Understanding how to make Android apps successfully takes a little bit more imagination than you may have first thought. It is so easy to quickly create an app, afterall you have a website, you want to turn it into a free Android app and you’ve placed your URL into our free app maker and your app has been created, but wait…..have you thought about how you will get your app noticed in the over-crowded Android app markets. App Store Optimization, or ASO as it is called in the industry, is a fundamental step that all app makers need to understand and fulfil to ensure that their app has some chance of succeeding. Today we are going to take a closer look at ASO.
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- Android App Making – Keywords made easy for your free Android app
We all know the feeling when you go into a shop during sale season, there are hundreds of people searching through the rails all looking for a bargain.Well, hold that thought for a moment, app making is no different, there are a million of free android apps, that are all looking for someone to fall in love with them and take them home (so to speak) Android app markets are so over crowded and many apps are failing to succeed because they aren’t being seen. Have you ever just grabbed the first thing off the shelf and said, that’ll do, simply becuase you want a new sweatshirt and can’t be bothered to go through the packed rails and search? That is what happens frequently in the app markets, app users will very often download the first app that they see that resembles the topic that they have searched for and this is the reason why ASO is so important.
What is App Store Optimization?
App store optimization, or ASO, is the building blocks you need for the stability of your free Android app, you may not have realised this, but ASO is an integrated part of your app that has to be planned into your app. ASO is what will help your app to be found organically in the Android app store without your app users having to search for it.
What page would you want your app to appear in an app store search? I am sure that you want your app to appear on the first page, the higher up on the ranks your app then the more likely it is to be downloaded. ASO does just that, it builds your app in organic searches and helps to increase your app’s visibility, encouraging more people to click onto your app download link.
Are organic searches really important?
Quite simply – Yes!!!! YOu may not think that is important to put effort into ASO however, it is important to realize that most apps are downloaded because they are found through a search, let us take a look at an example; you have an app that promotes children’s early reading, the audience for such an app is huge, however, how would an app user know that your app is called Reading Right (this is an example) The user is more likely to put in the search different keywords for children’s education and through this search would find your app. To work out what keyword would bring up an app like yours you can do some tests yourself, try searches and see which apps appear. Forrester research found that 63% of apps are discovered through app store keyword searches, that is more than half of your potential app downloads are generated from finding your app through an app store search.
How do put ASO into my app?
There are a number of factors that you must consider and include when optimizing your Android app for the app store, these include:
1: Title – Your keyword MUST be part of your title to help the app be found organically in any app store search
2: Keyword relevance – Have you checked your competitors keywords? and have you checked adwords to see which keywords are being used to find apps like yours? It is vital you use a keyword based upon factual data and not just your guess of what words people are searching with.
3: Ratings and Reviews – it’s not easy for you to control your ratings and reviews, but apps that have more reviews and higher ratings will rank higher than an app with fewer reviews and no ratings.
4: App Description – Your app description does not only have to have keywords included within, it also needs to be factual and honestly describe the app. Apps that are downloaded and then deleted are ranked poorly in the app store. The ratio of downloads Vs deletions is counted against you.
So there you go, if you want to make Android apps successfully make sure you make Android apps with planned ASO
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If you’re interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.