iOS App Store OptimizationJune 27, 2022

The ultimate guide to Apple App Store ASO for app marketers

Apple’s App Store is the second-largest app store globally, with more than 2.2 million apps offered for iOS devices in April 2022. According to Statista, the largest app store is still Google Play, with around 3.5 million apps offered at the same time.

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The mobile apps in App Store are divided into 25 categories for regular apps and additional 14 categories reserved only for game apps. Apple has around 1.8 billion active devices powered by the iOS operating system, offering a large potential market for app developers. 

Similar to Google Play, the App Store has its own set of rules and principles regarding how the algorithm ranks the apps. App store optimization (ASO), the general term that relates to optimizing apps for organic ranking, is one of the most fundamental concepts you need to master to rank high in the App Store. 

This guide covers the essential elements of successful app store optimization for the App Store and how you can earn high rankings and app downloads. Although successful App Store publishers also use other app store tactics (e.g., paid user acquisition, social media marketing, etc.), optimizing apps for organic search and rankings is still their top tactic.

After going through the guide, you will be able to apply ASO methods and tactics for your apps in the App Store and start working on your app’s success.

App Store ranking factors

The App Store algorithm considers many aspects when ranking apps. Like Google Play Store, the algorithm also uses keywords as the fundamental ranking concept and their relevance for an app. You can expect to rank high if your app is eligible for ranking on a specific keyword while being relevant with enough ranking strength.

In general, Apple’s algorithm is less complex than Google’s, but at the same time, it allows apps to rank for keywords that don’t need to be mentioned in the metadata. Some examples of that are keywords like iPhone, iPad, app, free, category keywords (e.g., business, education), misspellings, plurals, and compound words (e.g., Apple).

The most critical elements that influence the ranking process in the App Store include:

  • App name- the most substantial weight of all ranking factors
  • App subtitle – the second strongest ranking weight
  • Keyword field – significant, but not as much as the name and subtitle
  • Developer name – important but carries less weight.
  • In-app purchases – keywords used are eligible for indexing and ranking.
  • In-app events – keywords used in the event name and short descriptions of the in-app event are also indexed.
  • The primary and secondary category name is used when assessing app relevance; you will rank more easily for sport-related keywords if your primary category is sports apps.

The App Store algorithm generally gives more weight to exact match keywords, especially if they are contained in the metadata (app name and subtitle). 

App downloads are among the most vital ranking signals in the App Store when it comes to ranking signals that don’t include keywords. But if the downloads come from a specific keyword, the App Store algorithm will give particular weight to that keyword because it shows that your app is relevant for the user queries and search intent. Furthermore, the download velocity also plays an important role as a ranking signal.

App Store ratings and reviews influence the app ranking, mainly because of their strong influence on the install conversion rate. The number of ratings and the average rating your app receives can boost your app. High app ratings increase the chance of getting featured, which leads to more installs and more keyword rankings, creating a growth loop. The app users leave their reviews and often use the keywords your app uses, showing the ranking algorithm and how relevant your app is.

Finally, suppose a specific keyword has an excellent impression-to-install conversion ratio and high app retention rate (when the install comes from that keyword). In that case, it will be a solid signal to the App Store algorithm that your app is very relevant for that keyword. If users perform a search using a specific keyword that brings installs and, at the same time, the users leave a high rating, it will indicate that you provide a good user experience. And that your app should rank high for that keyword.

While there are many other unconfirmed and possible ranking factors, we will stick in this guide with those ranking factors and signals that we are confident about their ranking influence. The following chapters will describe the most critical elements of a successful App Store listing.

If you are interested in digging deeper and checking more advanced app marketing tips, we recommend reading our app store optimization best practices article.

App name - the most important ASO factor in App Store

The app name or app title is the most heavily weighted metadata element in the App Store. For ASO practitioners, putting your most important keywords in the app name will give you the most chance to rank for those keywords.

App name should be unique and distinctive and explain what your app is doing. The maximum character space in the App Store is 30, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for many keywords. The app name also needs to be clear and not misleading, without using performance keywords such as “best,” “#1” and similar.

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App name highlighted in App Store search and on the product page

To find the most appropriate app name, start by analyzing your competitors’ app names and subtitles and check which keywords bring the competitors the most traffic. If you notice some keywords your competitors don’t use, but they are highly relevant to your app, you will rank easier for those keywords. Also, check what you already rank for and see if you can use this to improve your app name. It is much easier to improve the existing keyword rankings than start from scratch.

