In this article, we will be talking about what is App Store optimization and the different approaches to optimize the App Store. The main focus of this post will be on optimizing your application for a better customer experience. You can also use some techniques discussed in an earlier blog post which you can find here. I will be discussing what are our advantages of using App store optimization and how much effort it takes to get started. We have already covered the basics of Apple store optimization and how we can improve the user experience while getting it optimized. Now I will break down the process into smaller step by step as well as why they matter and the steps that you need to follow to make your application even more effective. I have organized my content in 3 subsections but first let’s talk about the pros of App Store optimization. First lets summarize what is App Store optimization and how does it work.
App Store Optimization is when your app is optimized so that customers are able to access your app more effectively. The way we do it is that we increase the number of users who are being served from our application. This helps us to cut costs and other operations such as shipping and managing servers. The goal of App store optimization is in increasing downloads of your application through targeted ads. The problem with advertising (Adsense) are that they only show relevant items like coupons and other products. So App store optimization solves this issue by giving the customer incentives to purchase items which might interest them. This means that your application gets recommended more frequently, which makes sales and boosts your revenue.
Advertising is expensive to run so one way around this is to use App store optimization. With Adsense there were no penalties or refunds if someone failed to complete their orders or did not receive any value back, because of an error. This made sure that everyone had equal value and everyone received something back. App store optimization uses this same approach. If the user is unable to purchase the item that was requested for, they are given an out-of-bounds message and the user has 6 days to return. Your application can then give them coupons to encourage them to purchase again. With that out of the way, the app is available to the public without restrictions and that makes it easier for people to buy products. Using Adsense is costly but App store optimization works against the odds. It allows the user to purchase the item before they see the promotional price that the product is going to cost them. That gives the value of your brand even bigger and makes you more competitive than those competitors. The good thing about mobile applications is that once you start utilizing it, it becomes a habit, not a temporary add on feature. After you run App store optimization for a while, you may decide to stop doing the optimization. Some reasons behind that may include, that you have gone too overboard, that you would rather spend time working on the product, that you have not yet seen the value of the algorithm. However, now that you know that it is possible to put more effort into finding out how to optimize your application, you will want to look at it for the long term.
If you have heard about optimising for Apps on iOS, don’t worry! There are lots of articles and tutorials that explain everything you need to do. Instead, read on and follow along because we will discuss each step and tell you what happens next. As always, I have tried to include the best resources I could find on the topic. I have included links to all content that I could find so that you can review anything that was created for iOS apps. Also, if you have something new that I haven’t listed on here, I recommend reading over my reviews and find out more. My hope is that you understand how to optimize for apps.
1). Understand Where You Stand in App Store Optimization
While the App store optimization is a great idea, it is easy to lose track of your progress because there aren’t many metrics to monitor your progress. One metric that most developers overlook is the downloads per app. How many downloads? What features does my app have which helps me reach more downloads? There are tons of ways to measure downloads per app but most have been forgotten. For example, most popular apps have a high amount of downloads, sometimes making up more than 1 million downloads. Those apps have a low CTR so it doesn’t have a lot of page views and it isn’t recommended to be downloaded when one person downloads your app. On the flip side, if you offer discounts or rewards, then that can drive traffic which will boost downloads. Again, App store optimization allows you to test new ideas in order to discover which ones work and which don’t. While implementing these changes may take more time than anticipated, they help your overall ROI.
2). Find Out Who Reviews the Application
Another important metric is the ranking of your application. A good rule of thumb is that if your rank is greater than 5, it is likely that people won’t download the application even if they need it. Sometimes you can try promoting yourself with your social media channels and posting photos of you running the application. You may notice an increase in downloads but your rankings might drop further down after you post it online. Finding out what people think and your application’s ranking will give you a better knowledge of where you stand compared to your competition. Knowing this gives you more data you can use to compare against your competitors and help decide whether or not your app is worthy to be ranked higher or lower.
3). Create Quality Content in Necessary for App Store Optimization
App store optimization requires developers to produce quality content for your application. These are the most significant pieces of advice you can give someone starting out with your application: Read about content quality
Keep creating awesome content. No matter what the situation is, keep writing amazing content. Write articles that capture every emotion that is associated with your target audience. Make your content engaging. Don’t just fill pages of text. Add pictures, GIFs, videos, infographics, and more. Show off design elements like icons, buttons, grids, navigation bars, color schemes, fonts, and more to make your content memorable. Be creative. Use visual elements like images, video, motion graphics, patterns, etc. Give people the freedom to create content for themselves. Avoid trying to be original. Just write things that make sense to the world that surrounds you. Get involved with local communities, groups, and organizations with similar goals. Don’t be afraid to get involved with anyone in your community. Develop solutions that are innovative. Look for inspiration from everywhere. Put out a press release and invite experts for comment. Build a list of recommendations on Google, Yelp, Reddit, and Twitter. Search for keywords on Google. Try to identify potential problems with your own application. Find out what other peoples are saying and ask for help. Reach out to reviewers if you need to address issues. Talk to influencers and bloggers about their experiences with your application. Do your homework. Learn from others. Follow companies on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Do your research. Ask friends and acquaintances who are on your industry or niche. Ask them to share their tips and tricks. And finally, consider asking for a referral. Referrals to other developers or businesses that you know will benefit your application. Keep iterating!
4). Start Today!
When starting out with your application, start your implementation by making sure that you have a backup plan in case something goes wrong with our server. Have a second computer in place if you have to use WiFi to get the app up and running. Make sure that you have enough storage space for the app as well if you need to save your files locally on your phone.
If the development team fails to deliver results in a timely manner, the application gets a score. You can choose to use that score as your benchmark and keep iterating to improve. Having a basic understanding of your application and how you rank will make your application much more successful and valuable. Making changes to your application will help you achieve more users and more conversions. Lastly, the success of your application hinges on your ability to attract quality leads. Therefore, it is crucial to start setting yourself apart when it comes to creating high quality content. Good luck with that!
