How to Get Backlinks: 11 Strategies

If you follow the right formula to earn backlinks, you can massively improve your website’s rankings and authority.

But low-quality backlinks can damage your rankings and reputation.

The most impactful backlinks are:

• Editorially earned
• From a relevant, authoritative website
• Not paid for or sponsored

In this article, we’ll cover 11 ways to get quality backlinks, regardless of your industry.

1. Digital PR

Digital PR consists of creating linkable assets and promoting them to relevant journalists and publications. If done well, it can be a scalable way to earn backlinks.

But keep in mind that you’ll need to create assets that publications want to link to.

Some common examples include:

• Data-driven studies
• In-depth, long-form guides
• Infographics and visuals

If you create a resource that’s in-depth, compelling, and accurate, people will naturally cite you as a source.

The best part is that these links are editorially-placed, which Google prefers.

And John Mueller, Search Advocate at Google, states that digital PR is “just as critical as tech SEO.”

To create this post, we first did keyword research to find a high-volume keyword. “Most visited websites” has a US search volume of 4.4k and a global search volume of 11.9k.

The goal was to create something that journalists would use and link to from their articles. To do this, we included the right data from our tools and designed a post that would make a good resource relevant to many industries.

Here’s the section on Education:

To sum things up, we made a resource that is frequently updated, visually easy to understand, and relevant to many industries. 

And as a result, our blog post has over 12.3k backlinks from over 847 referring domains.

This includes backlinks from the likes of Time, Glamour, Hubspot, and more.

2. Resource Link Building

One of the most effective—and simple—ways to get backlinks is with resource link building.

Resource pages are curated lists of links (i.e., resources). 

There are resource pages for pretty much any topic you can think of. 

Like:

• Resources for learning SEO
• Information for dog trainers
• Sites for career planning

Let’s look at the career planning resource from the above list as an example.

Here’s what the resource page looks like. It’s filled with links to other websites that help people plan their careers in different industries:

To get your website listed on this page, all you’d need to do is fill out this form:

Voila: with only five minutes of work, you could get a valuable backlink.

You can find more resource page opportunities by looking at which pages already link to your competitors.

Here’s how to do that with the Semrush Backlink Analytics Tool.

First, click on the Backlink Analytics tool in the “Link Building” section of the navigation sidebar.

Enter the competitor’s URL you’d like to review, and click “Analyze.”

Next, navigate to the “Backlinks” tab on the top navigation bar.

This will give you an overview of what types of backlinks a site is getting as well as a full list of them.

Now, filter the URL column by the word “resource.” This will provide you with a list of pages that link to your competitor and contain the word “resource” in the title or URL:

In other words, it’s a list of resource pages that already link to a site in your industry (your competitor). 

Which means there’s a good chance they’ll be willing to link to your site, too.

Review the results to see if there’s a page on your site that would be a good addition to one of these resource pages. Or, if you don’t have a page currently, you can always create one.

Your last step is go through the resource pages and either submit your resource via their forms or contact the site owners directly.

3. Broken Link Building

Broken link building is the process of finding broken links on pages within your niche and reaching out to the webmaster with resources of your own to replace them with.

Here’s an example of what a user may see if they click on a broken link:

Not only is this a poor user experience, but it also makes the site owner look bad.

Broken link building is a relatively low-effort tactic that leads to a win-win situation: the site owner fixes a broken link, and you get a backlink.

Here’s how to find broken links and contact site owners with your replacement:

First, navigate to Backlink Analytics. Input a domain related to your niche and click the “Indexed Pages” tab.

For example, if your business was related to personal finance, you could look at nerdwallet.com.

Next, check the “Broken Pages” box on the top left.

This will show any broken pages on the site.

From here, you can click the hyperlinked numbers under the “Backlinks” column to find out what sites are linking to these broken pages.

Now, look for any broken pages focused on topics that you have existing content for (or could create content about).

The second example on this list was a page about the average credit card debt in a household. It has 1,533 backlinks. Let’s run with it.

Click the number of backlinks (the “1,533” anchor text in this case).

You’ll be taken to a list of all the domains that link to the page that’s 404ing:

Use the filters if need be to sort through your results (e.g., type your desired keyword into the “Filter by title or URL” section at the top right of the above screenshot).

You can check the “Anchor and Target URL” column to find the page URL as well as the anchor text that the sites are using to link to the broken page.

Once you’ve found a few solid opportunities like the one above: 

• Reach out to the site owners to inform them they are linking to a broken page;
• Offer an alternative page on your site that they can link to instead.

To stay organized, track your progress with our Link Building Tool.

4. Unlinked Brand Mentions

It’s possible that your site is mentioned across the web—from online newspapers to product reviews to podcasts.

Ideally, these mentions link to your website. However, that’s not always the case. Hence the phrase “unlinked brand mentions.”

The good part is that people are mentioning you. So you’re halfway there. If the site already mentions your brand, they may be willing to add a link.

