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App Store Optimization (ASO) in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Terms

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App Masters13:45Open on YouTube
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The bottom line

Each part of SEO has a match in app store optimization: the app name works like the title tag, the subtitle like the h1, descriptions like page content, ratings like backlinks and cross promotion like internal links. Anyone who knows SEO can apply it to apps by putting the right keywords in the right fields and then winning on ratings.

Key takeaways

  • The app name carries the most ranking weight, so it holds the most important keywords. 0:41
    • Put the target keywords to the left of the brand name, such as meditation then calm, because that tends to rank better.
    • A new app should skip the most competitive keyword at first and add a less contested one to its name.
  • The subtitle or short description works like an h1 tag and has less weight than the name. 3:53
    • Repeat a keyword from the name and expand it, such as guided meditation after meditation.
    • Google Play allows 80 characters and Apple allows 30, so Google Play has more room to repeat keywords.
  • Descriptions and the keyword field play the role of page content, and they differ by platform. 5:40
    • On Google Play the long description is indexed, so repeat the keywords you want to rank for.
    • On iOS the description shows no sign of being indexed, so the keyword field is the one to use, with no repeats.
  • Ratings and reviews act as backlinks and decide the ranking when the keywords are equal. 8:00
    • Google Play says it is starting to count backlinks, but ratings are less work and likely help more.
    • Ask for reviews early and often, as a tip jar does at checkout.
  • Cross promotion keeps users in your own ecosystem, as cross links do on a website. 10:01
    • Use a strong app to promote your other apps and your web services, such as a Shopify site.
    • Collecting emails lets you re-engage users and build retargeting or look-alike audiences.

When all the optimizations are equal, guess what's going to get you above your competition. It's when you have a lot of ratings and a lot of reviews too.

Steve P. Young, App Masters

Chapter summaries

0:00 The app name is the title tag

Adding keywords to the app name is the app store version of writing a title tag.

  • Adding keywords to the app name does not mean renaming the app. 1:56
    • It is like keeping your domain name and only changing what sits beside it.
    • On the web the pattern is "marketing agency - app masters".
    • Newer people often resist, saying they don't want to change the app name.
    • Nobody knows why keywords to the left of the brand rank better in the store. It only tends to work.
  • Choose name keywords by both relevance and traffic. 2:53
    • Meditation draws the most searches, ahead of calm and mindfulness.
    • The biggest keyword is also the most competitive one.
    • A new app can work on the other levers first, then go after the aggressive keyword.
    • The highest weight sits here, so the right words drive organic downloads.

3:45 The subtitle is the h1 tag

The subtitle backs up the name with repeated and wider keywords, at lower weight.

  • The subtitle plays the role of the h1 and helps the name. 3:53
    • On iOS it is the subtitle. On Google Play it is the short description.
    • On the web an h1 is used once or twice, such as "marketing agency specializing growth hacking".
    • Repeating name keywords is standard on Google Play and optional on iOS.
    • Aim for still high traffic but less competition, since this field ranks below the name.
    • Add lower traffic keywords too, so the app can still rank and get decent traffic.

5:38 Content expands, not repeats

On the web, content repeats title phrases, but in the app it widens the keywords already used.

  • In the app, the long description adds new keywords instead of repeating old ones. 6:05
    • Web content may echo phrases from the title and h1.
    • For "meditation and relaxation", skip meditation and add relaxation.
    • The goal is to build on what the name and subtitle already hold.
    • The phrases stay very relevant, like web content that supports the title.

6:53 Where each keyword goes

Keywords you are sure to rank for can sit in the keyword field, and Google Play's long description reads like a blog post.

