One of the fastest growing spaces for digital marketing in Singapore is mobile applications. In about ten years, the space has grown into a multi-billion sector. In 2016, it was estimated that about 224.8 billion applications were downloaded. The figure went up with a huge margin in the subsequent year to reach 270 billion downloads. Despite this immense growth that is expected to continue on an upward trend at a rate of 29.8%, it is interesting to realize that ASO (App Store Optimization) has been relegated to the back seat in most companies.
What is App Store Optimization?
ASO, also referred as Mobile applications SEO, is optimizing mobile apps for higher ranking in app stores related search results. It has become very important today because over 50% of applications are discovered through searches on app stores. Here are some of the main benefits of ASO.
- Increasing the apps downloads.
- Better brand exposure.
- Improved community engagement.
- Positive reviews and rating from users.
- A good strategy to diversify your brand marketing.
Before diving into the best ASO strategies, it is important to understand that the apps market is dominated by two players; Apple and Android. The two giants control 51% and 40% of the global applications respectively. Other players include Blackberry with 4.8%, Microsoft with 3.0% and Symbian with 0.4%. What this implies is that unlike the conventional SEO Singapore, ASO requires marketers to go beyond Google. The following are the top tricks that you should use for ASO.
Start by Understanding The Target Niche / Consumers
Like the standard SEO, the first step should be to understand the target market and competition. This will help you to come-up with services and products that match what your clients want. You will also know what the competitors are doing and create better strategies. Here is what you need to do to know the industry and competitors.
- Identify the language used by the target audience.
- Establish how the target niche describes your business app.
- Look for the keywords that are used by competitors
- Put yourself in the situation of the target industry.
Ensure to Select The Right App Title
The app title is a very important branding component. It also helps to strengthen the app value and differentiating it from others in the same store. To ensure the title works better for you, it is very important to include relevant keywords, keep it short, and catchy. You should target to win the clients’ attention to the application the moment they first set their eyes on the name.
Maximize Use of Application Keywords
Like in the standard SEO, the keywords are very important even in ASO because they will enhance discoverability. In Google Play, there are no specific scans and tags when the bots visit and scrawl the application. It is advisable to target using the keywords approximately 5 times for higher ranking.
In the App Store, the marketer is provided with a 100-character field. The store utilizes the titles and marketers should factor all the keywords and keyword phrases. Remember to comprehensively research the keywords before using them.
The Final Take
As more businesses take to apps to promote engagement and conversion, ASO will become even more important. You need to get it right by applying the outlined three tricks appropriately. In addition to the outlined three tactics, you should also do the following;
- Extend ASO marketing to social media.
- Localize the app listing.
- Use enthralling description.
- Employ videos to drive conversions.
- Use screenshots to show how the app works.
