by Game Marketing Genie, on 08-Apr-2021 11:03:56
Paid traffic is wonderful, but when your app gets organic traffic, it’s even better. Organic traffic helps brands position their products and services better in the market, but building it can be a challenge and it can take some time. That’s why we’re here to help you out with the exclusive insider information that will help you improve the quantity and quality of your organic traffic.
What is organic traffic?
Organic traffic is the traffic you receive from your target market through search engines through unpaid methods. For instance, when a user searches for your website on Google, Yahoo, Bing, or another search engine and lands on your website from the displayed search results, it is an organic click. 40 percent of Google searches on mobile and an incredible 62 percent of Google searches on desktop are organic clicks, according to data from Search Engine Journal.
If you want to take your app to the next level, you’ll need to invest your time and energy into generating organic traffic. App store optimization is an effective app marketing strategy that will help your game reach your audience and stand out from your competitors with no need for paid advertising.
What is app store optimization?
Also known as mobile app SEO, app store optimization (ASO) is the process of optimizing a mobile application’s listing to help it rank higher in app store search results and increase its visibility to your audience. After all, more than 63 percent of apps are discovered through app store search engines.
ASO helps businesses drive audience engagement and witness increased brand exposure. So, let’s take a look at what you’ll need to do to get your app more organic traffic.
Figure 1: Recommendations from friends and family are key to discovering new apps. Source: TechCrunch
1. Create a clear ASO strategy
The first thing that you need to have in place is your app store optimization strategy. To create a concrete ASO strategy, there are multiple factors that you need to consider to increase your organic app downloads. Here are a few steps that you need to follow to create an ASO strategy:
- Define your campaign goals
- Determine your key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your progress
- Check your performance on a regular basis
- Study your competitors’ strategies
- Do a thorough keyword analysis
- Define campaign timelines
- Conduct various tests and optimize your campaigns continuously
2. Pick the right name for your app
Developing a great mobile application is not enough. You also need to come up with a name that will convert. The name that you have chosen for your game might be great, but will it show up in the searches that your audience looks for?
Name/title length
This metric differs based on the app market you’re planning to launch in. Google Play allows an application’s name to have around 50 characters whereas the iOS App Store’s limit is 30 characters.
Keyword
Tagging a few keywords on the end of your app’s name is not uncommon. We’ll discuss this more further in the piece.
Spellcheck
Ensure that the name is spelled correctly. Any spelling mistakes may affect your branding negatively, and this also means you won’t appear when your audience searches for your app (unless they spell it wrong!).
3. Keyword research
Keyword research is the heart of your ASO strategy. Keywords help you understand where your app stands in the marketplace, and how you can position yourself better. A keyword is a word or a phrase that, in this case, people will use when they search for apps in the app stores. You need to consider the following elements when undertaking keyword research:
- Consider the main features of your game
- Check for the synonyms of the features
- Check your app’s category or genre
- Check for other similar apps’ names
With these elements you are all set for doing a thorough keyword research. However, finding the right keywords that will set up your business on the right track can be challenging. If you need help with your keywords, an app store optimization solutions provider can help you find the right ones for your app with ease!
4. Create your app description
The description you provide plays a vital role in connecting to your audience both as they view your listing and in the search results. Every word that you enter helps you rank higher in the app stores’ search engines, increasing the probability of being seen by your audience. This is why you need to insert relevant, high ranking keywords to boost your ranking and help you get to the top of the search results.
The character limit for app descriptions varies from app store to app store. Google Play allows you to use a short description that is limited to 80 characters and a long description with 4000 characters. The iOS App Store doesn’t have a distinct size difference for the descriptions but has an overall character limit of 4000. Ensure that your app descriptions are clear, concise, and straight to the point for the best results - overusing keywords won’t get you anywhere!
5. Add other visually appealing elements
Adding some keyword rich text doesn’t mean you’ll get the results you want. You need to use other elements including eye-catching icons, images, screenshots, and videos to capture the attention of your audience. Using low resolution visual elements passes on the message to the audience that not much effort was put into creating and developing the application - we’re sure you’ve passed on some apps that have done this yourself.
In contrast, using high resolution media elevates your app to success. Including screenshots and videos helps your audience get the look and feel of the game, captivating them and boosting your brand’s credibility. This will encourage your audience to share the listing with their friends and family, increasing your traffic without the need for paid advertising. Ensure that you have a captivating CTA that leads to more app downloads as well.
6. Monitor, test and optimize
You need to check what is and isn’t working to ensure you’re on top of your app’s success. This is where monitoring and testing comes into play and they are essential for your video game marketing strategy.
Monitoring your app’s visibility and ranking helps you understand the elements of your app that are capturing your audience’s attention. Another key reason for monitoring is to stay up-to-date with any app store changes. App stores’ algorithms are constantly updated to improve the overall performance and enhance user experience, so you need to ensure that you’re making changes where necessary.
If your app is on the iOS App Store, we recommend that you check and update every four weeks. Similarly, review and update your app’s listing every 4 to 6 weeks if it is on Google Play. This will keep your app optimized and help you understand how your audience’s behavior evolves over time.
7. Respond to feedback
Your users' reviews matter! They like to voice out their opinions and experiences in the form of feedback, and this can prove crucial for your app’s success. Responding to users’ feedback is a great way to attract new users and retain the existing ones. Data from Gummicube shows that many as 59 percent of audiences check for reviews prior to downloading an app.
Additionally, 80 percent of people do not trust applications that are rated below four stars. This helps you to understand the impact of reviews on the mindsets of both your existing users and potential ones as well. Your app store ranking can also be affected by the types of reviews you get. The better rankings you get, the higher your app is ranked by the app store search engines.
Make sure to help out your customers that have given you poor reviews as this may encourage them to change it, and respond to those who have praised you as this will show that you appreciate them.
Your mobile game marketing strategies
Mobile game marketing is your key to the quest for success! Take control of your new game and make its marketing matter with the help of our insider tips in Mobile Game Marketing: Your Complete Guide to Success.
App store optimization is an important game marketing strategy that you need to adopt for your mobile game to rank highly in app store search results. However, we understand that working on a complete ASO strategy can be a challenging task. This is why partnering with an accomplished game marketing agency that knows ASO can help you while you focus on what’s important.
The team at Game Marketing Genie has a team of seasoned professionals who can help you craft a winning ASO strategy that will help you engage your audience and fly high above your competition.
