Want more ASO Tips?
Contact Us
With 2019 nearing its end, it’s time to take a look back and see how App Store Optimization has changed over the past year. The year was filled with changes that impacted all parts of the app ecosystem, from new devices and operating systems to new store guidelines and developer tools. Let’s take a trip through the year and see some of the biggest changes to come out of 2019.
With 2020 approaching, user interest in apps for the new year is growing, including New Year Countdown apps and New Year’s Resolution apps. These apps need to make a good first impression when they appear in search results. This is where the app icon comes in.
With 2019 coming to an end, Apple and Google have announced their picks for the top apps of the year. Apple’s “App of the Year” and Google’s “Best of 2019” winners are good examples of what makes a successful app. Of course, even the best apps can still benefit from App Store Optimization, so we can see how ASO impacts these apps and their success. Let’s take a look at some of the winners and see what they can tell us about what makes a good app.
Updating apps to align with shifting user interests can help an app succeed. This can be seen with sports apps, where the apps need to update based on what sport is in season. A sports app that still calls out hockey information during baseball season may not see the maximum potential conversions. App Store Optimization can help apps grow during any season, but this requires consistent updates to keep up with trends.
App descriptions serve several purposes for an app, from informing users of its features to impacting keyword indexation and Apple Search Ads relevancy. Boomerang is a video streaming app with thousands of classic cartoons, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It was also featured on the Apple App Store recently, due to the large selection of holiday specials users can stream.
Reaching and converting users is an important aspect of App Store Optimization, but retaining them is just as important. When users leave app store reviews, properly responding can make the difference between retaining users (as well as potentially converting new ones) and losing them. Developers should understand the best practices for responding to app store reviews and how it can make a difference.
With the holidays approaching, seasonal apps are seeing an increase in popularity. In order to appeal to users, these apps need to include strong creatives. This includes app store screenshots and videos, especially for photo and video apps. One such example is ElfYourself, which lets users add their faces to dancing elf videos. In this week’s App Store Spotlight, we look at ElfYourself and see if the app store screenshots it uses can help draw in the holiday crowd.
Apple has announced the App Store Connect Holiday Schedule. During this time, App Store Connect will not accept any new apps or updates, so as to give Apple’s team time off to enjoy the holidays. Developers will want to keep this time frame in mind and plan their releases around it.
New app developers may feel overwhelmed trying to get their apps discovered on the stores. They may have heard that App Store Optimization (ASO) is important to succeed, but might not know what ASO is or how to get started. As such, we’re here to answer the first question every developer looking into App Store Optimization needs to ask: what is ASO?
Slickdeals is an app designed to help users find and share deals and coupons. With Black Friday approaching, the app’s optimization has been adjusted to target the shopping season. Seasonality requires updating several aspects, including the title, creatives and description. It’s especially important to write an app description tailored to the platform the app is on, including incorporating keywords and testing for conversion. With that in mind, Slickdeals is the subject of this week’s App Store Spotlight, where we see if it can compete in the biggest shopping season of the year.
The key success factor in any industry, especially amongst retailers, is the continual optimization for consumer buying trends as new technology emerges. Shopping has changed from brick and mortar stores to e-commerce, then from e-commerce to m-commerce. This shift in consumer shopping behavior has impacted many retailers' bottom line.
“Minecraft” is an immensely popular video game where players can mine for material, explore, craft items and build structures. The studio recently launched an augmented reality Minecraft app called Minecraft Earth, which brings the exploration and construction elements into the real world through AR. Will Minecraft Earth see the same success as classic Minecraft, or will it need to build its App Store Optimization first? In this week’s App Store Spotlight, we take a look at Minecraft Earth and see.