You can increase user acquisition with app SEO tactics. If you read this article, you can learn more about it.
What is mobile app SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) utilizes various strategies for improving search engine ranking. Although most often associated with blogs and websites, this can also be done for your app.
The goal of SEO is to get your web page or app at the top of the search results. This involves:
- Targeting relevant keywords;
- Using backlinks;
- Producing high-quality content;
- Getting social shares;
- Avoiding Google penalties;
- And so much more than we could cover in this article!
SEO vs ASO
Don’t get SEO confused with app store optimization (ASO). SEO improves your app’s rank in the search engine results while ASO increases your app’s rank in the app stores.
SEO is more complicated than ASO, but investing the time to learn, understand and apply SEO practices is worthwhile.
Because even though most users find new apps by searching app stores, a good number of them still use search engines like Google to find the types of apps they want.
How mobile app SEO works
Do you want to know what users see when your app pops up in the search results? To understand how mobile app SEO works, here are a few different ways your app could appear.
App preview
If you have fully optimized your app, mobile search engine results might pull up a preview of it. This preview includes:
- App title;
- Number of reviews;
- Ratings;
- Description,
- Download button.
If users click on the download button, they will be taken to your app’s page where they can download your app. Depending on what device the user has, either the Google Play Store or Apple App Store will open.
App pack
A group of apps (usually 30 to 100) is called an app pack. Similar apps are grouped together to form these packs and show up in the search results for certain keywords.
Let’s look at an example. Users who search ‘news apps’ might see various apps that fall into that category. This would be an app pack.
3 to 6 apps are all that can initially be seen but users who wish to view additional apps may click ‘More apps.’ App packs can be found towards the top, middle, or bottom of the search results page, although they are most commonly seen closer to the top.
Each individual app in the pack will show its:
- Icon;
- Title;
- Rating;
- Number of reviews,
- Cost.
Users can be taken directly from the search results page to the app store for quick and easy downloading.
App indexing
Because Google can crawl and rank the various screens in your app, users are able to discover the content in your app that most interests them via a Google search.
When users click on those search results, they are directed to that exact in-app content. This is great for retaining current users, but it is also helpful for acquiring new users.
How to improve app search optimization
SEO is a complex subject that this article can’t completely cover. However, the tips given below should be a good start if you need to improve app search optimization.
- Keywords – Targeting the right keywords will help improve your app’s rank. You can use the Google Keyword Planner to choose the perfect words and phrases. Use those keywords in your app’s title and description.
- Ratings – Google likes apps that are liked by users. If your app has great ratings, this is a signal to the search engine that it’s worth being placed towards the top of the search results.
- Backlinks – The more links you can direct to your app page, the better it will rank.
SEO for apps should not be overlooked. If you carefully follow the right steps, it can increase user acquisition.
If you need help getting more users, talk to a mobile specialist!
