8 tips to leverage your SEO research skills

App retailer optimization (ASO) is a little bit of a thriller for a lot of SEOs. So, let’s begin with the fundamentals. 

Whereas search engine marketing is geared towards bettering web site rankings on search engines like google and yahoo like Google,

ASO focuses on optimizing cellular apps for stronger visibility and efficiency throughout the Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer. 

However there’s loads of analysis and technique that SEOs can carry from natural search into ASO marketing campaign analysis. 

By understanding how some vital search engine marketing analysis parts translate into ASO planning – and implementing them successfully into your app technique – you’ll be able to enhance your possibilities of reaching stronger app retailer visibility, stronger app visibility on Google and elevated downloads.

Some SEOs put natural search into two easy buckets: on- and off-page search engine marketing. I’m going to do one thing comparable and break down my search engine marketing and ASO synergy ideas into two completely different areas of alternative:

• App touchdown pages: The web page in your web site devoted to that includes your app.
• Retailer itemizing pages: Your Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer listings.

Uncover methods to leverage your strategic search engine marketing pondering and analysis expertise for ASO under.

App touchdown pages

We’re all accustomed to touchdown pages and their significance in natural search.

Nonetheless, many manufacturers underestimate the significance of devoted touchdown pages for his or her app in the case of ASO. They merely add Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer buttons to pages throughout their web site. These manufacturers miss out on the advantages of making a devoted app touchdown web page. 

Let’s take a look at 4 the reason why creating an app touchdown web page is necessary and the right way to use your search engine marketing expertise to maximise your ASO success and learnings.

1. Spotlight your worth proposition

Even in case you’re an app-based enterprise, your web site is an important contact level in your buyer’s journey. It’s a possibility to have a devoted place for web site customers to find your app, study its options and worth and simply obtain it. 

Listed here are just a few examples from Vrbo, KAYAK and SoFi the place they spotlight the advantages of utilizing their apps:

Your web site can also be an awesome place to spotlight some curated social proofing, resembling app awards, evaluations and testimonials. That is an important technique in right now’s E-E-A-T-based search world.

Right here’s an instance from Financial institution of America, which has a well-executed app touchdown web page:

Right here’s one other instance from Priceline:

2. Check and be taught

Leverage your app touchdown web page to run checks and collect useful knowledge.

How?

Make function descriptions clickable so you’ll be able to observe clicks or use heatmapping software program like CrazyEgg or Hotjar to grasp which options viewers are most thinking about.

You can too A/B check touchdown web page copy and layouts and use these textual content and artistic insights to tell your app retailer metadata and app artistic.

3. Personal your branded SERP outcomes

An app touchdown web page offers you one other owned asset that may take up invaluable SERP actual property for branded queries. 

For instance, there’s a transparent distinction between SERP actual property for manufacturers like Centr and Tone It Up (which wouldn’t have an app touchdown web page) and Peloton (which does).

For the queries “Centr app” and “Tone It Up app,” Centr and Tone It Up at the moment solely personal natural positions 1-4 with their owned properties, whereas Peloton owns positions 1-5 for “Peloton app” with the fifth web site rating being their app touchdown web page.

Why does this matter? In the event you open the fifth rating outcome for the question “Centr app,” which is Reddit, one of many first belongings you see is a unfavourable assessment:

Maybe if Centr had a devoted app touchdown web page, they might outrank the unfavourable press they’re getting on Reddit.

4. Inside linking

Inside linking is without doubt one of the only and under-appreciated search engine marketing ways. It’s low elevate, simple to implement and we sometimes see nice outcomes from inner linking at our company. 

That’s why it’s additionally a tactic you need to use to spice up your ASO campaigns and app web page authority. 

In order for you your app to construct authority and visibility for aggressive non-branded phrases, internally linking to your app touchdown web page is a good way to assist construct these alerts. 

Right here’s an instance of this on Western Union’s weblog:

This technique helps construct topical authority for Western Union’s app throughout the aggressive cash switch house. 

App itemizing pages

App itemizing pages show every app’s options and different data as you browse the Apple App Retailer and Google Play Retailer. These pages are much more necessary to your ASO technique than your app touchdown web page, as their contents instantly impression your app retailer rankings. They’re what a potential buyer will see earlier than clicking to obtain your app.

They include a number of key parts, like rankings and person evaluations, previews of what your app seems like and your app’s metadata. Let’s take a look at 4 methods your search engine marketing expertise can maximize your app itemizing web page’s efficiency.

5. Analysis and aggressive evaluation

Instruments like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs and Semrush are helpful on your ASO technique, identical to search engine marketing. These platforms may also help you examine natural site visitors, key phrases in your Apple App Retailer itemizing pages and backlinks to your Google Play retailer itemizing.

