A good mobile app developer can tell you that it’s never been more important to have an effective mobile app SEO & ASO strategy, especially if you want to boost your app downloads and user engagement. In fact, these two strategies are the most important factors in the success of any mobile app. So what are they? And how do you use them? Let’s take a look at why SEO & ASO are so important and how you can get them to work for your app marketing campaign.
Most Important Aspects
Before you rush out and hire a mobile app development company or developer, it’s best to have some idea of what you’re looking for. This is where a well-researched app requirement comes in handy; it will help avoid miscommunications and ensure that your requirements are being delivered on. Here are 10 important aspects to consider when working with mobile app developers:
Budget and ROI: A lot of people overlook budget when they think about hiring mobile app developers, but it’s one of the most important factors to consider. If you don’t set a budget before beginning your search, then how can you know if an offer is too good to be true? Mobile apps cost money (duh), so make sure you know how much money you want to spend on developing an app before hiring someone. You should also think about how much revenue an app can generate—and whether there’s enough projected profit margin—before signing off on an agreement with any mobile application developers. Mobile applications are becoming more ubiquitous by the day, which means that more businesses are looking for ways to incorporate them into their marketing strategy. Mobile apps have become increasingly popular as time goes on, but not all mobile app development companies are created equal.
Hiring a mobile app developer or company without doing proper research beforehand can lead to disastrous results—like paying tens of thousands of dollars for an unusable or mediocre product. This is why it’s critical that you do your homework first; only hire mobile app developers who specialize in creating high-quality products that will bring value to your business and its customers. Mobile application development isn’t just about building something pretty; it’s about building something useful and worthwhile, which takes skill and experience.
Keyword Optimization
Many top app companies also offer mobile app development, which means they can optimize an app’s design and content from scratch. Savvy developers take advantage of Google Play Store search optimization (ASO) methods, like keyword optimization and marketing. This helps draw in relevant audiences that are searching for specific apps and helps developers rank higher on search results. Most mobile app companies use tools like MoPub or OneX Channels to help increase exposure by targeting ads based on geo-location, language, demographics and more.
Mobile App Description Optimization
Mobile app development companies that have focused their efforts on quality mobile app descriptions are seeing impressive results. In fact, a recent report shows that out of 1,000 consumer reviews, a solid 67% said they discovered a new brand based on app store search results and product page details. That’s why it’s essential for mobile app developers to pay attention to all aspects of optimization. From mobile app description optimization to mobile app keyword research, there are many different ways in which your company can build strong visibility for your mobile apps. Let’s take a look at how mobile app description optimization can help boost downloads: Mobile App Description Optimization: The Importance of Mobile App SEO & ASO – A Step-by-Step Guide
Long Tail Keywords
While researching mobile app keywords, you will want to make sure that you are targeting long tail keywords. Long tail keywords tend to have higher search volume because they are more specific than broad-based general keyword phrases. For example, if your business is a mobile app development company and you were looking for a place to get lunch in San Francisco, your first thought might be where can I get some good sushi? This would be considered a short tail keyword phrase. If you were looking for a place to get lunch near your office in San Francisco and wanted somewhere that had free wifi so you could continue working while eating lunch, then sushi restaurant with free wifi near 16th and Valencia would be considered a long tail keyword phrase. Not only does it include an additional term (free wifi), but it also includes additional location information (near 16th and Valencia).
Meta Tags Optimization
To ensure your mobile app is discovered by users, you need effective meta tags optimization. Although it has been said that meta tags are no longer important in 2017 and beyond, they’re still very much a part of Google’s search engine ranking algorithm (aka SERP). So if you want to rank at all in mobile search, learn how to make mobile app meta tags work for you. You may not see them as an essential part of your mobile marketing strategy now, but just wait until you start to gain traction! When users begin downloading your app because they found it through organic search, those are called organic downloads. And organic downloads mean free downloads! That’s right—if someone finds your app on their own and doesn’t have to pay for it, then 100% of those installs will be free! This is why having good mobile app meta tags is so critical—it gives Google a reason to display your page in its results. If Google can’t find anything useful on your page or feels like there’s not enough information about what your app does, then it won’t include you in its results.