The app name also has a significant impact on conversion rates. Many ASO teams might now know that including the brand name in the app name is mandatory. If you try to use the app name as a method to push important keywords and remove your brand name, the App Store review will reject your app’s update. In short, aim to balance branding and keyword optimization in the app names.

Expert tip: you can use App Radar to find any app’s most important app keywords and understand their popularity and ranking difficulty. 

app name the most important aso factor in the app store
Keyword ranking analysis in App Radar

To go one step further, you can try to run A/B tests for your app name by using the localized version of your app that targets the same language and then analyze how it performs. There is no official way to A/B test metadata in the App Store, unlike Google Play. But you can be creative with it and use your localizations to test app names.

For instance, if you want to test the app name in English, you can use the Australian localization to test how it performs against the UK localization. Use the analysis to understand what works better, but be aware that different languages may use other phrases to describe the same things.

Finally, make sure that the most important keywords are placed at the beginning of your app name. Putting the keywords like this will have a bit more impact on the App Store algorithm, and at the same time, you will avoid the effect of truncation. The search results in the App Store often truncate the app name, and our experience shows that putting your most important keywords in the first 23 characters will make sure your audience sees those keywords.

App subtitle

The app subtitle field in the App Store allows you to add additional information about your app. Even though the app subtitle is not as prominent as the app name, it carries almost the same weight regarding ranking impact.

The subtitle can be up to 30 characters long and is visible in App Store search results and on the product page. Ideally, it would be best to put in the subtitle keywords that have high keyword volume and are relevant to your app. The keywords in the subtitles should also reflect your app’s main features and benefits.

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App Store search and product page app view with highlighted subtitles

When writing your app’s subtitle, the best practice is not to repeat the keywords you already mentioned in the app name. Also, it would help if you replaced broad category keywords with those keywords that are more specific to your app’s market.

App subtitles are essential for keyword optimization but also conversion rate optimization. App Store truncates app subtitles like the app name but is somewhat different from the app name. The subtitles show the full 30 characters in the App Store Search results, but the subtitle is truncated in the App Store Browse and top charts results. 

To make sure your app subtitles are always visible, use the letter with less width and stick to a bit fewer characters than the maximum number of characters. Top charts will sometimes truncate app subtitles to 20 characters and App Store Browse to 24 characters. To stay on the safe side and still include your most popular keywords in the subtitle, we recommend putting the most critical information for app audiences in the first 24 characters.

iOS keyword field

The keyword field in the App Store is a place where you can provide additional keywords related to your app. The keyword field is visible only to you, and it helps the App Store algorithm understand better what your app is about. 

The keywords you provide have a significant impact on the app ranking. You can add up to 100 characters separated by a comma without using white space. Each of your localizations can have its keywords in this field, making it a great ASO tactic to push your localizations in the local languages. 

Some ASO experts avoid repeating the keywords used in the app name and subtitles. However, our experience shows that it is more effective when using the keyword field to build combinations of keywords used in the app name and subtitle.

Expert tip: the keywords in some localizations impact other languages as well. For instance, the keywords you place in the keyword field of your Spanish localization (LATAM region) will be indexed for the US localization. We recommend checking Apple’s official documentation to learn more about the cross localization effects.

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Keyword field in App Store Connect

When done correctly, the keyword field can boost your app all over the App Store traffic sources. Apple’s algorithm combines the keywords you provide in the app name, app subtitle, and the keyword field to rank apps for the long-tail combinations. With that in mind, when deciding which keywords to add to the keyword field, try to include those keywords that allow you to target long-tail combinations.

We recommend the following best practices for optimizing the keyword field:

  • Separate keywords only by commas, and don’t use spaces.
  • Don’t duplicate keywords you already mentioned in the app name or subtitle. They won’t have any additional effect, and you will waste the space.
  • Don’t repeat the exact keywords. 
  • If you target long-tail phrases, separate the individual keywords with a comma. E.g., if you want to target the phrase sports results, add the keywords “sports,results.”
  • Add keywords in the singular.
  • The order of the keywords doesn’t matter; add them in the order you like
  • Stop keywords like “a,the,on” are automatically awarded by the App Store, so there is no need to waste space on them.
  • Use the total 100 space limit if possible for each localization.
  • Test new keywords occasionally, but leave the existing ones for 3-4 weeks so that App Store can tie them to your app.

App description

The app description or long description field in the App Store tells your audience why they should download your app. There are 4.000 characters at your disposal that mainly impact your install conversion rate.

