A/B Testing for App Store Listing Optimization

June 4th, 2015

by David Quinn

VP of Strategy & Partnerships at Gummicube, Inc.

Mobile A/B testing can be critical, even though an awful lot of discussion of app store optimization (ASO) is focused on text. What are the best keywords to target for my app? How should I name my app? How do I write a description that converts eyeballs into users?

Increasing Mobile App Visibility

So it follows, optimizing the visibility of your app in Apple's App Store and Google Play search should be the starting point of any comprehensive ASO effort. Both Apple and Google create their search results based on (among other things) your app name/title, your keywords field (Apple), or the keywords used in your description (Google).

Driving Mobile App Conversions

Apple's recent release of their analytics module - while not perfect - provides some insight into how well your design elements are converting from search results. Design elements like your App's

Icon
Screenshots
Promo videos

Even the first few lines of your description can have an impact on whether a potential user installs and opens your app, or if they simply scroll to the next app.

If optimizing visibility in search results is 1 big part of ASO - optimizing your design elements to maximize conversion from view to install is the 2nd big part.

Measuring App Store Performance

One explanation for why mobile a/b testing and optimizing design elements often takes a backseat to "keywords" when discussing and even implementing ASO is because it is hard. Neither Apple or Google allow publishers to create multiple icons, screenshots or videos and see which generates the most or highest LTV users. There are some workarounds including submitting two similar apps with different icons, or changing creatives on new versions - but neither provides a true multi-variate test. We will cover this topic in greater detail as in the coming weeks, including our suggestions and how we are helping our clients optimize their creatives and calls to action for maximum relevant conversions.