and ratings from users right from the start is essential for the Aso App, since it is something that almost everyone is fixated on when downloading an App and search engines have it in mind. If there are negative comments, it is an opportunity to improve the aspects in which your App may fail and demonstrate to the user the level of involvement with the service provided (UX improvement). Ideally, there are as many positive reviews as possible to increase the average value of these.
🔖 Landing Page or official website of the App
Creating a website for your App will certainly boost the number of downloads and help make it known among a greater number of people, since it will allow you to:
👉 Perform marketing activities such as Content Marketing (for branding, to improve confidence and uptake of new users and enhance the Ranking of the web), Email Marketing (development of databases by subscription and execution of mass mailings of newsletters and commercial email...), linkbuilding to rank the website and get higher traffic... In short, to use the web as a platform of promotion of the App.
👉 Offer the same functions as the application (such as Whatsapp), that is, a web tool that offers identical possibilities as in its mobile version.
🔖 Social Networks
This is a fundamental point to promote your App, both when you have just launched the App, and when you want to increase the number of downloads that occur in the same if you published it previously, that is, if you already had it. Social networks by themselves do not represent an ASO app factor, just as they are not for SEO, but those downloads and dissemination make the wheel start spinning. Traffic wherever it comes from, helps improve Ranking, so it is a very important aspect to consider in the external Aso App.
🔖 Paid advertising
To sponsor your App, you can always pay Google Adwords to position yourself in the top positions of the first Google page with your ads and place advertising banners of your App on other websites or with SearchAds, Admob or Tappx for ads and in-App advertising, among many other options described previously.
SEO Ranking for mobile apps and promotion: types of in-App advertising
An aspect of any App development project and its SEO strategy for mobile applications is the way of monetization of it, since, by this way you can get different sources of income and are also very specific forms of advertising for App that must be known to promote it. Therefore, below I present the two basic types of in-App advertising to monetize and promote App projects:
🔖 Banner Ad
They work through the cost per click and conversion, per print or flat rate system (recurring charges for a specific period of time). Their main feature is that they fit a small space within the App. This can be seen as a positive aspect, since it does not completely interrupt the user experience (UX), but it also has its negative side. Being of a small size and viewed from mobile devices (which already have rather small screens) will look worse than other ad formats.
🔖 Interstitial ad or Modal ads
This type of ad for App uses the same monetization formats as Banner Ad. Their fundamental feature is that they occupy the screen of the device completely (they are more profitable and cause greater impact, but bother the user more).
Within these types of ads we can highlight the following strategy of monetization of your App:
👉 Monetization by affiliation by selling products from other companies from your App with links from the banners, although you can also create an App for your e-commerce or a guide or directory within the application with the function of offering products from other companies and selling them acting as an intermediary.
👉 Also say, that these ads can be native. Native in-App ads integrate with the content and context for which the App was created in order to create a better and more satisfying user experience (UX) without interruptions or annoying setbacks for the user.
👉 This is achieved by combining the ads between the contents displayed in the App (always informed that it is advertising). In this way, the use and user experience are not interrupted.
👉 This type of ad is used by social networks. Examples of This Is Facebook and Twitter.
Ranking strategies to monetize your App
🔖 ASO Ranking strategy in app purchase by advertising
It consists of offering the App for free and monetizing it through advertising in the App of other Apps as well as any other type of product or service that has to do logically with the reason for which the App was created.
🔖 ASO Ranking strategy in app purchase Freemium
It consists of offering the App for free and then charging for certain services, new functions and levels (Games), Premium version dentro within the App. It is the most used strategy now and can be divided into different types according to the limitations imposed for it:
- 👉 In App purchase by content (offer extra content that the free version does not have)
- 👉 In App Purchase by functionality (offer new features that the free version does not have)
- 👉 In App Purchase by service (offer new services that the free version did not have)
- 👉 In App Purchase by subscription (it is rare to see, it usually occurs in specialized magazine apps for professionals and things like that, since it carries a periodic cost to users and that is something rare today, that everyone wants to download everything for free).
🔖 ASO Ranking strategy for sponsored Apps
It consists of selling your App to a company (i.e. anticipating the needs of a company that is going to develop an advertising campaign and sell them the App) or creating a sponsored App to order. Rare is the occasion when the function of your application coincides with the needs and specifications of a company that will promote its products and/or services through an App (although who knows, it can always be the case).
🔖 ASO Ranking strategy on Database Management
A good database management (direct and indirect monetization of the data obtained with the App), can imply opportunities for improvement in the App, investment, sale of studies, measurements and analysis that you carry out (when you have a certain volume of users).
🔖 Premium or paid ASO Ranking strategy
The user pays a certain amount for downloading the App. It is the most direct source of income to monetize your App, but it is increasingly obsolete, since most users prefer to download an App for FREE than paying, unless it offers them some differential advantage that makes them worth the outlay.
This type of App is usually given more for iOS than for Android, since users of the first operating system, are more accustomed to paying for the App.
📌 App promotion and SEO Ranking for mobile apps
For a correct positioning ASO App and a good promotion of your App, you have to keep in mind that each App Store has its own requirements and limitations, so it is good to see that each requires in their respective guides:
- 👉 Google Play Developer Console help
- 👉 App Store marketing guides
If you need more information to make the ASO App Ranking of your project, do not hesitate to contact us to solve your doubts. We will advise you without any commitment.