Category Optimization
When it comes to mobile, app stores are incredibly competitive. Optimizing your app for a target category on Google Play or Apple’s App Store will help your listing rise in search results and make it easier for users to find you. Additionally, optimizing your category helps prevent other companies from competing against you when they use keywords that don’t match their overall app store presence. This is especially important if you have a popular brand name that can be used by competitors to create apps with similar names. For example, if you own a company called Toys R Us and someone else creates an app with similar branding (such as Toys 4 Us), your app may get lost in search results because many people will be searching for Toys R Us. In order to avoid losing potential downloads, it would be wise to optimize your app for searches related to toys rather than just using your brand name as part of your keyword strategy. Keep in mind that different countries have different ways of categorizing apps so don’t forget about local optimization either!
Title Tag Optimization
If you don’t title tag optimization, search engines will ignore your web page. Your mobile app’s primary goal is to boost app downloads, but how do you get users to find and download your app? If you want to boost downloads, then optimizing your meta title tags will help. Title tags are an essential part of any SEO strategy because they tell Google what your website or webpage is about. Optimizing these titles can lead to more organic traffic from search engines like Google and Bing. When it comes to boosting app downloads, a well-optimized title tag can be one of your best tools in achieving that goal. In fact, a recent study showed that 73% of people won’t click on a result if its title doesn’t match their query.
URL Path Analysis
Evaluating your app’s URL path is a great way to understand how users are accessing your content. Take a look at your app’s marketing and ensure you have an optimized landing page that highlights what users want and need most when they are searching for mobile apps. After all, if they search for book hotels or check flight status, then your app will be useless if it doesn’t provide information on travel booking.
Website Speed Optimization
Once your app is live, it’s essential that your site is fast, because speed has a direct impact on your user experience. If a page takes too long to load, your visitors will leave. Also, Google rates sites with faster load times as more usable and trustworthy in its rankings, so there’s no question that website speed optimization is important for search engine optimization. One way you can increase web page performance is by following all best practices outlined in Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool and optimizing graphics on your pages.
Website Redesign
One of the easiest ways to improve your website’s performance is by performing a comprehensive redesign. Your current website might have been created without any thought towards user experience, or it may be outdated and not responsive enough for mobile viewing. Whatever your reason, there are so many benefits that can come from developing a new site design: cleaner pages, faster load times, a new look, and better placement in search engine results. Read on for our mobile app marketing recommendations on how to perform your next successful website redesign.
Mobile Friendly Status Verification
Your mobile website’s status will be verified and changed from not verified to verified if you successfully complete these two steps. If your mobile site doesn’t pass verification, it will show up as not verified on search engine results pages (SERPs) in Google, Yahoo and Bing. In addition, if your site isn’t setup properly for mobile traffic, it can actually hurt your rankings. Once a website is verified, Google treats its desktop and mobile versions as separate entities when looking at ranking factors. If your desktop version is not configured properly or not found on SERPs when searching from a mobile device, Google considers your entire site to be un-optimized for mobile traffic and penalizes you for it.
Conclusion
Optimizing your app for organic search is a crucial aspect in boosting its downloads and ultimately, revenue. By using search engine optimization (SEO) tactics, you’ll be able to rank higher on search engines, drive more traffic to your app, and boost its visibility. Ultimately, if you want to make money from your app, then it’s important that you optimize it for both paid and organic search. If done correctly, your efforts will pay off with significant increases in downloads. In fact, a recent study found that up to 80% of all mobile searches result in an action within one hour! That means mobile users are searching for apps as well as products and services related to their searches—and they’re doing so via their mobile devices! So if you don’t optimize your app for SEO, then you’re missing out on some serious opportunities.
