If you use SEO on your website, you have to use ASO on your app. ASO is called the SEO of apps. It is a very accurate definition, because just as we position our website and take care of it so that it is maintained, we should do the same with our mobile app. Don't you think?
ASO: The SEO of apps
SEO, as we already know, is a series of content optimisation strategies that aim to improve our position in search engines (mainly Google), for certain search terms, in order to increase traffic to our website.
Therefore, the strategies we use to position our website will be SEO techniques that not only manage to direct more traffic to our website, but also improve other features. Some of these features may be: improving the design of our website to make it more attractive to the user, improving the keywords we use to refer to our content on the web, etc. In short, SEO positioning offers our website many advantages that go beyond finding us in the first position when someone searches for terms related to our website on Google.
On the other hand, ASO is the same but related to the positioning of mobile applications in app shops such as App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android). With 9 million mobile applications in Google Play and 2.5 million in App Store, it is very convenient for businesses to have a competent App Store Optimisation (ASO) strategy to place their apps at the top of the mobile app shops.
Therefore, ASO is the process of optimising an app so that it appears among the first results when a user searches the app shops.
ASO positioning factors
When it comes to ASO positioning for our apps, we must take into account a series of factors that we must work on in order to carry out a good optimisation. There are two types of factors that include the different categories of the app that we can optimise.
On-Metadata ASO factors: As in SEO positioning, there are internal and external aspects that will influence our positioning. As for the internal (on-metadata) we can find the following:
- The name of the app: In addition to being eye-catching, it must contain the main words by which we want to be found by users.
- Description: The description of an app, in the case of Google Play, must include keywords (without reaching spam) and, in the case of Apple, it must be used as a marketing weapon to captivate users.
- Keywords: These are the keywords that we must include in our app and that will help users to find us when they search for related content.
- Icon: The icon does not directly affect the ASO. However, it is essential to attract the attention of users. It is usually the first thing they notice. And if users do not find it attractive, they will not choose our app.
- Screenshots: As with the icon, the screenshots chosen for an app's page will not make it rank better, but a good selection of screenshots will make users feel attracted to install it. Screenshots are the images that show us what the app will look like before downloading it from the app shop.
ASO Off-Metadata Factors: The ASO off factors are those that, without depending directly on our app, will also influence its positioning. They are those that depend on the user's interaction with our app. For example:
- Installations: The more installations and the faster we get them, the better positioned the app will be. There are different ways to get installations: own channels, press releases, reviews on websites or blogs, app marketing campaigns, advertising campaigns on our social networks, etc.
- Uninstallations: Just as it is good for a user to install our app, it will be negative for our ASO if they delete it. If an app has a high uninstallation rate, mobile app shops will not position it as high. The same will happen if we have very negative ratings.
4 inbound marketing steps to position a mobile app
Now that we know the factors we can work on for our positioning, we can start working on the ASO or, in other words, on the positioning and optimisation of our app.
Positioning our app following an inbound marketing strategy will be very beneficial for our brand. As we already know, inbound marketing makes customers feel attracted and interested in our brand. To do so, we follow four fundamental steps:
- Attract: The first step in any inbound marketing strategy is to attract users so that they end up becoming customers in the long term. In this first step we must focus our attention on ASO on-metadata factors. That is, we must choose a good icon and a good title for our app and establish the use of good keywords that help users to find us. It is important that we use keywords related to our work and the sector in which we operate.
- convert: Once we have managed to attract visitors to our app it is time to work to convert them into customers. But for this we must know their data in a non-intrusive way to start a first contact with them. We can create forms to be filled within the web itself in which we include your email and your name to start designing our buyer personas.
- Close: Once we have the leads we have to take care of them so that they become committed users with our brand. To do this you can use push messages and leave aside the typical welcome messages. Developing a segmented strategy to know when to send the messages will make the recruitment process easier.
- Enchant: The process does not end when we have the customer in our hands. The process continues as we have to pamper this user. How? By monitoring everything they do and continuously optimising the contents and processes of our mobile application. Applications, like websites, are our showcase and therefore must change and evolve to adapt to the tastes of the consumer.
To find out what things we can improve in our application we can launch periodic surveys. In this way the user will feel that they can be part of the project and we will be able to improve our app. The best thing about this is that both parties will come out winning.
These are the four main steps of inbound marketing. However, you must be constant and work on each one of them to get engaged users. Dedication and perseverance are the keys to success and it would not be less with your mobile app. Are you ready to start working on the ASO positioning of your app?
