App store optimization

Apple's iTunes App Store was launched July 10, 2008, along with the release of the iPhone 3G.[3] It currently supports iOS, including iPhone and iPad. There is also a non-mobile app store for Macs. Google's app store, Google Play, was launched September 23, 2008.[4] It was originally named Android Market and supports the Android operating system. Since the launch of iTunes App Store and Google Play, there has been an explosion in both the number of app stores and the size of the stores (amount of apps and number of downloads). In 2010, Apple's App Store grew to process US$1.78 billion worth of apps.[5] iTunes App Store had 435,000 apps as of July 11, 2011, while Google Play had 438,000 as of May 1, 2012.[6][7] By 2016, Apple's App Store had surpassed 2 million total apps and Apple had paid out close to $50 billion in revenue to developers.[8] Industry predictions estimate that by 2020, the App Store will hold over 5 million apps.[9]

As the number of apps in app stores has grown, the possibility of anyone app being found has dropped. This has led to the realization of how important it is to be noticed within an app store. As marketers started working on ranking highly in top charts and search results, a new discipline was formed and some app marketers have reported success.

The first use of the term "app store optimization" to describe this new discipline appears to have been in a presentation by Johannes Borchardt on November 4, 2009.[10] It began to take hold as a standardized term not long after, with outlets such as Search Engine Watch and TechCrunch using the term by February, 2012.[11][12]

App store optimization works by optimizing a target app's keyword metadata in order to earn higher ranks for relevant keywords in the search engine results page, as well as increasing the rate at which users decide to download that target app. ASO marketers try to achieve goals, such as:

• Being found more easily by users on the app stores, due to the fact that 65% of all downloads come from App Store searches[13]
• Ranking higher than competitors.
• Ranking higher for specific keywords.[14][15]
• Ranking higher in Google's semantic search through relevant backlinking.
• Optimize app store assets (e.g. icon, screenshots, promo video, description, etc.) to increase download conversion rate from store features, top chart impressions, and keyword searches.

Many ASO marketers categorize their work into two distinct processes: keyword optimization and conversion rate optimization.

Many app marketers attempt to perform ASO in a way that most app stores would approve of and accept. This is called "white hat" ASO and publicly covered by presentations, conferences.[18][19] Developers also use different platforms available to get their peers to rate their apps for them which provides great feedback. Some app marketers, however, engage in what many call "black hat" ASO and are practices which the app stores do not condone.[20][21]

Black hat ASO includes falsifying downloads or ratings and reviews, perhaps by using bots or other techniques to make app stores (and their users) believe an app is more important and influential than it actually is.

Apple has been proactively fighting against black hat ASO. In February, 2012, Apple released a statement as reported by The New York Times "warning app makers that using third-party services to gain top placement in App Store charts could get them banned from the store."[22]

Google followed Apple in 2015 and started manually reviewing apps, to enforce app quality and reduce black hat practices.[23]

At WWDC 2017, Apple announced major changes to its App Store experience arriving with iOS 11. The major implications of iOS 11 for ASO are as follows:

• Subtitles show for all app impressions – The new subtitle metadata element now appears below the title wherever an app preview appears, as well as in the app product page.
• Three visual tiles show in search results for apps – App results now show either 1 preview video and the first 2 screenshots, or the first 3 screenshots in the search results page.
• Preview videos now auto-play on mute – App preview videos will auto-play in mute, in both the search results page or app product page. If two videos are in-view, the first video will play until completion, followed by the second video.
• Additional results appear in the search results page – Apple editorial content, developer pages, and In-App Purchases are all now eligible to show in search results, in addition to apps and Search Ads.
• Additional app metadata – New app metadata includes:[24]

1. App subtitle (30 characters, which does rank for keyword searches).
2. App promotional text (170 characters, which does not rank for keyword searches). Promotional text appears as a second, separate line above the app description.
3. Up to 3 preview videos (up from 1 preview video in iOS 10).
4. Up to 20 promoted In-App Purchases, each of which appears in the app product page and is also eligible to appear in the featured tabs and the search results page. In-App Purchase metadata includes a name (30 characters, which does rank for keyword searches), description (45 characters, which does not rank for keyword searches), and an icon (1024x1024 PNG/JPEG).

• App titles now limited to 30 characters
• Navigation Tabs Revamped – The iOS 11 App Store now includes three featured tabs (Today, Apps, and Games), as well as the Updates, and Search items. Additionally, the top charts have been moved to within the Apps and Games tabs.
• Top Grossing chart removed – The top-grossing chart is now removed from the App Store app.[25]
• All time-only ratings – Ratings and reviews will no longer reset after a new app update and there is no longer a current set of ratings/reviews. Developers can choose to manually reset their ratings and reviews.
• In-App Purchases now rank for keyword combinations – In iOS 10, users had to type in the exact name of an In-App Purchase before the app would return (e.g. "500 gems"). In iOS 11, In-App Purchases rank for combinations of keyword searches, not just the exact match search (e.g. "clash of clans gems").
• App descriptions locked between releases – The app description, which was previously editable before submitting a new app version, will now be immutable between new versions; though the promotional text will be editable between new versions.
• Top chart appears in the product page – If an app ranks in the top chart for its category or country, the app's best top chart ranking will now appear in the product page, next to the overall star rating.

Additionally, Apple now requires developers to use its iOS 10.3 in-app rating prompt, disallowing custom ratings prompts.[26]