ASOBest Practices, KPIs, Tools & Challenges

• 55 person marketing agency located in Udim

• Global market only

• Zynga, Playtika, Scientific Games, Tinder, Miniclip, Gett and others

• Inbound – ASO & SEO• Performance marketing – Google

and Facebook teams

What is ASO?

• Buzz word – voodoo• App page management

• Texts: o Titles, Descriptions, short

descriptions, keyword lists (hidden)

o Graphics: Icons, feature graphics, screenshots

What is ASO

Search Optimization Conversion

Optimization

Increased paid traffic• Branded searches: no difference• Non-branded searches: Keyword visibility – page views – installs

Benefits of ASO

Reduced CPI• Better conversion rates• Acts as a landing page for keyword purposes

Gateway to other marketing efforts

Who should practice ASO?• Anyone who owns an app

• Not necessarily with an agency though…• Going from 65 to 80 to 95• Expensive tools

• As a rule of thumb – any app that has over 1-2K daily installs should consider getting professional ASO assistance

• Can not replace a holistic marketing strategy, but is a crucial marketing channel

Difference between Google Play & iTunesIt’s all in the DNA

• Google Play – SearchUnderstand what users might search for

• iTunes – MusicNeeds to be told what users might search for

Best practices – Search OptimizationiTunes

• Titles• 100 characters keyword list• Combinations

• Title: Wow Vegas Casino Slots• Keyword list: las,video,bonus

• Targeted Queries: Las Vegas, Video Slots, Casino Bonus, Las Bonus

Google Play• Titles• Short Description• Description

• Google “reads” the app description

• Keyword density

• Synonyms

• Not as sophisticated as the web algorithm

Best practices – Conversion Optimization

iTunesTwo first screenshots30 seconds videoLarge clear fontsOffers/advantagesNo native experiments tool

Google Play• Icons• Any YouTube video• Large fonts• Offers/advantages• Native experiments tool

Best practices – Conversion Optimization

Localization

Metrics

Metric Taken from Issues

Keyword rankings Sensor Tower/ AppAnnie/ Mobile Action External tools, traffic is an estimation (excluding than iOS US)

Impressions iTunes’ systemsiOS only, sampled data

Page views iTunes & GP’s systemsSampled data in iOS. Not easily accessed in GP

Organic installs GP’s systems, attribution platformCalculated as a subtraction – not fully accurate

Conversion rates CalculatedCan only look in terms of trends. GP provides bench marks

Tools – Solely ASO Oriented

• SensorTower/AppAnnie/Mobile Action

• Store Intelligence – estimations of installs by country

• App Intelligence – Keyword rankings, category rankings, reviews, competitors, app update timeline

Tools – Solely ASO Oriented

Tools – PlatformsGoogle Play Developer Console

Upload appsSee statisticsUser Acquisition – Page views, installs, broken down by countryExperimentsComment to Reviews

iTunes ConnectUpload appsSee statisticsUser analytics – impressions, page views, installation – sampledNo native experiments console

Tools – Platforms

ExperimTools – App Store ExperimentsStoreMaven/SplitMetrics

Duplicate the app store pageActually a web pageProvide a link to send traffic to

Plenty of insightsCostly – non-converting trafficTests only a part of the funnelTests one type of traffic

Challenges

Lack of data

• No attribution of keyword to install

• Higher rankings in some keywords, lower rankings in other

𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑘=𝐾𝑒𝑦𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑇𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ∗𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠 (𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 , 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 ,𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 ,𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 ,𝐶𝑣𝑅 ,𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 , ?)

Black Hat Methods• Directing positive only reviews

• Buying reviews

• Incentivized reviews

• Negative ASO

• Burst campaigns

• Bot Installs

• Brand names as keywords

• Keyword incentivized traffic

• Top Grossing Refund

Overcoming Challenges KPIs – important keywords

Ad hoc solutions• Comparing before/after changes (Tinder)

Breaking data/changes between countries

• Comparing Android to iOS (Gett’s Offline campaigns)

• Comparing trends to competitors (Slotomania)

Comparing trends to competitorsSimilar trends in keyword rankings for developers

Overcoming Challenges - Results

• ASO as a long term process• Modifications based on results

• iOS – check and replace keyword by keywordo Look at phrases, not at individual words

• Android – Look for low hanging fruits (high traffic queries that rank at #10-60)o Allow at least 3 weeks between iterations

Overcoming Challenges - Results

Slot Machines

Slots

Vegas Slots

Slots

Overcoming Challenges - Experiments

Overcoming Challenges - Experiments

Summary

• ASO is somewhat of a black box• General funnel is search – impression – page view – organic install• Tracking difficulties in every stage• Anyone who claims to have it figured out is being dishonest

• ASO is a crucial part of any marketing plan, but is not a holistic strategy

• Basic ASO is fairly simple – any app developer can (and should) practice it