When it comes to an online business, creating apps has become extremely popular and profitable. Which means you also see a lot of people calling themselves app marketing experts, with a lot of tips and strategies out there for the all important App Store Optimisation. This has become as important as regular search engine optimisation nowadays. However, many of these app store optimisation tricks aren’t all that great.
First, it’s important to understand that the most effective type of marketing for your app is going to be via marketing channels outside of the app stores themselves. This means things like traditional advertising, social media (both organic and paid ads), as well as PR and email marketing. An app development agency can advise on this.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work on ranking your app highly in the app store. It just means you need to diversify and not rely solely on this ranking to drive people to your app.
1. Update Your App Frequently
Just like the traditional search engines, the app stores want fresh, new content. If your app does not get updated on a regular basis, newer additions to the store will be ranked higher. One great idea regarding updates is to make smaller, more frequent ones instead of waiting months (or years) to make large updates. This means updates as simple as a tweak to the graphics or even some simple word changes to the text. Google, with its Android store, and Apple both like to see frequent app updates.
This also has one other cool boost for you. App users get notified whenever there is an update. It’s almost like an advertisement for your app. It can also get people who may not be using it to finally try it or start using it again. The app stores take usage into consideration when ranking apps.
2. Always Ask for Feedback
Your most important marketing channel is your current users. Always be sure to ask them for reviews. Not right away, of course. They can’t review something they just downloaded a few minutes ago. Give them a few days, but definitely ask. The number of reviews and the quality both help with App Store Optimisation.
3. Interact with Users
You should respond to every review given to your app. As of now, both Google and Apple allow this and both reward this interaction with your customer base. But don’t just do this to boost your rankings, do it to create a better bond with your users, whose word of mouth can help grow your business. Apple and Google want to see app developers create a good user experience. You should want that as well. It’s a win win.
4. First Impressions Are Really Important
That first month in the app store really matters. Do not add your app until you’re really ready to make a marketing push. If you add it to the store and it sits there for a month with a handful of users, that’s not a good sign to Apple or Google.
You need to make a big push to market your app initially and get downloads and reviews. It’s also important to be customer driven and handle any negative feedback you receive during your initial launch. Fix problems and make updates right away. Help your unhappy customers and create regular updates and improvements.
5. Videos Matter to Rankings
The simple truth is apps with videos get more favourable treatment than apps without videos. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as straightforward as a screen recording that shows how the app is used.
6. The Description and Keywords Are Important
It may take some experimentation to get this right. Make changes to your keywords and descriptions to see if this helps boost your App Store Optimisation efforts. It might even be advantageous to change the category. Interestingly, Google even allows you to use two versions at the same time so you can see which listing gets better results. This is really powerful and you need to use it.
7. A Web Page Won’t Matter
There is no data to show that having a web page for your app will do anything for your App Store Optimisation. Now, there may be plenty of other reasons to have a web page dedicated to your app. It could be a marketing campaign to build an email list of potential customers. However, in terms of your app store rankings, it’s not going to matter.
8. Reviews Must Be Real
It’s tempting to game the review system. Don’t do it. Fake reviews are not worth the consequences. Companies like Apple, Google and Amazon are dedicated to protecting the review and rating systems they have in place. After all, it’s really bad for their business if people don’t trust the reviews.
Get your reviews the old fashioned way. Earn them.
