Do Mobile Apps Need Optimization?
When we want our website or a page of the website to be higher in search queries, we start optimization so that this site or its page fully satisfies the algorithms of a particular search engine and, at the same time, attracts the attention of users. This is what sacramento SEO is all about. SEO specialists gather semantics and work with copywriters and designers to connect the different elements into one process.
However, mobile apps are a bit of a separate ecosystem. Developers don’t need to promote them on a search engine because there are other platforms. Instead, the central place where users go to find the app they want is the app store. This means that for an app to be noticeable among competitors, it needs to be optimized for the algorithms of the mobile app store – this is what mobile apps and ASO are about.
SEO vs. ASO
Let’s clearly distinguish between SEO and ASO to understand which of these promotions your mobile app actually needs.
Goals
SEO significantly increases visibility when searching for a relevant topic and attracts new potential customers to the website. Another conversion goal is to attract users who want to pay and are ready to buy.
ASO helps attract more visitors to the app page in the store and make them users.
Stages
SEO optimization starts with a preliminary audit and analysis, forming a semantic core, and query clustering. Then specialists include the site’s structure according to the requirements and conduct internal and external optimization to improve usability and conversion.
ASO also starts with an audit of the application and an analysis of the competition. Much attention is paid to the formation of a semantic core. At this stage, the optimization of the application starts to differ. First, specialists compile metadata and optimize icons, screenshots, and videos. They pay the utmost attention to optimizing the visual content. Next, they do A/B testing, localize the application, and deploy evaluations and reviews.
Thus, we can see that while the goals of SEO and ASO are in some ways the same, the methods of achieving them differ. We can conclude that it is precisely ASO optimization that is needed to promote mobile applications.
Mobile App and ASO Optimization Benefits
The visibility frequency of the app
Careful analysis of keywords and queries used by competitors allows the ASO specialist to find channels to attract live traffic to the mobile app. There are many paid and free tools for analysis and indexing. In addition, page optimization: titles, subheadings, and keywords can increase weight in the ranking, increase conversion rates and call to action. Finally, good app visibility, appearing in the top ten, gives the best chance that many users will come to the app, download it and use it.
Adjusting to market needs
Mobile apps have a kind of global nature; they are distributed worldwide. However, users in different countries, cultures, or religions may have different attitudes to the nature of the app. In the practice of mobile app development, it happens that, for example, an icon of an application that is popular in one area does not attract users on the other side of the world at all. ASO localization makes it possible to adapt the application to any market, to make the visuals and texts acceptable to each culture. In some cases, localization also makes it possible to increase the number of characters for keywords. Localization of the app contributes to the quick increase in new users.
Organic traffic growth
Since ASO optimization helps the app naturally climb in the rankings, traffic is directed organically, which increases the level of organic downloads made by live people on their own initiative. In addition, users who accessed the app page through a direct link or regular queries in the app store search rather than paid ads are more likely to use it frequently.
Low cost of promotion
ASO optimization reduces the cost of attracting an audience and, at the same time, increases the app’s revenue through a steady increase in downloads. It is a slightly longer process than a promotion with paid ads. ASO optimization can be done either by yourself or by paying a specialist. Therefore, it isn’t easy to name any figure compared to advertising. However, its results are more long-term.
Increase of loyal users
ASO optimization increases user loyalty and LTV because those who installed the app from organic search are more interested in its regular use. It ensures a high retention rate, as the share of returning users who installed the app through organic search is higher. Retention shows customers’ “return rate” to the app over a certain period after installation. This is one of the primary metrics of mobile marketing. In addition, retention shows whether there are problems with new user engagement, and ASO optimization increases these coefficients.