  • Easy keywords belong in the keyword field, not the short description. 6:53
    • Mindfulness is the example: low competition and good traffic.
    • It will rank even with only a keyword field entry.
    • Such keywords usually have low competition and medium traffic scores.
    • This saves the short description for harder keywords.
  • Google Play's long description works like a blog post. 7:14
    • It repeats the keywords already in the name and subtitle.
    • On iOS you don't repeat them.
    • There are no signs the iOS description is indexed, but it may be worth testing step by step.
    • So iOS effort goes to the keyword field, and Google Play effort goes to the long description.

8:00 Ratings and cross promotion

Once the keywords are equal, ratings win, and cross promotion keeps users inside your own ecosystem.

  • Ratings are the easier stand-in for backlinks. 8:29
    • Many backlinks signal good content, so that site ranks higher for the keyword.
    • Earning backlinks is a lot of work.
    • iOS has a built-in review prompt. The speaker doesn't know of one for Google Play.
    • Don't feel bad asking. A good app deserves the request.
  • Cross promotion and email turn one app's traffic into other sales. 10:47
    • A strong app can promote complementary apps in the same portfolio.
    • Email is the biggest miss for app developers.
    • On the web, a post on app marketing mistakes links to another post to keep the reader.
    • A Hotel Tonight email asked if he was still looking at that hotel.

In the growth library

Steve P. Young, Founder of App Masters, an app marketing and ASO agency. Maps each SEO concept (title, h1 tags, content, backlinks, cross links) to its app store optimization equivalent so SEO people can place keywords correctly on iOS and Google Play. The practical payoff is a clear keyword placement plan plus a push on ratings and cross promotion that wins when all other optimization is equal.

More from App Masters · The whole library, and ask it anything

Transcript376 lines
0:00

shut up are you from the search engine optimization world but you're looking to get into App Store optimization well I'm gonna break down ASO into SEO terms so that you can finally get a grasp on how to optimize your apps for search stay tuned what is up app nation it is Steve P Jung founder of at masters comm the place we are the agency that is known for growth hacking apps in the App Store and helping clients get featured by Apple and getting them higher ranks and/or more organic downloads through ASO apps or optimization and we also have an academy so if you don't want to how look if you're not looking to hire an agency then you can learn our entire process through at masters Academy com so if you are looking to learn more go check out at masters calm but in this video I'm gonna share with you ASO versus SEO and I talk to a lot of people who have that digital marketing background from the SEO world but

1:10

they're kind of new to this ASO thing and looking to figure out like hey what does this mean what how do i optimize the keywords where do I put them well I'm gonna break it down all for you side by side so you can see SEO terms and how that translates into ASO apps or optimization okay so let's get into it well here is my beautiful infographic that breaks down SEO terms and how that translates into ASO and first off let's get into it with the title so this is what you guys are familiar with from the SEO terms you want great keywords to the left of your domain so it's usually at marketing agency - app masters right that's how we're gonna do it on the web but in the app store this is your app name so this is your app mean this is your app title and a lot of times when I talk to them some of the newer people they say hey I don't want to change my app name well I'm not changing your app name just like I wouldn't change your

2:05

domain name right all I'm doing is adding certain keywords to that app name and generally on the web we usually put the most preferred keywords onto the left and then leave our domain or brand name on to the right right because Google tends to rank that higher and same thing goes with the ESO so if you're trying to rank for meditation for example I might put meditation - calm rather than calm - meditation in the app store we really don't know why this is the case but generally we have our app name which is what we're calling our brand name - the words that we're targeting so generally it's actually better to flip it and have the keywords you're targeting to the left of your actual app name or slash brand name okay so what I generally do for this app name and title is have the most relevant keywords that have high traffic as well so meditation is probably give me the highest if I'm calm and mindfulness and so forth they're

3:05

gonna go down but most people are gonna be searching for meditation that's gonna be the highest ranked one it's obviously gonna be the most competitive as well so if I'm a brand new app and trying to get into the meditation space I might not target that particular keyword I might go focus on other things that I'm gonna share with you in this video first and then go after that more aggressive keywords if I'm a brand new app I try to find things that are a little bit less competition I put them into the app name I append it to my app name okay so app name where app title is what I'm calling it just like SEO it has the highest weight so you want your most relevant keywords there that will help you rank and drive more organic downloads all right let's move on into the next thing so h1 tags right these are generally what we try to use once or twice we don't want to overload it on the web we have h1 tags that sort of help the