For instance, listed here are the overview stats from Ubersuggest for Western Union’s Apple App Retailer itemizing web page:

Listed here are the identical stats for a competitor, Clever, proven on Semrush:

Why is that this data useful?

It offers you the info you want to perceive how your app itemizing pages are acting on Google vs. competing apps so you’ll be able to alter your technique if essential.

Whether or not you’re engaged on an search engine marketing or ASO marketing campaign, it’s at all times vital to keep watch over rivals to grasp the way you’re stacking up, what benefits you’ve (and wish to preserve) and the place your alternatives lie. 

6. Apple App Retailer hidden key phrases

How folks discover your Apple App Retailer web page through Google search may also help inform how they discover your app instantly by looking out within the retailer. An ASO supervisor who additionally is aware of the right way to faucet into search engine marketing analysis to tell iOS hidden key phrase concentrating on is a a lot stronger asset to your marketing campaign.

App downloads might come principally from branded queries for a number of manufacturers, however that doesn’t imply there’s a scarcity of alternative to drive extra app visibility and downloads from non-branded key phrases.

Right here’s a case examine from our company the place we lifted non-branded key phrase site visitors and boosted installs by 57%:

The 57% improve our shopper noticed for non-branded app downloads got here from a method rooted in search engine marketing ideas. A lot of the marketing campaign’s ASO key phrase concepts got here from the shopper’s web site, together with their app touchdown web page.

Specializing in fundamental data and methods like keyword-level knowledge and metadata restructuring enabled success in a extremely aggressive atmosphere. 

7. ASO meta optimization

Discovering key phrases the place your rivals have stronger visibility additionally offers you loads of consideration for optimizing your ASO metadata throughout the Apple App and Google Play shops. 

For instance, you see under that Remitly’s App Retailer itemizing is rating #1 on Google for “wire switch app,” whereas Western Union is rating quantity 10.

When taking a look at every of their listings, you’ll be able to see Remitly makes use of “wire” of their App Retailer description, whereas Western Union doesn’t.

Remitly:

Western Union:

Just like conventional search engine marketing, in order for you your retailer itemizing web page to rank properly on Google for sure phrases, you need to perceive what individuals are looking for and make sure the proper key phrases are built-in into your retailer itemizing metadata.

8. Backlinks

Whereas backlinks aren’t an element within the Apple App Retailer, they’re within the Google Play Retailer.

Conducting aggressive backlink analysis and discovering methods to achieve mentions throughout the online is a process you need to be doing for search engine marketing and ASO. 

Listed here are just a few tricks to get you began with backlinking technique.

Aggressive conquesting

An efficient aggressive conquesting technique begins by researching round-ups and listicle articles mentioning your trade’s apps.

Attempt to discover articles the place your app isn’t listed and pitch the creator why they need to embrace it and hyperlink to your app listings.

Once you attain out, you’ll present the identical data on your app in the identical format and with the identical particulars as the opposite apps within the article.

For instance, Centr’s health app isn’t listed within the Forbes roundup under. Reaching out to Forbes with details about the app’s value, whether or not it provides reside lessons, whether or not it has coronary heart charge monitoring, a listing of its greatest options and its general professionals and cons (the 5 key items of knowledge offered for the ten apps featured) makes it simple for Forbes so as to add them in. 

PR pitching

Taking the PR angle has the identical outcome as aggressive conquesting, besides you’re not making an attempt to get into current articles.

Your objective with PR pitching is to offer the newest details about your app for a journalist to incorporate in a brand new article.

As an alternative of concentrating on one of the best health apps, you might deal with completely different audiences or well timed use circumstances, resembling one of the best health apps for ladies or one of the best health apps for newcomers. With this strategy, you’re making a motive why a journalist would wish to write this story. 

Make sure to embrace knowledge on why the story is related now and pitch it just a few months forward of the theme. For instance, you might pitch your app as among the best health apps for ladies in March so a journalist has time to finalize their story earlier than Ladies’s Well being Month in Could.

Boards and discussions

Reply client questions associated to your app in discussion board communities like Quora and Reddit.

Hyperlink on to the place customers can discover your app within the app shops in your solutions. This helps customers with their direct questions and will increase the app’s probability of rating within the boards and discussions featured inside Google SERPs.

Harness search engine marketing fundamentals to spice up your app downloads

Whereas ASO is kind of a special follow than search engine marketing, many ideas apply to each disciplines. In the event you’re struggling to spice up your app’s efficiency, taking issues again to fundamentals could also be a good suggestion.

Strategy your app retailer itemizing pages and touchdown web page from an search engine marketing perspective and enhance their elementary elements like key phrase optimization.

Couple this along with your different sound ASO ways and chances are you’ll be stunned by your new obtain numbers.