Any good product out there aims to solve user problems and generally make life easier, this is the main trigger that brings revenue to the developer. To get it, two important metrics must grow: user base growth (app downloads) and user retention (daily active user - DAU). So long as these two metrics see growth, it doesn’t matter what kind of a monetization model an app developer uses: ads monetization, subscriptions, or in-app purchases.

Getting new users onboard can be done in a myriad of different ways, whichever suits your strengths better: paid traffic channels, PR, offline activities, bloggers and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders), and, of course, organic promotion - App Store Optimization (ASO). The share of these channels in the overall marketing strategy depends on your allocated budget (ideally reducing app marketing costs) and the capabilities of each product you’re looking to promote

In this Academy lesson, you will learn what is ASO and how to increase organic downloads of your apps, as a part of Android or iOS app marketing strategy:

• Learn how to acquire the most valuable users in terms of LTV or conversion to target action;
• Understand the importance of optimizing an app page and what impact it has on all traffic sources.

So what is ASO, and why is it important to integrate this process into the overall mobile marketing strategy? 

Let’s focus on why a developer should pay attention to organic traffic when there are lots of opportunities to promote an app via ads.

Many developers still think the only "promotion" they can do is to use paid acquisition channels: Facebook, Google Ads, TikTok, Apple Search Ads, cross-promotion, etc. It is not necessary to pay for each and every install. Let them come to you instead. App Store Optimization is used to promote an app directly in the app stores: App Store, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and many others.

The big part of ASO is aimed at increasing search visibility and text optimization. The area of responsibility of an ASO-specialist is much wider, however. Any work dedicated to boosting conversion rate (for example, with the graphic assets of an app page) affects all of your traffic channels. Your average app rating directly influences the number of installs. All of that and other mobile app marketing best practices are the responsibility of an ASO specialist, and that’s why more and more companies look for one to join their team.

To describe the main principle of ASO in one sentence, "finding a balance between relevance and actuality" would hit the spot.

Here's an example of how it works:

Imagine you have an app which is a food delivery service: you sell donuts, cupcakes, cookies. Summer comes and it's getting hot outside. Now more and more customers are looking to buy an ice-cream. You notice that, and decide to adapt your delivery service to the customers' needs. You actualize the metadata of your app and add a new "lightning-fast ice cream delivery" tagline and a screenshot with a piece of bright fruit ice-cream cone. However, your service still delivers donuts, cupcakes, and cookies instead of ice and ice-cream. 

What's the result? You got to the point with actuality and adjusted your storefront, but didn't align the relevance of your product with this term. See how the metrics change: the number of impressions/page views/installs will grow vigorously, but hardly anyone will buy your donuts. That’s not what the userd came for. So the first-day retention is 1%, the app rating falls to 2 stars or lower due to a huge number of negative reviews. See this situation from another vantage point: your app may have something new, and your app store page doesn’t reflect it. Thus, you miss out - how can your potential users possibly know about a cool new feature or service otherwise?

For many apps (both for iOS app marketing and Android app marketing), ASO is not the only way to promote, and there are many factors that influence the approach to optimization (brand size, application type, etc.). It is important to find a balance and take into account the app marketing plan and product activities, combining them into a holistic strategy, where ASO will not be limited to mere "work with the keywords."

Even if you do not have a dedicated specialist in your team or are not ready to invest millions in advertising, you should work with organic traffic. Check out this simple mobile app marketing strategy scheme to get started with:

1. Study the market and your competitors.
2. Select relevant keywords and text.
3. Work on your graphic content.
4. Analyze your product's reviews and average rating.
5. Publish the changes.
6. Wait a while and then evaluate the results.
7. Generate ideas about what you'd like to change next.
8. Rinse and repeat.

Next, in our mobile app marketing course, we will share the extensive experience and knowledge of our ASO and app marketing automation experts. We will talk about:

1. Where to draw inspiration and what to look for;
2. How to determine which traffic channel to invest in;
3. How to do optimization and select keywords that will bring more traffic.

Got feedback or simply feeling overwhelmed and need help? Shoot us a message. We will be super glad to hear from you, guide through ASO training, and help out with our expertise in mobile app marketing services.