Organic App Growth and ASO Best Practices For Post-COVID-19 World

Every brand aims to grow organically, and builders can go to any length to achieve this goal. But not many are sure how exactly this is possible. So how do you pick up quick and sustainable wins? What strategy is the idea?

Denis Shelkov, an ASO Expert at AppFollow, got on chat with MoEngage to break down the secrets for organic growth using App Store Optimization (ASO).

Here are some of the key highlights from this conversion: 

The News App Example 

To understand the change in brand language, study insights, and understand the market during COVID-19, let’s give a news application. 

These are relatively available apps installed with the phone or downloaded by a majority of users. However, people of a more comprehensive demographic use these applications, making them an ideal base example. 

Most applications after the pandemic passed the visibility peaks of their visibility. Which means they reached the highest number of downloads. People were looking for information, and news apps were an excellent option. 

The visibility score, which is a measure of the app’s performance, is affected by the titles of the app, the keywords used to promote it, and many other minor ASO factors.  

Denis Shelkov noticed that Microsoft News was one such app on the UK app store that changes its information on the app page. They added time-relevant screenshots and shuffled the order of the data. Microsoft News added a new tab within the applications that showed COVID-19 relevant news, and it was necessary to highlight this change on the app page.   

Another interesting trend was the decline in interest in News Apps after a few months. Some users found these overwhelming, while others had received all the info they needed during a crisis. 

Two Strategies For Better ASO:

To achieve organic growth from the app store, a few simple strategies can help any brand. Here are two explained with an example: 

1. Highlight Relevant Features  

Applications can attract a massive following if they prioritize the more useful app features. In the example above, the News App added a screenshot of the Covid-News tab to highlight its relevance. 

Let’s consider the example of a workout application. One of the biggest winners in the pandemic on the UK app store was this genre. They immediately reached their peak on keyword reach with the closing of gyms and outdoor facilities.  

The “Organic FIT” application was a perfect example of an ideal ASO. Firstly, they added the words “Workout from home” on the tile. This addition improved its searchability and also provided a clear impression of the app to a searching user. 

Other changes involved the use of brighter colors and easier-to-read fonts for a mobile device. Other home-workout apps also replaced their screenshots with relevant images that show the app’s usefulness during the current times. 

While this trick sounds manipulative at first, it works if all the changes are genuine. The features on the highlight should exist inside the app and not merely a clickbait. 

2. Provide Additional Value

Workout apps would naturally see a spike when propel remain locked at home, but what if your business does turn redundant during a lockdown? Then the only way to gain eyeballs is by highlighting the possible valuable features. 

For example, let us consider a Taxi or Ride-Share app. These saw a 53% drop in popularity when the COVID-pandemic hit. By March 2020, the daily installs were less than 44%. So how should the brand bounce back from this?

Staging an example of Maxim Taxi App. The app changed its title from “Maxim-order a taxi” to “maxim- order taxi, food, and groceries delivery.”  They also updated the screenshot to showcase this service rather than one a user would not use. 

With just this simple change, Maxim Taxi App saw improved visibility by 5%. While most apps remain on an all-time low, this brand could stay afloat with simple process changes. 

How to Find Keywords?

The best way to find the right audience for your app is by using the right keywords during ASO. There are mainly three ways to recognize these keywords. 

• Use ASO tools for keyword reach. This will ensure your keywords are on-power with others in your domain. Use tools like AppFollow or SEMrush to find these keywords. 
• Once you have a list of keywords, sort them based on relevance for the brand. Not all would make a good fit for your product. Performing basic A/B Testing would be essential for this. 
• Lastly, pay attention to the keyword popularity. Do not compete for very high-search volume keywords at the early stages of the app. Instead, have a healthy mix of all kinds of keywords. 

Advice For iOS Apps

On the app-store of iOS, marketers should use as many relevant words as possible without repetition. Additionally, ASO teams should constantly track ratings and reply to the negative feedback on the apps with clarifications and promote rectification.  

Key Takeaways

We can highlight the main takeaways from this conversation into the following: 

• Provide priority to in-app features that are useful at the moment in the current market and social situation.
• Add new values to the app if the current values show low results. 
• Use all mediums like text, videos, and images to amplify your app’s persona. 
• Study your keywords regularly and update them when needed.