Google Play Search

By 2023, mobile apps are expected to generate more than $935 billion in revenue. In such a competitive market, it is believed that all developers hope to gain more organic traffic and improve the visibility and ranking of their apps in app stores.

App Store Optimization (ASO) refers to the process of increasing the visibility and discoverability of an app in Google Play and the App Store. Simply put, ASO = traffic + conversion; it involves optimizing app listings through keyword analysis, descriptions, visual effects, reviews, and ratings to attract organic traffic from search results and improve conversion rates.

ASO not only involves learning how to optimize app visibility and keyword rankings, but also understanding user groups and tracking metrics, as it is also an important component of mobile marketing strategies. It is important to carefully analyze the metrics of competitors, use the right keyword research tools, launch campaigns for maximum coverage, and ensure that all page elements are optimized for conversion. App discovery and ratings are directly related, and the quality of the app also plays a decisive role in obtaining a high rating, so optimizing content is very important. It is also important to encourage users to leave positive reviews at the right time, which also helps to determine how users interact with the app.

Although Apple and Google are constantly trying to optimize their reporting mechanisms to help users discover new apps more easily, developers sometimes don't know how to help users find their apps quickly. This includes not knowing how to view traffic source data in the App Store and Google Play, how to identify the differences between all traffic sources, and what each source contains.

This brings us to the differences between Google Play search traffic and browse traffic on February 19th. If you're someone who frequently checks Google Play Console, you'll notice a change in the Google Play traffic report. It's clearly a feature, not a bug, because starting on February 19th, when users search for "racing games" or "food delivery," for example, the downloaded keywords are categorized as Explore. This is because the Google Play team decided that if users are conducting "category searches," they are considered to be browsing the store's content rather than searching.

Partial keywords attributed to browsing sources may lose the understanding of the user's true search intent, resulting in inaccurate keyword acquisition. Because in doing ASO, it is necessary to investigate the target market and audience first, and find out what users need and how to act. Understanding the user can allow developers to collect information that may help create application content. It is essential to figure out why they will use the application, how users will discover the application, what language they speak, and so on.

Next, I would also like to focus on how to optimize keywords/keyword research.

Optimizing keywords means increasing the visibility of relevant keywords that visitors are looking for. For example, 70% of visitors use the app store to find new applications. In addition, 65% of downloads occur only after searching. In ASO, selecting the right keywords can ensure that your application is indexed as a search result for individuals searching for a particular application. These are selected based on the degree to which they represent your application and its functionality and the latest trends in the application store search engine.

Conducting research to determine the most appropriate keywords is the second step in app store optimization. To help determine which keywords to use to find your application, you need to consider the following:

The primary features of the application or game

Application category

Benchmarking against competitors' applications

Synonyms for describing features

Common terms in application categories

Not all AI recommendations are bad. Various optimization tools can be used for the first group of keywords.

More than 50% of users make their choice based on first impressions; therefore, the application name, application description, and screenshots should be optimized regularly. The application's description should be focused on the target audience. It should stimulate potential customers to download the application. Even with a limit of 4,000 characters in the long description, remember that you only have 252 characters before the rest of the description is truncated with a "more" link. If you plan to repeat keywords for Google Play ASO, pay attention to the number of characters to avoid keyword stuffing, as this may lower your ranking in search results. Remember to keep your promotion short, informative, and easy to understand to ensure that users know your application is worth downloading.

According to data from Chipthompson.com, 85% of the US audience watches videos online, with more than half of them watching on their phones. Therefore, adding videos on the app store page may help increase conversion rates. For example, including a video demonstrating the application's operation or a quick look at the gameplay. The maximum length of an application preview video is 30 seconds.

The success of ASO depends largely on feedback, and Google Play and Apple consider user reviews and ratings. According to Apptentive, 90% of customers believe that star ratings are essential when evaluating applications. In addition, 79% of users check ratings and reviews before installing an application. However, in addition to ratings and reviews, regular updates and external advertising (such as app store advertising campaigns) may help increase rankings in the app store. The higher the ranking, the more relevant the application appears, and the higher the rating.

Therefore, reviews are a fundamental parameter of the App Store ranking system. In addition, potential consumers are influenced by user comments and ratings when deciding whether to download your software. Therefore, responding promptly to customer feedback can help you win the trust of existing application users.