The app description field is not used for ranking, and the App Store algorithm does not index the keywords inside it. The keywords you put inside will not influence your app rankings. However, an app description is a perfect place to share different types of details and control how your product page visitors see your app.

The app description is not the most prominent element of your product page, but the people that read are engaged and want to learn more about your app. The first five lines of your app description are the most important ones and need to summarize what your app is about quickly. Usually, these five lines refer to the visible text before clicking on the “show me more” text. 

Although app description is not as crucial as other App Store areas, it likely attracts high-quality users that are ready to invest the time into reading the details. Consequently, they might show higher retention rates than other users. And if a specific type of user is not ready to download the app yet, the app description provides an opportunity to expand on your existing values and messages.

There are a couple of things you can do when it comes to creating your app’s description:

  • focus is on the opening part to place a hook for the readers
  • describe what your app does and how it works
  • Highlight your app features
  • Describe use cases
  • Mention and refer to your target audience
  • Share administrative information

You can’t make words in the app description bold or use similar formatting options like Google Play. However, it would help if you tried to experiment with extra break space, paragraph length, and other text layouts to make sure people can easily navigate through the app description. 

App icon

Depending on the source of your traffic, the app icon can be one of the most important visual elements in the App Store. If your app relies on the traffic coming from the App Store Search, the app icon is not the most critical element since the search results are dominated mainly by app screenshots and preview videos. 

However, if App Store Browse traffic is a significant contributor to your downloads, app icons can considerably impact your conversion rate. If your app appears among the top results in the top charts, the app icon can also significantly influence how users perceive your app.

Another important place where your app icon can significantly influence the outcome is in-app purchases. Note that you can create a custom icon for your in-app purchases, but you can also use the existing app icon as well.

Thinking about the right design for your app icon is a challenging thing. Our recommendation is to always look at your competitors to see what app icon style they are implementing. Our Google Play Store guide shows that the most popular and common app icon design styles can be triggered by brand names, illustrations that explain the value, or visual language.

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App icons on product pages in Apple App Store

To find the app icon that converts the best, we suggest experimenting with colors, simple variations, graphics, logos, borders, and what works best for your top competitors. The Product Page Optimizations feature that Apple introduced with iOS 15 allows to A/B test an app icon, but it comes with more complexity. According to Apple, you will have to submit a new app version with the icons you want to test in the app’s binary using Xcode 13 or a later version. So if the testing app icon is performing better than the current version, you will have to include the app in the next submission version. 

However, it might be good to check the store listing experiments from Google Play and use its A/B testing for a start since Google allows test app icons directly in the stores.

To sum up, always try to make your app icon tell your brand story in a compelling and visually appealing way and test its performance when possible.

App screenshots

App screenshots have a significant impact on the conversion rate in the App Store. For most of the apps in the App Store, the search results will be their primary acquisition source. And App Store Search is where app screenshots are shown within the results, which means they can stand out and make a difference for your app. Once you have a particular app installed on your iOS device, the next time you see that app in the search results, you won’t see its screenshots anymore.

Besides App Store Search, the screenshots of your app can have a significant impact on the users that land on your product page as well. It is essential to put the screenshots that explain your most important features first because not all users will scroll through all of them.

Like screenshots used in the Google Play Store, You should also test the App Store screenshots to find those that resonate the best with potential users. And with the iOS 15, you can now A/B test screenshots using Product page optimizations in App Store Connect, but there are still some limitations. Test different captions styles, screenshot order, content, background styles, and colors.

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Different screenshot possibilities in App Store

There are a couple of crucial elements you should consider when planning the appearance of your app in the App Store Search:

  • If you use portrait screenshots, the search results for your app will show three of them. However, if you use a preview video in your app assets, App Store will show only two screenshots.
  • If you provide landscape screenshots or an app preview video, only one screenshot will be visible in the search results.

We recommend following some of the best practices and tips when optimizing your app’s screenshots:

  • The first three screenshots have the most significant impact on your conversion rate, so find a way to connect them visually with standard design, background, or colors.
  • Use short captions and large fonts to ensure the users with small screen sizes can read them.
  • Don’t make your visuals too complex because some app users won’t be able to see them correctly if they use smaller devices.
  • Although many screenshots in the App Store show apps inside an iPhone, you can add images only to make them more straightforward for the users

As the final tips for the screenshots – remember to localize them for different languages and markets, considering cultural specifics. iOS devices include iPhones and iPads with varying screen sizes, so make sure to test the appearance of your screenshots on all devices where users will install your app.

App Store Connect requires you to upload images for three different display types, each with its pixel requirements. Because of that, the creation and modification of app screenshots can take some time for your in-house designers. And if you have multiple localizations, you have to plan the resources for creating graphics well in advance.    

App preview video

The app preview video is excellent for providing users with more information about an app compared to using only app screenshots. Both Apple and Google recommend using videos as a best practice. We have seen situations where apps do get a slight push by Apple if they include a preview video on the product page. However, this needs to be tested for each case and app and if the video improves your conversion rate.

As an app marketer, you have an option to include a preview video on your product page. If you choose to do so, the preview video will be placed in the first position in the assets row and visible before other screenshots. Because the app preview video is shown directly in the App Store Search, the users scrolling through the search results will see it even before landing on your product page.

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Example of app preview video in App Store Search results

You can have up to three preview videos, but only one will be displayed in the search results in portrait mode, next to two app screenshots. If you have a preview video in the landscape mode, the users will see only the preview video.

Preview videos impact the app install conversion rate because they offer more depth to your story and why users should install your app. If you are marketing a game in the App Store, having a preview video is highly recommended because it will quickly show the potential users the most critical elements of your game.

We recommend following the best practices when creating a preview video:

  • Focus on the in-app experience – you need to show screen recording because Apple can reject your video and is very strict about this requirement. 
  • Mention the most important messages and features early in the video
  • Add captions for users that don’t use the sound when watching the video.
  • A/B test if your users prefer video – use the Product page optimization feature to test if your product page performs better with or without a video
  • Use your most prominent keywords in the captions of the video.

Expert tip: use preview videos to leverage your other sources of traffic. If you use the App Store pre-order feature, include the video in it. And if you are running Apple Search Ads, have the preview video in the ad assets. 

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App Store ratings and reviews

The ratings and reviews your app receives in the App Store are other vital factors that you need to consider when working on the app store optimization. Many users don’t think about installing apps with low star ratings. And if you want your app to be promoted by the App Store through featured apps and recommendations, you need to ensure that the app is highly rated.

Getting high ratings is crucial if you start with your App Store journey. Your app needs to satisfy user expectations and provide a great experience. It would be best if you always aimed to make a high-quality app with no bugs and smooth interactions. 

Soon after you launch your app, the users will start leaving their reviews. Although you will see users getting bad reviews, use this as an opportunity to reply and improve the app elements that make users unhappy. The more reviews your users leave, the more visibility your app will receive because the users will often use the keywords in their reviews that will impact new users and, consequently, improve the conversion rate.

Bear in mind that the App Store algorithm is heavily influenced by the total amount of ratings you receive and your app’s average rating. So when talking about the importance of app ratings vs. app reviews, you should prioritize app ratings in your App Store optimization strategy.

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App Store Connect ratings and reviews section

We recommend you plan a strategy on how you will reply to user reviews and ask your users to leave reviews. The same is true for the app ratings – think about how, when, and where you will ask users to rate your app. 

You can be more passive and leave buttons that users can click on to rate your app. Or, you can actively ask your core users to rate an app after they have, for example, spent some time using your app. If your user base is changing quickly and your app’s retention rates are not very high, you can be more aggressive and ask for app ratings before they remove the app from their device.

Expert tip: You can reply to user reviews directly in App Store Connect, but it is much easier and quicker to do that inside the App Radar tool. If you are working on the app store optimization, the reply to reviews feature and pre-set templates will be next to other essential tools you need to optimize your app. 

The best practice is to always think about your user’s journey and the experience they have while using your app. The part of your app that evokes the most positive user emotions (e.g., rewards, completed tasks, achievements, etc.) is the right time when you want to ask for ratings. Don’t break the user’s tasks and ask them for feedback. Instead, understand when users are ready to take a pause and reward you for creating an app that they like.

Finally, if you are stuck and can’t receive new ratings and reviews, don’t use black hat ASO tactics. While you might get some boost in the app rankings by paying someone to install your app using specific keywords, you risk getting penalized by the App Store, and after that, it is tough to get back on the right track.

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In-app purchases

In-app purchases or IAPs can significantly affect keyword optimization and the conversion rate optimization process. The IAPs are one of the many promotional tools you can use in the App Store to boost your app and the premium offer that comes with it.

You can have as many in-app purchases as you like, but you can promote only 20 of them if you want them to be visible in the App Store Search. If you don’t advertise them, they will only be visible on your product page. 

The keywords used in the IAPs are indexed, and most of the time, the promoted listing appears close to the app search results, thus boosting your presence in the search even more.

For a start, you need to satisfy basic Apple guidelines for the in-app purchases:

  • The name can have up to 30 characters
  • The description of the IAP can have up to 45 characters
  • The IAP icon should be 1024×1024 in size and PNG or JPEG file

The IAP icon you create needs to support your app or encourage users to read more about it. The IAP name should be descriptive and convincing to buy what you offer. The description should be there to reinforce the IAP by explaining the value and how it helps users.

The tactics you will use IAPs are up to you, but we recommend using them closely with your business model and seasonal offerings. If you have a big promotion, use IAPs to support exclusive offers and prices. Or, if you want to push one of your popular features, use IAPs to give your customers more value.

Because Apple’s algorithm indexes the keywords from IAP titles, try to use the most prominent and most important keywords in the promotion title to get more search exposure. We also suggest paying attention to your IAP icon since your regular app icon will be placed in the bottom left corner of your IAP icon, so don’t put important information there.

In general, in-app purchases can be consumable (one-time benefit), non-consumable (paying for premium features), and auto-renewable and non-renewable subscriptions. And if your app is promoted using auto-renewable or non-consumable IAPs, you can enable a Family sharing badge and appeal to a different group of users.

In-app purchases are a powerful promotional tool that helps your app and business get more search exposure, revenue, and user engagement. 

App Store pre-order

App Store pre-order page allows app marketers and publishers to create a product page before the app’s official launch. The goal of pre-order pages is to promote the app in advance and create awareness and excitement among the users.

Pre-order pages are similar to Google Play’s pre-registration, but with one big difference. The app is automatically downloaded for the users who sign up for the pre-order if they opt-in for that option. If not, the users that signed up will receive the notification once the app is live in the App Store.

The pre-order option is available for free and paid apps. However, you can set your app for pre-order only if that app isn’t available in any other country. The pre-order can be enabled only if your app has never been launched in the App Store.

app store pre order
App Store Pre-Order example. Source: developer.apple.com

The pre-order time can be from 2 to 180 days before the release date. When submitting an app for pre-order, you have to upload your first build, choose the territories you want it to be available during the pre-launch, and state the release date. Also, you need to provide some metadata for your app.

A pre-ordered app may be visible in the App Store search results, and the app’s product page shows metadata, the release date, and the “Order” button instead of the regular “Get” button. If you want to change the metadata and builds during the pre-order phase, that is possible. 

The app’s performance can be analyzed using the App Store Connect “Sales and Trends” report and the “Analytics” tab. You will be able to see dedicated metrics such as the number of orders, canceled pre-orders, impressions, and page views.

Pre-order is a great way to test how the market will accept your app. If you plan your marketing activities carefully and your app’s development timeline is under control, we highly recommend using pre-order to build the initial app audience.

Getting featured in the App Store will most likely bring many benefits to your app. The most significant effect you will notice will be more impressions, product page views, and installs.

There are a couple of feature types in the App Store.

  • Editorial stories – include apps that follow a similar theme, presented in the “Today” screen that iOS visitors land on when they open the App Store.
  • App or game of the day – an editorial story featuring a game or an app
  • Collections or daily lists – apps and games curated by Apple

Being a part of the “Today” tab is the most prominent place that can drive a lot of attention to your app, regardless of why someone opens the App Store. This opening screen has more prominent placements than those in the “Games” or “Apps” tabs. The “Today” tab contains “App of the day” or “Game of the day” stories with exclusive features and a new release curated by Apple’s editors.

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Example of featured apps in the Today, Games, and App tabs

Like Google Play, App Store and the Apple team also want to promote great apps and optimize the user experience. Based on the research we made, we know that Apple editors evaluate the app’s appealing, innovative features, uniqueness, quality, and user experience. App Store games have different factors considered for getting featured, such as gameplay, story, graphics, and performance. 

We also know that Apple favors apps that use Swift (the programming language from Apple), Apple’s API, new Apple updates, and if an app is regularly updated. Since the quality of the apps is one of the most important factors, you need to have high app ratings if you want your app to be considered by Apple’s editorial team.

Before you submit your app’s story to Apple’s editorial team, make sure you do the homework and optimize your app as much as possible:

  • Provide a great story to share with Apple
  • Time your featuring request with your app’s major feature update
  • Do a proper app store optimization of your app.
  • Include high-quality and landscape screenshots
  • Have your app properly localized
  • Share with Apple why your app is an excellent fit for the users from the perspective of features, performance, and user engagement.
  • Have a library of high-quality visual assets that you can share with Apple if you receive a featuring invite

We mentioned already that you could expect a strong effect from being featured. The first place where you will notice the impact of getting featured in the App Store Browse impression that will spike. Consequently, you should see the installs going up, category rankings and ratings, and reviews to some extent. However, you will also see a lower click-through rate because many iOS users will see your app featuring, but it will be relevant only to a small portion of those users.

The effect you will receive also depends if your app will be a part of the “App of the day” placement or a part of a curated list of apps. The list of apps usually has modest results compared to prominent placements. The different App Store elements will have more weight based on the featuring. E.g., if your app is a part of the list, the icon, app name, and subtitle are more critical than the app description. 

If the requirements from Apple seem too challenging to fulfill, you are right; they are. Apple wants to recommend only the highest quality apps that tell their story in many ways. But that doesn’t mean you should give up. If you manage a quality app, invest some time and resources and try to get featured.

Expert tip: with App Radar, you can track the featuring of your and competitors’ app, get alerts to prepare your assets on time, and monitor what kind of App Store featuring works for your competitors and their localizations.

App Store Connectand app management

App Store Connect is the App Store apps’ management and reporting platform. App developers can use the platform to upload app builds, perform internal testing, manage their code using Apple Xcode Cloud, and automate the development process. App marketers use App Store Connect to upload and manage app metadata, store assets, promote and test their apps, analyze app performance, and do other things.

app store connect
Overview dashboard for app updates in the App Store Connect

Like Google Play Console is the primary platform for everything around Android apps, App Store Connect is the leading platform for managing your iOS app. 

As an ASO expert, you will most often use the following tabs in the App Store Connect:

  • iOS app version information – you can upload store assets (preview videos and app screenshots), write promotional text and app description, and upload app keywords. You can also work with developers if you want to push additional functionalities like app clips and an iMessage app. All these things you need to prepare for each of your localizations.
  • App information – if you work with multiple localizations, you also need to provide each locale’s app name and subtitle. Because these metadata fields carry the most weight for the Apple algorithm, you need to spend some time with your most important keywords in the app name and subtitle.
  • Apple App Store features – to reach the full potential of your app, we highly recommend you explore in-app purchases, in-app events, Custom Product Pages, and Product Page Optimizations (to do A/B testing directly in the App Store)
  • App Analytics – all information on your app performance like impression, conversion rates, product page views, downloads, app usage metrics, and much more can be found here. App Store provides detailed metrics with multiple filters that you can use to break down each metric and explore the data.
  • Sales and Trends – to get more information on the financial side of all the apps you manage, you can use subscriptions and sales reports. 

Unlike the updates in the Google Play Store, the review time for the updates you make in the App Store can take up to 7 days to be visible. For app marketers, you need to plan the app update process carefully and take enough time in advance if you plan to add new keywords to your metadata.

App Store Connect comes with plenty of data, but updating your product pages and navigating through all the reports can eat your resources. App Radar integrates with App Store Connect and pulls all the data directly into the platform. So the next time when you want to update some of your localizations, you can easily have an overview of your most important keywords, check App Store data, and perform updates of your App Store listings directly in the App Radar. 

Best practices for ranking in App Store

To rank your app high in the App Store, you will need to invest a significant amount of time and resources. Whatever the category you are playing, you will always encounter powerful competitors investing heavily in app store optimization. Many will also use in-store promotion tools, paid user acquisition, conversion rate optimization, user retention, A/B testing, user management, and everything else that contributes to getting more installs and growing your app’s user base.

This guide focused on the best practices for app store optimization, which is the most fundamental aspect for successful app rankings in the long run. If you are starting with app marketing, focus on organic presence and work on building the app assets that are prerequisites for listing your app in the App Store. 

Follow the pieces of advice listed throughout this article to optimize your app metadata (app name, subtitle, and keyword field) and visuals (icon, preview video, and screenshots). Pay attention to user management (ratings and review), and work with in-store features for more exposure (in-app purchases, pre-order, featuring, in-app events, custom product listings, and product page optimization).

The hard truth is that app store optimization alone may not be enough to continuously succeed in the App Store. For the most significant effect, you need to focus on every aspect of your user experience and funnel, and including paid user acquisition is equally important. 

The App Radar platform has everything you need to work on your app store optimization, but if you want to enhance your app marketing, you can also connect your Apple Ads account (coming soon) to get a comprehensive overview of how effective your app marketing is. 

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