3:56

app name so for targeting at marketing agency we might use an app in the h1 tag on the web we might put at marketing agency specializing growth hacking right that's gonna be part of our h1 tag because again we're trying to really put more emphasis on those keywords by using them in their app title in our title on the website oh and also in the h1 tags same thing goes with ASO so we have on the ASO side of things it's a subtitle or a short description on Google Play so on iOS it's going to be subtitle on Google Play it's gonna be short description and generally what I do is I might repeat certain keywords in there for that I have in the title and that tends to work but also I try to have more relevant keywords too so if there's certain phrases or like let's say meditation and guided meditation right I want that so I might have meditation in the app title and that might have guided meditation in the subtitle so I'm

4:51

expanding upon a phrase but I'm still having the keyword that I want from the app title so I'm sort of repeating but also expanding that's generally what I do and that's definitely what I do on Google Play side of things is I try to repeat whatever keywords I'm using in the app title because on Google Play you have a lot more room you have 80 characters whereas on Apple you have 30 characters and so I'm gonna focus on still high traffic keywords but with a little bit less competition because the weight and the priority list from a keyword rankings perspective is not as high as the app name so I'm gonna repeat whatever I said in the app name maybe on iOS definitely on Google Play but I'm also gonna focus on lower traffic keywords as well so that I can still have decent traffic on Google Play that I can still pretty much rank for so the next one is content okay this is where you're on the web you're

5:42

gonna expand on your title on your h1 tags you're gonna put different long phrases in there so you're just doing all the things that you can to help everything that you're already optimizing for so you might actually be starting on the website starting to repeat some of those phrases that you're already using in the title and in the h1 tags now on the app side of things on the mobile side of things you don't need to repeat anything so generally what I do is I expand on the keywords that I'm using already in the app name and in the subtitle so for instance if I'm using meditation I might have sub guided meditation in the subtitle a short description and the long description let's say the keyword phrase is meditation and relaxation right down targeting so I'm just gonna put I'm not gonna repeat meditation I'm gonna put I'm gonna put relaxation in there so I'm expanding generally what I'd use this

6:36

key word and long description phase in there which is very relevant to what the content side of the web is is try to expand on what I already have in the short in the sub title and short description and in the app name and app title and these are key words I generally have lower competition but medium traffic scores so let's say there was mindfulness for example that I found that had lower competition and really good traffic still that is a keyword that I might use in the keyword field rather than in the short description because I know I'm gonna rank for it even though I only have it in the keyword field now on the google play site it's gonna be in your long description so it is very similar to the content of a page like a blog post for instance it feels very similar because you're gonna have to repeat certain keywords that you really want to rank for you're gonna repeat certain keywords

7:30

that you already have in your app name and your subtitle but on the iOS side you don't have to repeat now iOS description I know this is a question I get asked a lot too we haven't seen signs that is being indexed it might be something that you might want to test you know I would take it step by step in tests a little bit more but from what we've seen right now and from what Apple has been reporting it's not really index so you on the iOS side you really want to focus on the keyword meta field and on the Google Play side you want to focus on the long description next up we have backlinks backlinks on the web side of things when the optimation is all good let's say we've both know all the SEO tricks we're both optimizing for it well backlinks now Google starts saying okay well which web page which website has a lot more backlinks because then they're saying okay well this website because of

8:19

all the backlinks it has higher priority like a lot of people are linking to it so must produce good content we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna rank it higher for this particular keyword because of all the backlinks now how does that translate to ASO is gonna be ratings and reviews I will say one thing that backlinks on Google Play Google Play does say that hey they're starting to incorporate backlinks to your Google Play listing but I'll tell you if you focus on ratings and reviews you're probably gonna rank better then if you just focus on getting more and more backlinks cuz if you're familiar with SEO it's a lot of work it's a lot of work to get all these backlinks so what I would focus on is making sure that you are regularly asking your users for reviews there that there's an iOS prompt that you can use on the google play side I don't know if there's a prompt that you can do definitely make sure you

9:05

you're asking your users and don't feel bad about it you built a really good app that you should be proud of so make sure if they're enjoying it ask them and don't wait too long to ask him ask them be a little bit more aggressive about it right just like the tip jar you see it right as you pay like it's right there do you want to leave a tip I'm kind of like alright throw a couple of dollars in there I always feel bad for not leaving a tip but that's sort of the mindset you need to have that you need to be front and center with asking for these ratings because from an ASO perspective you're gonna do the best like everybody knows the tricks hey let's have meditation the app title let's have meditation in the subtitle let's do this on the so when all the optimizations equal guess what's gonna get you above your competition it's when you have a lot of ratings you have a good a lot of reviews too and that's

9:51

gonna really really help you write better for your keywords and lastly I thought this was a point that I wanted to drive home with because I didn't want to give you just blanketed ASO advise cross links and when I say cross links on the website what you normally do is because you want to keep your users who came in through organic search on your website right that's gonna help out as well and you want to keep them on your website what you try to do is cross link to different sections of your website so you drove them in and to let's say app marketing mistakes you make when you're hiring a marketing agency that was the keyword that they came in through a search and then you have links on that blog post to like you know the best at marketing campaigns another blog post so you're keeping the user on to your website as long as possible and you're cross-linking different articles and different sections of your website on

10:42

the main on one of the pages so it's just linking to different pages so that they stay on your website well with cross promotion on the app side of things this is something that you should definitely be doing so if you have an app portfolio you should be and if there's one app that's driving a ton of downloads well you should be using that app to cross-promote to other apps because if they like one of your apps they're definitely gonna like the other ones that you've built especially if they're complementary but don't just stop there make sure you're promoting Web Services I've got a client that's promoting something on her Shopify site so we're using the app side of things to drive awareness to her other Shopify site right so don't forget about bringing them outside of that that's a great way of doing it and also email newsletters I think this is the biggest fail for app developers and something

11:31

that we do on the web very well we try to capture email addresses as much possible so it's another way to communicate I've got another video where I talk about Hotel tonight where I like the hotel and then suddenly I got an email saying hey are you still looking to stay at this hotel so it's another way of communication that one can bring users back into your app and make any type of conversion that you want but also to cross-promote other services that you have other websites other products anything else that you might have you know like don't forget to grab that email address because it is one of the best ways to communicate not just through push notifications but also bringing them back re-engaging with them and guess what the email provides us well retargeting or look-alike campaigns so all these are very beneficial when you're trying to want reengage your user or - trying to find users that are the

12:24

best users your best users so if you're looking to do a facebook look like campaign well those email addresses are gonna come in very handy so don't forget about that as well all right guys that's it simple tips simple terms that you might be already familiar with from the search engine optimization world broken down and translated into the world of apps so I hope that was useful for you if you are liking the content here make sure you hit subscribe because we're trying to really grow the channel and the more subscribers the more content that we can continually pump out for you guys and if you're looking to hire somebody to help you with your app marketing go check us out it is at masters com if you want to learn about us you don't have a lot of money to spend well then go check out app masters Academy com if you just go to M masters com you'll find all the links that I've been talking about and I

13:15

will link up this infographic into the description so you can have it whenever you darn want maybe you should print it out and put on your wall and then put my picture right by it alright until next time I will see you on the next video want to see the best tools to use when it comes to ASO well I've got this video I'll show you the iOS side of things and got this video that's gonna show you the view play excited