Optimizing Your App Using Sensor Tower’s ASO Playbook

Using the methodology from Sensor Tower’s first-ever App Store Optimization (ASO) Playbook, available now, we previously covered what ASO is, why it’s important, and how we can find and select successful keywords. Now, it’s the time to take a look at how  you might implement a keyword set to optimize your app on the App Store and Google Play.

As we introduced in the previous blog post, ASO mainly focuses on two pillars: Keyword Optimization and Conversion Rate Optimization. In this post, we’ll focus on the second pillar, briefly discussing the steps to increase your conversion rate. To learn more about these strategies, download the full version of the Playbook for FREE now for a deep dive into ASO.

How to optimize an app for the App Store? 

Before we start, we’d like to emphasize that Apple’s App Store has significantly different rules from Google Play on the kind of assets you can upload and the regulation of the product page. On the App Store, developers have control over their Icon, App Name, Subtitle, Category, and Screenshots. Other key metrics like Ratings, Category Ranking, and Editor’s Choice Badge are displayed to users as well.

Each app has 30 characters for Title or App Name, 30 characters for the Subtitle, and a 100-character Keyword List or Keyword String that’s invisible to users. All these elements act as key factors in an app’s organic growth efforts. Along with the words used in the Title and Subtitle, Apple mixes and matches these words to determine all the keywords relevant to your app. The Keyword String uses single words separated by a comma, and should have no duplicates of the words that appear in the Title and the Subtitle.

How to optimize an app for Google Play?

On the Google Play Store, developers have control over their Icon, Title or App Name, Subtitle, Category, and Screenshots. Similar to the App Store,  key metrics like Ratings, Category Ranking, and Editor’s Choice Badge are also displayed to users. However, on Google Play, each app has 30 characters for the App Name, 80 characters for the Short Description, and 4,000 characters for the Long Description. All of these elements act as key factors in an app’s organic growth efforts.

In the Google Play Store, the Title has the greatest value, followed by the Short Description, and then the Long Description. Your most important keywords absolutely need to be included in the title, with the second-most important keywords should appear in the short description. 

Pay attention to the spelling and grammar, and experiment with several synonyms for your top keywords. The algorithms on Google Play are able to map the words you are using and find other words or synonyms that are closely related to them. This semantic map is used by Google to determine the keyword relevancy.  Unlike the App Store, you can repeat keywords several times in the long description for Google Play.

Why are app screenshots important and how can they be optimized?

Your app’s screenshots are another important component of the user's journey. These screenshots are what users rely on to learn important details about your app, such as its features, the benefits it offers, and so on. To optimize app screenshots, you need to focus on the first three images since most users will only see these before they decide to turn to the next app.

As many users rely on others' opinions to make decisions, social proof plays an important role in establishing trust (e.g. the number of downloads, positive reviews, etc). A call-to-action (CTA) is also a great way to encourage users to download your app.

If your app is on the global market, it’s essential to localize the screenshots for local audiences. Localization is not just about translation; it should also help your app fit local cultural expectations. You can leverage Sensor Tower’s Internationalization module to optimize your app’s screenshots for overseas market. Check out a great example of how Booking.com approached their localization in the full version of our ASO Playbook.

Doing competitive research and analysis is always a good step toward optimizing your screenshots. Conducting an A/B test is not only used for optimizing the keyword sets, but also for screenshots. You can A/B test through the Store Listing Experiment on Google Play, and through Product Page Optimization on the App Store.

There are tons of other elements you should take into account to optimize your conversion rate, such as your app icon, images, preview videos, and more. For a deep dive into case studies and further ASO strategies, download the full ASO Playbook by Sensor Tower for free below: