Yes, we have to have this conversation. First of all, because the app category is something that helps users find apps in stores. Second, because it guides them to find those that better suit their needs – as well as those that solve their issues.
Therefore, app categories are vital parts of ASO and mobile marketing strategies. This happens regardless of your app goals. App categories organize them into stores. It makes it easier for users to filter their searches based on the app’s functionality.
In other words, choosing the right category for your app increases visibility, attracts quality traffic and, consequently, improves conversion numbers.
It is important to accurately analyze each app category and choose the one that is most suitable for and follows the profile of your ideal customer, while keeping in mind the app’s value proposition and where their main competitors are classified.
How to choose a category for the app?
Choosing an app store category for your app is not always easy. It is even more difficult when you have so many options. In the Google PlayStore, there are currently 33 categories, while at the Apple Store there are 24 categories.
Despite having two different options in the Apple Store – a primary and a secondary – the first is the most important for the app’s visibility in the store. Apple makes that very clear in its tutorials.
So, how can one choose the best categories for one’s app? Well, let’s say you have a photo sharing application for social networks. What now? In the Apple store, is it better to choose the Photo & Video category, or, in the Google PlayStore, the Entertainment or Lifestyle categories?
To decide upon the best category for your app, consider the following:
– Your app’s proposal; i.e. the main class should be the one that describes your app’s functionalities the best.
– The place where users naturally seek an app like yours. Understanding your audience is extremely helpful to identify which category your ideal users find. Would they classify it as a social network or as a photography app?
– Your competitors chose the categories for their apps: look at the way similar apps are categorized – users are already going to these categories of mobile apps to find apps with value propositions identical to yours.
What to avoid when it’s time to choose the app category?
The most significant concentration of apps in the Apple Store is found in the gaming category. However, that’s not enough to classify your app there. So, here goes a tip from RankMyApp:
It is not recommended to include an app in a category that has no relation to it, just because it is “popular.” Make sure that the selected type is helpful to prompt a great user experience. Also, choosing categories that do not match your app is something that goes against the apps-store guidelines.
How does the app category influences the organic traffic?
To learn how to choose the best app category, it is essential to understand how the rankings work inside the tabs. Several factors sort the search results. Among them are:
– Number of downloads per day
– Page optimization
– App updating
– User retention rate
So? Is it easier now to understand why this also has to do with user organic acquisition and ASO? One of the metrics used in the ASO process is precisely the app ranking in the category.
After all, page optimization (modification and constant updating of the copy and graphics resources) is one of the factors that positively interfere with the app’s visibility in the category.
As we said above, choosing categories is not necessarily something straightforward (even if it looks natural). Is it more evident now that this is not an isolated activity when it comes to conquering qualified organic downloads?
It is part of a set of good practices in mobile marketing to increase app visibility in stores, where ASO is the crucial element, because attracting anyone to your page takes a massive amount of time and money. There is nothing attractive about having someone with your app just for one day.
Not to mention that user retention is a criterion to having a good ranking in stores. We hope that this content has helped clarify this matter, as well as showing the importance of optimizing the app page in stores.
And, if by chance, ASO has yet to be part of your mobile marketing plan, it is time to revise your concepts! Shall we change that? Get now a customized analysis of your app and add intelligence to its strategic planning.
