With the proliferation of the internet and numerous powerful online promotion techniques, creating and distributing an excellent app is now an option to many. However, this also makes the digital landscape fiercer for mobile app publishers. Today, when promoting your app, you’re competing with 3.8 million Android apps and over 2 million iOS apps. Unsurprisingly, in the competitive mobile app development space, getting your app published is one thing, getting your app noticed is another.

With the app marketing landscape the way it is, you need to have a robust app promotion plan that combines the most effective mobile app ASO and SEO practices.

Why Combine Mobile App ASO and SEO?

SEO is all about optimizing your site for search engines, while mobile app ASO applies to an app store for basically the same purpose. We can freely say that ASO and SEO are two different sides of the same coin. And, to reach their ultimate performance, they should be used together.

Statistics say that Google is still one of the most important sources of app discoverability. So, if you don’t play by its rules and optimize your site for it, your rankings, traffic, and visibility will suffer. In other words, you will miss out on an opportunity to serve your app to the right people.

On the other hand, app stores also serve as closed site search engines. So, it’s not that surprising that the idea behind mobile app ASO is similar to SEO – the higher your app ranks in the app store, the more visible it is to your target audience.

As the line between desktop and mobile is getting blurrier, web marketing and app marketing is becoming merged. Marketers focus on providing exceptional user experience, be it via apps or web. The result is more active engagement with your prospects, who have the potential to become your loyal customers one day.

As a result, mobile app ASO and SEO need to be two equally important aspects of your app promotion strategy.

Learn More: How to Gain More Exposure for Your Mobile App With Keyword Optimization

SEO is the Foundation of Mobile App ASO

To get the most out of app promotion, don’t approach SEO and ASO as conflicting strategies. Organic search optimization is still the foundation of your online presence, and it needs to be an integral part of your mobile app ASO. Numerous SEO techniques can directly benefit your app store optimization. Some of them are:

• Keyword research and targeting. Keyword targeting is one of the most complex and delicate aspects of your SEO. Choose keywords carefully because they are the pillars of your online presence. Make sure you back up this process with the right keyword research tools or even invest in SEO consulting services.
• The optimization of your app name, title, and URL for your major keywords
• Generating app rating and reviews
• Using deep linking in your mobile app
• Indexation of your app on Google
• Click-through rate optimization
• Link building techniques

One of the significant mistakes app developers make is underestimating the power of a quality, responsive website. In today’s competitive digital landscape, your website serves as your online portfolio. Your target audience uses your website to learn more about your app before downloading it; it should be as informative as possible. Also, it needs to guide them through the information seeking process, providing them with a personalized user experience and turning them into engaged prospects.

Your website also helps you position yourself as an authority and a reliable source of information. Starting a blog and creating highly interactive and engaging content boosts app awareness and visibility. Most importantly, creating domain authority drives more web traffic and increases downloads.

Improving Your In-App Store Techniques

63% of users discover apps via app stores, and not boosting your rankings in these channels means you’re giving up on a major promotional opportunity for your app. While the features of app stores vary, there are still some fundamental aspects of optimization you need to focus on:

• A meta title. Keep in mind that longer titles usually get truncated in the SERPs. You need to keep your meta title short, sweet, and memorable. Don’t forget to add your major keywords to it, too. Namely, the recent report shows that apps with a top-value keyword in their title rank 10.3% higher than those without a keyword.
• A meta description is a sort of a call to action for your target audience. Write your meta description in simple language, list your unique benefits, and inspire people to download your app. Make sure you add your major keywords to it and refurbish it every time you update your product page.
• App ratings and reviews are the validation of your app’s quality. As such, they boost your brand’s credibility.
• App keyword fields. When optimizing your app page for keywords, make sure you write your titles and descriptions for your target audience first. Your content is how you will entice users to download your app. Keep in mind that ranking algorithms take both keywords and your customer conversion into consideration.  
• Screenshots and preview videos are important, as they bring your text to life and help your customers see the app before downloading it.
• App icon optimization. Just keep in mind that Google Play and the App Store have different standards for an icon’s ideal size, color, and geometry. iOS icons need to be at least 1024×1024 pixels, while Android ones are required to be 512×512 pixels.

Recommended: A Step-By-Step Guide to Marketing Your Mobile App [Checklist]

Update Your App Data Regularly

The highest-ranking apps in app stores are those that are continually getting improved, such as changes in technology, feature improvements, or adding new user feedback. Making regular updates helps you build a positive brand image and trust among your target audience. The fact that you’re continually working on your app improvements and keeping your users up-to-date on them sets you apart from your competitors and even boosts your rankings in the app stores. Namely, both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store assess the consistency of app upgrades when ranking it.

Over to You

You can see from the previous examples that mobile app ASO and web SEO are overlapping strategies. Sure, these strategies can work separately, but if you are not using them together, you are not leveraging visibility properly. Don’t forget that SEO allows you to target those people that are not browsing app stores. By focusing on the elements mentioned above, you are able to boost your rankings in both search engines and app stores and drive more quality traffic to your app.

Nate Vickery is a marketing consultant and author mostly engaged in researching the latest marketing technology trends and practices applicable to startups and SMBs. He is also the editor at Bizzmark Blog and an author on The Next Web.