I started doing ASO for several small businesses way back in 2012 but struggled to generate traffic to market their apps.
At the time, I didn’t know much about ASO, and how to take advantage of it to drive organic downloads.
Sadly, I gave up.
The rest they say is history. Having dipped my feet deeply into the app store search waters, I’ve had my own fair share of success, too.
My client’s apps now generate a lot (and I mean a lot) of targeted users from Google and Apple.
You might be stuck right now, not knowing where to begin, or how to scale your small business and generate traffic into your app, I want to show you my proven ASO strategies and ideas that have worked for me.
Of course, I haven’t implemented all of them yet, but I have a few friends, clients, and partners who grew their small businesses – through these search engine optimization strategies.
App Search is the still the number #1 most targeted source of traffic for mobiles. Users love organic results.
Yes, paid search provides guaranteed traffic, and social is trending, but the app visitors you get from Google or Apple will most likely download your app or opt-in to become one of your potential customers.
Read on as I share some hard to ignore ASO strategies and ideas that will catapult your small business app to the top of Google or the Apple App Store. Results may not happen overnight, but you don’t have to wait 60 days either.
OK, Let’s do it.
1. Drive Qualified Users Through Long-Tail Search
As a small business app owner, you need a better way to connect with customers. Long-tail search terms are what users who are ready to download your app.
If you know how to use them, then, rest assured that you’ll drive highly targeted leads and customers to your app.
Here’s an explanation why you should target more search terms with user intent clearly stated:
As an example, if you’re a small business that has an app about skate shoes, the chances are that your pages will never rank highly in Google Play top 10 results pages for the keyword “Nike sb” or “Adidas sb.”
No matter how you try, or the tactics you employ, ranking that head keyword is impossible – so stop trying.
Why?
Because the competition is too tough to handle. If you’re a startup and don’t have a huge marketing budget, there’s no need fretting over the top organic listings for head keywords.
You can do better than that.
Why not target other search queries that are not too obvious to every business in your sector?
For example, you could target queries, such as:
Top rated skate shoes
where to buy skate shoes
Best skate shoes $40
Cheap skate shoes to buy
You get the idea, right?
Yes, long-tail keywords may not generate a lot of traffic like head keywords. But the power lies in the quantity.
That is, the more long-tail keywords you target in your app, the most qualified traffic you’ll generate to your app.
2. Optimize And Properly Categorize Your App
Don’t be deceived.
Your app’s landing page is important. Being creative is an important part of your ASO strategy. You don’t just want your ideal customers to visit your app page that has no vital information about your app. What’s worse is that you put your app, in the wrong category.
3. Identify Profitable Keywords From Your Competitors
Are you reaching online shoppers with your app?
The truth is, you can’t successfully attract ardent consumers if you don’t know the search terms they’re typing into App Store search.
Trust me, what you’ll learn will blow your mind.
Sure, targeting long-tail keywords is important, but how do you know that those search terms you selected are truly profitable?
You can only make assumptions eh?
Assumptions have crippled so many businesses. Most app marketers resort to assumptions and fail, while smart ones test everything out, before launching their app. This increases their chance of achieving success.
Competitive analysis is the fastest way to know exactly what’s working in your industry.
For example, how do you know that more customers are looking for your app today than they did the previous year?
Keyword research alone may not give you the whole picture.
But through competitive analysis, you can spy on your competitors, take notes, and launch a successful search campaign that generates qualified traffic, clicks, and downloads. I recommend using Mobile Action as your keyword tool – it has competitor analysis feature that works like charm.
4. Optimize Your App’s Landing Pages to “Welcome” Users
Google Play and Apple App Store algorithm updates are frequent these days.
There had been several updates that have been implemented and all worked together to redefine search. So you must make the most out of it.
To learn more about optimizing app landing pages, and how to use them to improve your app search performance (organic traffic and rankings), see the resources below:
ASO 2016 Learn App Store Optimization
Blackhat ASO 2016 – App Store Optimization Secrets Revealed
Conclusion
After going through all these small business ASO strategies and ideas, you may think that growing a successful app business via search is easy.
But here’s the harsh truth, it’s not.
Okay, it’s neither easy nor hard. It relies on your ability to implement a proven ASO strategy – and stick to it.
Consistency is the key. It doesn’t matter how powerful your idea is, if you don’t stick to it, you may not get positive results.
It’s your responsibility to breathe new life into your app business. Focusing on organic traffic takes time, but don’t neglect it for social.
Each of these app traffic generation channels plays a vital role, but organic search overrides all of them. For one, search alone can grow your app business, but social alone may not.
Have you implemented any of these small business ASO ideas? Share your results or questions. I’ll personally read it and respond