The number of mobile applications is growing at an incredible pace, which means an incredible competition in the App Store and Play Market. To stand out among competitors, your application must be bright, and this is possible thanks to the correct ASO. In this article, we will discuss the importance of ASO audit and why it is necessary for your mobile application.
What Is ASO?
ASO is the process of optimizing applications in mobile stores to improve their visibility and attract more users.
ASO is used by companies of any size and from any niche, as long as they have mobile applications. This can be large corporations with numerous applications or small startups that are just starting their business. In particular, ASO helps application developers increase the number of downloads and attract new users, ensuring greater competitiveness and visibility of their applications on the mobile application market.
Also, most well-known brands and companies include ASO in their mobile app marketing strategies to attract more users and increase revenue from app sales.
What Is ASO Audit?
One of the key components is the ASO audit of the application, because before improving anything, you need to determine what and how exactly needs to be improved.
ASO audit is an evaluation of all aspects of optimization, including indexing in the app store, analysis of metadata, and evaluation of the visual part.
ASO Audit Components
Now we will examine in detail the two main components of ASO audit that help ensure the success of a mobile application in app stores.
- Text optimization, which includes keyword analysis and optimization of the application’s metadata.
- Graphic optimization involves evaluating the visual attractiveness of the application and its design elements.
Both components are interrelated and essential for ensuring the success of the application in app stores. During the audit, we thoroughly evaluate all aspects of each component to help the application achieve a proper place in the app store rankings and attract more users.
Text ASO Optimization
Indexing the app in the store helps users find it through search queries. Auditing this component involves analyzing metadata – reviewing keywords and app descriptions to ensure they are optimized for search and ranking improvement.
Optimizing text for Google Play and the App Store requires different approaches since each store has its own ranking and search algorithms that consider various factors. For example, Google Play evaluates keywords in the description, while the App Store does not focus on the full description but has a separate field for keywords.
It’s important to distinguish the features of individual stores, understand their peculiarities and recommendations for optimizing text, and consider them when creating and optimizing app metadata.
Google Play
Google Play has three important text fields that help optimize the app for user search queries:
- App Title, which includes the app name and several keywords.
- Short Description, which consists of 60 characters and is used to describe the unique selling proposition or slogan.
- Long Description, which contains 4000 characters and allows for a detailed description of the app’s features, benefits, and unique functions.
It’s important to note that app descriptions for Google Play differ from those for the App Store, so it’s necessary to carefully work on each text field to ensure maximum optimization for user search queries.
App Store
Optimizing in the App Store is different from fields in the Play Market. The following fields are important here:
- App Name (App Store) — this is a text field limited to 30 characters, used for the app name. The most important keywords that briefly describe the app can be used here.
- App Subtitle (App Store) — this 30-character field serves as an equivalent of the “short description” in Google Play. In this field, developers can enter a unique selling proposition or slogan that contains keywords. Using the right keywords in the subtitle can help improve the app’s ranking in search queries.
- Keywords (App Store) — this is a service field of 100 characters. Words are written through commas without spaces, and this service field is not visible to users, but is taken into account by the App Store search system. It is important to carefully select keywords and phrases that best describe your app and its functionality to provide more accurate search and increase your app’s visibility in the store.
We conducted an ASO audit for a fintech client and talked about this process and its results in the case study: “ASO Audit: Be Sure to Check These Fields“.
Graphic Optimization
Graphic optimization is also extremely important. Potential users quickly view icons and screenshots to determine whether the app is worth downloading. The visual should be clear, attractive, and consistent with the brand. To make graphic elements effective, they must be optimized and comply with app store standards.
- Icon — this is the first element that the user sees when searching for an app. It should be clear and distinct from other icons to attract the user’s attention.
- Promo banner — this large image can be used to display on the front page of the App Store or Google Play. It can be a photo or illustration that attracts the user’s attention and displays the main features and benefits.
- Screenshots — these images demonstrate to users the app’s features and capabilities. Screenshots should be of high quality and highly informative to attract and convince users to download the app.
- Video — the video demonstrates to users how the app works and what features it has. The video should be short and informative to interest users and show the advantages.
Working With Feedback, UCG
Another important aspect of promoting an app is its rating and reviews. No matter how great the app description is, if users are dissatisfied, it will be detrimental to its promotion. Therefore, it is important to work on the rating.
Of course, some shady niches can afford to inflate positive ratings, but such a tactic is not suitable for stable companies focused on improving their product.
Positive reviews can help increase the number of downloads, while negative ones can affect its reputation and position in the rankings. Therefore, it is important to encourage users to leave reviews and respond to them quickly and effectively. In addition, reviews may also contain keywords that help with search engine optimization. Therefore, collecting and analyzing user feedback is an important component of a successful ASO strategy.
Who Needs an ASO Audit?
The main goal of an ASO audit is to check how well an app performs in search queries and whether it has the necessary number of installs. The audit also helps to identify errors that can lower ASO metrics, such as keyword errors, ineffective app description, poor icon, screenshots or videos. In addition, an ASO audit helps companies see what their competitors are doing, what keywords they use, how they describe their apps, what screenshots and videos they use, and how they interact with their users.
Companies need regular ASO audits to ensure that their apps are working as effectively as possible and finding their users. If a company has not had an audit before, it becomes even more necessary. Another situation when a professional perspective may be needed is with sharp changes. If a company fundamentally changes the functionality of the app, changes the monetization model, or implements other changes. If something goes wrong after this, or growth does not meet expectations, an ASO audit should be sought.
Conclusions
- In today’s mobile industry, competition is increasing every day, making ASO an important tool for app development and promotion. ASO helps increase app visibility in mobile stores and improve download metrics. However, to achieve maximum effectiveness, it is necessary to regularly check the results of your ASO strategy.
- ASO audit is an important component of app management. This process helps identify weaknesses in the ASO strategy, identify problems and errors that prevent maximum effectiveness. An ASO audit can help companies improve app ratings, increase conversions, and increase downloads.
- Companies need regular ASO audits to ensure that their apps are effectively promoted in mobile stores and maintain their positions in the market. If they have not had an audit before, it is necessary to identify potential problems and errors that may reduce the effectiveness of their ASO strategy. In addition, if problems arise during the app promotion process, an audit can help quickly identify them and take necessary actions.
- In summary, an ASO audit is an integral part of the app promotion strategy in mobile stores. It helps identify problems and errors in the ASO strategy, providing increased app visibility.
