Posted on September 25th, 2018
Pandora, the popular music streaming app, has just been purchased by SiriusXM. SiriusXM is no stranger to the app business, and will undoubtedly make good use of Pandora Music, but a solid App Store Optimization strategy can help it succeed even further. Is Pandora fully optimized for the stores it’s available on, or can SiriusXM improve it to increase the app’s already impressive success? 1. iOS On the Apple App Store, Pandora Music is the second-highest rated app in the Music category, only behind Spotify. It’s the 5th-highest app under searches for “music apps,” 9th for “free music” and 11th for “radio.” However, most of the apps it ranks in the #1 spot for are low-volume terms such as “artists songs” or “favorite radio.” While it is a successful app, its keyword rankings do still have room for improvement; it’s ranked in the 30’s for keywords such as “mp3 music player offline” and in the 20’s for “HD radio” and “listen music offline.” Creatives: Pandora’s icon is distinct and easy recognizable – a large P with a mix of red, purple and blue colors. It’s great for building the brand name and identity. Following that, it has five screenshots, each showing off a function of the app while including callout text that talks about the features. These all work well, and quickly inform potential users of what Pandora has to offer, although it does have room to include more. Further screenshots could highlight additional functions from the app, including Premium and Plus features, or even appeal to fans of certain artists by calling out their latest albums. The last time it changed the artists featured in the screenshots was in November 2017, but if it regularly highlighted different artists, it could appeal to a wider range of users. The first three screenshots are the ones users see while browsing the app store, so including popular artists there could help reach their fans. Title & Subtitle: With all the music and streaming apps on the market, apps like Pandora need every edge their metadata can provide. Its title and subtitle, “Pandora Music” and “Play Music and Stream Radio,” respectively, do include important keywords that quickly describe the app’s features. The title does have room for more characters, so it could include another keyword there. Notably, both the title and subtitle have “music” – this double-up is a missed opportunity to target more unique keywords using these metadata fields. Description: The description itself is formatted nicely. Each line is short and to the point, making it easy to read. The features are clearly spelled out, while keywords like “music,” “songs,” and “playlists” are sprinkled throughout. It utilizes bullet lists to describe the additional features from Pandora Premium and Pandora Plus, so potential users can quickly see the benefits of each. Yet it does not have a bulleted section for the free version. While it does describe everything that the app does in the description itself, a bullet list of the features that are available to everyone would be helpful and provide more opportunities to utilize its keywords and build relevancy for Search Ads.
Posted on September 22nd, 2018
When developers release or update their apps, they need to choose a category. Selecting a category is necessary on both the App Store and the Play Store, and the right one can be a potential avenue for discoverability. Understanding categories is an important part of an overall App Store Optimization strategy. Choosing the right category can bring more visibility. Choosing the wrong one can lead to lackluster results or potential rejection from the App Stores. But how do developers go about determining the right app category? Does choosing the wrong one mean their app will be invisible? Here is a breakdown of categories on the App Store and their impact.
Posted on September 21st, 2018
iOS 12 has just launched, and already we’re seeing apps begin to take advantage of the new features it has to offer. Among the most popular of the upgrades is Siri Shortcuts, which enables users to create custom commands for Siri to launch multiple apps and perform functions on them with a single request. Several developers are already boasting apps compatible with Siri Shortcuts, but they need proper App Store Optimization to truly make the most of the update.
Posted on September 20th, 2018
The App Store environment is frequently shifting as users find new ways to search for apps and new functions are added. With the constant changes, one might wonder what rankings still matter – are category rankings important, or are they a relic of a bygone era of the App Stores? The differences in displays of the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and how they have changed over time, are an important piece to consider in an App Store Optimization strategy.
Posted on September 18th, 2018
The next big update for iOS devices has launched, and users will begin updating to iOS 12 over the coming days. With new changes rolling out, there are several questions one must ask. What will it provide users? What should developers do? And how will it impact App Store Optimization? 1. What’s New in iOS 12? iOS 12 introduces several new updates and enhancements for iPhones and iPads. Several of these were introduced at WWDC earlier this year, so developers and users have had time to prepare. These updates include:
