Building a great mobile app is not enough to outperform other apps that have a superior marketing strategy.
Like websites are promoted on search engines through SEO, mobile applications can be discovered on app stores by optimizing the content.
Suggestion read: The Importance of App Store Optimisation in App Promotion
Let’s get started to understand the factors that help in improving the visibility of an app:
App title
If you are reading this post, you know it was the title that appealed to you. In the same way, you can draw the attention of your users through an engaging title.
It is easy to create an impact on the users if you have an optimized title. By optimizing the content, we mean including a popular keyword in your title that users are looking for.
You will get merely 30 characters for the Apple App Store and 50 characters for Google Play Store to put together an impressive title. We know it’s as tough as it sounds.
Be mindful when you integrate keywords in the title of your app. Inserting too many keywords can also lead to a ban by the regulatory authority.
Take the smartest approach to create mobile app title. Look for keywords that appropriately describe the purpose of your mobile app.
Think of LinkedIn that uses – Connect, Apply & Find Jobs, hooking users instantly through its app title. You will see LinkedIn in the top 10 searches of the App Store when you type in “jobs” in the search field. A good title is certainly the biggest factor to influence the ranking of an app.
App description
This is where most people throw a spanner in the works. While the app stores may overlook the quality of the content in your app description, your users wont.
An ideal description of your app should include the features and advantages to the users. For both the platforms, App Store and Play Store, you will get 4000 characters to explain the functionality of your app.
While the number may seem big enough, it is actually not. It will be difficult to convince someone to download your app in 500 words.
It is best to avoid faffing and include content that the user is interested in reading. If they are already at the door, don’t tell them how important it was to reach you.
Subtitle
This is a new feature that offers another opportunity to include your keywords. A subtitle is below the main title and is limited to 30 characters.
Include a keyword and the highlight of your mobile app to promote it.
App Icon
Yes, your users will find you through your app title but they will only click to download your app if you design an attractive app icon.
Making a visual impact on the mind of the users is as important as creating good content. You can draw a significant audience if the face of your app is appealing enough.
While designing the icon of your app, keep in mind the image that you want to create in the mind of the users. Besides standing out among hundred other app icons, it should reflect your brand.
Conduct a look test to see check if your app icon is considerably noticeable amongst other brands. Be sure you pass the look test before finally launching it.
App Screenshots
Like we said in the previous section, creating a visual impact for the users is more likely to fetch you more downloads. App screenshots are the best medium to improve the optimization of your mobile app.
Pick out your best screen from the app to offer a sneak peek to your customers. Additionally, include screenshots that display the features and the highlights of the app.
For an e-commerce mobile app, your customers should be convinced that you offer multiple payment gateways, an excellent interface and a great collection.
The screenshots may not be a great push for optimizing the app from the SEO perspective, but they will certainly invite more downloads, once you are on the top 10 list.
Ratings & Reviews
It is easier to convince users to download an app that is backed up by good ratings and reviews. Good reviews and ratings is an indication to a trustworthy mobile app that users will be more inclined to download.
Additionally, mobile apps that is rated well and supported by customer feedbacks have a better chances of ranking higher on the app stores. Apps that have not been reviewed or rated by any user often lose visibility.
Offer people a discount or loyalty points when they post a review or rate your app. This is a great way of making your customers happy and improving the chances of ranking higher on app stores.
App Preview Video
At the end of the day, it is the downloads that matter the most. Engagement of relevant customers will increase your sales and improve your ranking on an app store
A preview video is a great way to convert users who are unsure of their decision to download your app. It has been a proven fact that apps that use impressive screenshots and preview videos have higher chances of converting customers.
You can add a video that ranges from 15-30 seconds to show the purpose of your mobile app.
Both Google Play and App Store take into account the downloads of your app to offer a higher ranking.
Google Index
In most cases, whenever you publish an app on any app store, Google uses its crawlers to index the app URL after which it eventually starts appearing in the search results.
However, if your app has not been indexed by Google for more than a week, it is advisable to manually get it indexed.
It is important that your mobile app has visibility of the search engines to attract a chunk of audience who prefers using web browser for all their findings.
App store update
There is a high possibility that if you follow everything that we mentioned in this post above, your mobilenapp will rank in a matter of a few weeks.
The next sustainability step involves updating the app to meet the compliance of the respective store. Simply improving the features or adding products will not be enough to keep your app updated.
Since your ratings will be revised after the launch of a new version of your app, make sure you include every detail of the new features your app will offer.
This will also give you an opportunity to add newer keywords for better SEO results.
Keep yourself updated of the store policies to ensure your app is usable even when the regulations change.
App Category
Whether you are building your app through the best app builder or through a development company, it is important to ensure your app is published on a relevant category.
Publishing an app is not possible if you are from a non-technical background. Do some research yourself and let the development company know what category your app will be published in.
This not only exposes you to the right audience, but also cuts down competition from irrelevant industry.
Wrapping Up
There is a massive competition to rank well on the app stores presently. To be able to stand out among a myriad options, it is important we optimise our mobile apps and invest in a good marketing strategy.
When you convert your WooCommerce website to mobile app with AppMySite, don’t forget to optimise your product page on Apple App Store and Google Play store to enhance visibility.
