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Project Makeover App Store Spotlight

April 2nd, 2021

Project Makeover App Store Spotlight
David Bell

by David Bell

CEO at Gummicube, Inc.

Project Makeover promises to help you turn your virtual clients from drab to fab, but can it help itself stand out against the sea of match 3 games on the App Store?

With Project Makeover, Magic Tavern has developed a hit follow-up to their flagship game, Matchington Mansio‪n. A strong paid marketing presence has gotten people talking all over the internet but this is only one element of successful app promotion. On the Google Play Store alone, Project Makeover has acquired more than 10 million total downloads in little more than a year since launch. Talk about a big glow-up in a short time.

In today’s App Store Spotlight, we peel back the glitz, the glam, the makeup and the hair to reveal the underlying beauty (or beast) within. Keep reading to learn how Project Makeover is supporting their App Store Optimization strategy outside of paid marketing.

Metadata

Title and Subtitle

Project Makeover‬ is doing some good things with their subtitle, “Makeover Puzzle Game,” by targeting key search phrases like “makeover game” and “puzzle game”. However, it is an inefficient use of space to target the same keyword on iOS twice, and “makeover” is already included in the app’s name. This duplication will not help the App Store algorithm rank the app higher for the term.

Just like the game, titles and subtitles require some strategic puzzle-solving of their own to maximize the amount of space available in each section. The title, “Project Makeover,” contains no additional title tags - a big missed opportunity for additional keyword targeting. The subtitle, while a good start, has room to expand as it only contains 20 characters - a full 10 less than the 30 character maximum.

Description

Project Makeover’s description has some of the same troubles as its title and subtitle. Only utilizing less than 1000 characters out of the maximum 4000 means that Project Makeover can afford to expand further. The ideal description not only explains the core features of the app, but why users should choose them over every other match 3 game in the App Store.

Fully understanding the app flow without playing the game is confusing. Project Makeover heavily leans into the makeover aspects, but leaves details on the main part of the gameplay - the match 3 puzzles - as an afterthought at the end. Users who aren’t paying close enough attention may find themselves confused upon starting up the game.

Just like no outfit is complete without the right accessories, putting your best dressed foot forward requires attention to detail. Small issues such as inconsistent spacing are easy fixes that otherwise become an eyesore in need of a makeover.

Creative

Similar to their description, Project Makeover’s creatives do a great job of explaining the theme of the game - makeovers. However, the actual puzzle gameplay of the app is diminished and left to a single screenshot 5 spots from the front. Users expecting a makeover only game may find themselves disappointed upon download when they realize they have to make it past dozens of rounds of match 3 puzzles to complete a single makeover.

Project Makeover’s keyword rankings reflect their visible metadata and positioning in its creative with a good grasp on core “makeover” rankings such as:

  • “makeover games” - #1
  • “makeover apps” - #1
  • “makeover app” - #3
  • “fashion games” - #4
  • “makeovers” - #9
  • “makeup games” - #17
  • “dress up” - #17

Project Makeover has been able to secure some #1 keyword ranking positions, however on some of the secondary terms like “makeup games” and “dress up”, both ranking #17, there is room for improvement. Ideal keyword rankings are well-rounded and don’t focus on just a handful of keywords.

However, their keyword rankings tied to the themes of puzzles also reflect their lack in care in highlighting these aspects with rankings such as:

  • “matching games” - #102
  • “puzzle games” - #106
  • “match 3 games” - Not Ranked

Some additional keyword targeting is needed for these terms before they can be improved with creative optimization.

Through creative optimization, Project Makeover could work to push the needle on keyword rankings in the top 10 by improving their CTR (click-through rate) to bring these additional keywords up to par with their other top performing search terms.

Overall

Project Makeover definitely has a style all its own, and has established a strong presence - mainly driven by its continued paid marketing efforts. But when you remove the expensive user acquisition cosmetics, a few more applications of organic foundation could really bring the look together.

Want to learn more about App Store Optimization? Contact Gummicube and we’ll help get your strategy started.

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