ASO 5-Part Series: Part 1 – What is ASO

Discovery is one of the major challenges for any app developer regardless of platform. Being able to be found and stand out in the sea of applications is critical to success for an application. This is getting more and more difficult as more and more apps go live each day.

The app stores were created to aid developers in discovery of their applications but as app inventory continues to grow at a rapid pace, they are unable to assist all of the applications in the same way they did when smartphone and tablet apps first launched back in 2008.

It has become more and more important for developers and app publishers to take matters into their own hands and market their applications to increase visibility to improve downloads for their application.

One of the ways that app developers can better the discovery of their app is through optimization of their product page within the app store. This is called ASO or App Store Optimization. The goal of ASO is to enhance the major product page elements to improve search discovery, increase chances of standing out in a list view and better the salability of the page to convert to download or purchase.

App Store Optimization touches upon all elements of your app’s product page – your name, category, icon, screenshots and even the product description & keywords you use to describe and sell your app.

The key concept behind ASO is to take a look at these elements from a user’s perspective to ensure that they are working hard to market and sell your app. In essence, ASO makes sure that your product page elements are clear, convincing as well as creative. It strives to remove any ambiguity in what your product offers and attempts to cut through the noise around you to ensure that your app can rise above the rest whether a user finds your app in search results or views it in a category list.

To perform App Store Optimization you need to look to your competitors, your users and employ the use of some key app tools. In this 5-part series, we will be breaking down the steps to perform App Store Optimization to improve the performance of your name, app icon, screenshots and your product description.

The benefits of ASO are great:

• Improve search results and immediate app comprehension within app store lists with an optimized name
• Take advantage of app ranking opportunities through our category and sub-category recommendations
• Improve brand recall and rapid app comprehension and increase conversion with icon & screenshots suggestions
• Increase salability and improve search discovery with a SEO focused Product Description

We hope to get you thinking about your product page as not just a bunch of last minute elements required to get your app live upon submission, but rather some key and free marketing opportunities which you have at your disposal to better the chance of app success.