When thinking about ASO (app store optimization) we can’t forget that SEARCH has been a challenge for companies for a long time. In the last 12+ years SEO has been the king of the 
jungle and now we start to talk about ASO more and more….
But we can’t go ahead with ASO like if we never learned anything from the old days of SEO.
In fact I believe the best ASO consultants are going to be the once that have some previous SEO experience and have been burned by SEO myths, mistakes and changes.
So if you want to save yourself 12 years of experience, here are my top 7 tips that the App store optimization world need to learn from the OLD SEO world.
1. There is no secret formula (wake up)
Although SEARCH is based on an algorithm, like in any business, app launch, or successful person… there are no formulas, secret codes…. your job is not to “crack” the App store code or to discover the BLUEPRINT to rank in Google Play.
The reality is, that ASO like SEO is a process. A process of overall improvement, where people trying to find a quick solution (or a magic bullet) end up loosing vs the once that are in fact trying not just to rank but also to improve their overall app/website.
2. You are playing with a 3rd party (so chill out)
Yes. Sorry control freaks (I’m one of you) you can’t control the algorithm. You may want to believe that you can control it… but you can’t .
The fact is that Apple, Amazon, Google… they don’t care about your App, and therefore you are at the mercy of an algorithm. So you need to understand that to a certain level ranking is out of your control. You can take action (and please do) but to a certain level… if Apple, Google or Amazon decides to change the rules, you can only do one thing: Adapt.
ASO is about Adapting…. just like SEO
3. You need to take action.
If your site doesn’t rank…. it will never rank if you don’t take action. With apps ranking is even more difficult without action. So instead of reading about ASO, or trying to figure out what is the secret behind it, do something. Optimize your app, do keyword research for your app, use some ASO tools…. but by all means do something.
Ranking as the result of actions. You learn more by doing than by reading this post.
4. Don’t be cheap – invest in your own ASO path.
The whole idea of doing SEO without any type of tool right now will be a crazy idea. Why? Because you can do things faster with SEO tools that can give you accurate information about the status of your site, or what type of data you can use to improve your chances of success. The same applies to ASO.
If you want to get into App store optimization invest on it.
- Invest your time.
- Invest your energy.
- Invest in some proper training (YES! DAM ! BUY MY BOOK! 😉
- Invest in some type of ASO tools.
Investing doesn’t mean things are expensive, it means you are smart enough to value your time and realize the more you invest, the more time and money you safe.
5. You will fail. Believe me
Failing is one of the best things that can happen to us, the faster you fail, the more you learn and the more DATA you collect.
There is nothing better than knowing what keywords convert vs keywords that suck. But guess what… the only way to know that is by testing, by putting things into practice.
Find a good SEO guy and he will tell you clearly how many things have failed during his/her SEO career. With ASO failure needs to be as important as with SEO.
If you don’t fail, you are not making any progress… end of story.
6. Crap Apps will not rank. So don’t expect ASO to safe your life.
Sorry, didn’t I burst your bubble? In ASO like in SEO, crappy apps will not rank… mainly because companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, you name it, understand the importance of rewarding quality. So before thinking of ranking, before thinking of revenue, downloads, optimization, etc… get your standards of QUALITY clear.
If your app sucks, it sucks. And being in top position will never change the fact that it sucks.
It will take a long process to put you at the top, and just 5 minutes for 100 users to post to the world that your app is a nightmare. Then ASO is useless.
So embrace ASO as a part of your own overall improvement strategy.
7. Be Brave. Have Fun. Challenge what people say.
SEO is one of that industries where everyone seems scared to experiment, but the biggest players, the top dogs, are people that experiment all the time. Every week they keep running their own experiments. At this stage of the game, with app store optimization, you have more freedom than any webmaster has to experiment with optimization.
So do it…
why not?
It’s free. What do you have to loose?
Embracing ASO is embracing the opportunity to get better results while learning more about how App stores work, and how you can get closer to your audience. So have fun. Do it.