App Store and Google Play Keywords Optimization

What is App Store and Google Play Keywords Optimization?

App Store and Google Play keyword optimization is the ongoing process of measuring (testing and re-testing) the impact of keywords on an app’s ranking and search traffic. Having locked in a keyword strategy and implemented a set of keywords, what follows is the tracking of 1. an app’s ranking for them and 2. the amount of traffic an app listing is getting when users search for those keywords (words, phrases and combinations.). It’s then possible to make changes after evaluation, usually in order to improve results, which is the process of optimization. In short: select, test, analyze, optimize, re-test.

Why App Store and Google Play Keywords Optimization is Important?

An app developer or marketer should always be willing to make changes (optimize) to their keyword choices and placements in the metadata if keyword data shows they’re no longer performing well. One way of doing this is by making keywords more prominent; by moving them to a metadata location that gets more weight in ranking such as subtitle to title (title carries more weight than subtitle), a keyword can immediately rank better. 

It’s important to have a set of actions that can be taken in order to improve the ranking for keywords. In efforts to gain as much exposure as possible and improve search traffic, it’s important to optimize; app developers and marketers that aren’t changing or swapping out keywords for better results are making a mistake. Measuring, and experimenting with keywords, their phrase combinations and their placement is the crux of app store keyword optimization.

App Store and Google Play Keywords Optimization and ASO

ASO is the tool for achieving maximum discoverability in the App Store and Google Play, grabbing a spot as close to the top in the search results for particular keywords and converting impressions to installs (organically if possible.)  As keywords optimization is one of the pillars of ASO, it’s clear how integral a part it plays.

An app may launch successfully with healthy organic search traffic by ranking highly for keywords. Yet, the nature of Apple’s and Google Play’s algorithms are such that they change how keywords rank regularly; where one day a keyword was ranking well, the next it may have lost its relevance. Algorithms take a lot of factors into account, such as the daily introduction of new apps on the market and rates of downloads. By knowing that keywords and their impact on search results evolve, it makes sense to have a strategy in place that regularly evaluates keyword performance. Without one, it’s more than likely an app will lose its spot in the search results. Impressions will be minimal, growth may stagnate and though conversion rates may still be promising, the future of the app becomes uncertain.