You can find these opportunities with our Brand Monitoring Tool.

Start by clicking the “+ Add new project” button.

Next, scroll down and click “Set up”, which is located to the right of the project name.

Next, enter your brand name, including any alternate versions of your brand name (or even common misspellings) to cast as wide a net as possible. 

Fill out the rest of the campaign details, then tick the “Send me email report” box at the bottom of the page if you’d like to receive weekly updates:

Once you click “Start Tracking,” you can keep tabs on any brand mentions within the campaign parameters you set.

To specifically find unlinked brand mentions, navigate to the filter that says “Link to website” and select “No link.”

This way, you can find and reach out to the webmasters, journalists, or bloggers who mentioned your brand and ask them to add a link.

To maximize your chances of earning a high-quality link, you need to be able to showcase how the link adds value. In other words, you need to tell them how adding your link will benefit them.

You can use this template as a base for reaching out, which you can do and manage through the Link Building Tool.

Click “Send to Link Building Tool” at the top right of your results.

You’ll be directed to the tool, where you can connect your email and use a template like this one to reach out:

5. Supplier Links

If you sell other people’s products, you could be sitting on an excellent opportunity to earn authoritative backlinks to your site.

Many manufacturers and suppliers have “where to buy” pages on their websites, like this example from a bicycle manufacturer. 

Each one of these is a store that sells that specific brand of bike. The supplier is happy to link to these shops from its website because it draws attention to their product (win-win):

This link-building tactic is simple.

First, pull together a list of all of your suppliers. 

Then, visit each website to find out which ones have pages linking out to their retailers.

Look for a button or link called something like “retailers” or “dealers”:

Find a page where your site isn’t listed?

Reach out to your contacts at the company and ask how to get your website listed and linked. 

6. Business Association Links

If you’re a member of a business association, you may have an easy opportunity to earn a backlink.

Business associations are organizations that bring together businesses, usually in one area (like a local Chamber of Commerce group).

To start, either join a local business association or navigate to the website of the one you’re a part of. 

Then look for a “members” page on their site. This page will typically be in the form of a member directory, like this example from the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce:

If you are a member but don’t see yourself listed, reach out and ask how to get added.

Here’s another example from the Downtown Naperville Business Directory for businesses in downtown Naperville, IL. It includes a directory that links to its members:

If you aren’t a member and think that you could benefit from what they offer, go ahead and become one. Then, chase that link.

7. Listicle Link Building

Listicles are articles presented as lists. They can vary depending on your industry and can cover topics like:

• Best restaurants in [city]
• Top 10 [products]
• 20 ways to do [action]

Here’s how the search results look like for “best vegetarian recipes”—all listicles:

But the key is to find listicles that don’t include your site. Here’s how to find these pages so you can reach out and pitch your business:

If you own a local business, try searching for “things to do in [your city],” “best restaurants in [your city],” etc.

You can also use Google search operators—commands to further specify your search—to identify listicles in your industry that exclude your site.

Use the minus sign (-) to exclude phrases you don’t want to appear in your search. In this case, it would be the name of your business.

Let’s say you own Quartino Ristorante, an Italian restaurant in Chicago.

If you wanted to find listicles that didn’t (yet) include your business, you could search the following on Google: “best restaurants in chicago -quartino ristorante”

None of the results here contain the phrase “Quartino’s Ristorante.”

Take a look at the page one results and make a note of any listicles you’d like to feature your site.

Let’s say we’d like the position one page from Eater Chicago to feature our hypothetical restaurant.

Do some digging to find the best way to reach out to the site owner. In this case, Eater Chicago has a contact page where you can specify why you’re reaching out:

You can also click the social media links in their navigation bar if you think you’d have better luck messaging them there.

Eater Chicago has a pretty large following, so it may not be a foolproof method, but it can be a good chance to reach out in a more personal way.

Not exactly sure how to craft your pitch? Read our guide on email outreach to learn tips on pitching to earn backlinks.

8. Link Gap Analysis

One of the quickest ways to find backlink opportunities is to conduct a link gap analysis.

This allows you to find sites that link to your competitors, but not to you (yet). You’ll have the chance to earn the same quality backlinks that your competitors have—or even edge them out.

If a website has linked out to more than one of your competitors, there is a very good chance that they will also link out to yours.

As long as you can justify why they should do so, of course.

You can use the Backlink Gap tool to make this process much easier. 

Start by entering your domain and up to four competitors.

You can enter up to five domains total. Once you enter them, click “Find prospects” and you’ll be able to see the domains (and pages) linking to one or more of your competitors.

Here’s what the main screen will look like:

On the left-hand side, you can see which referring domains link to the domains you chose to review.

To find out exactly which pages are linking to your competitors’ sites, click the arrow symbol next to the number in the competitor’s column:

If you click on this arrow in the realtor.com column, you can see links to the two pages from nj.gov that link to them, the authority score of those pages, and more.

Not every page will be a perfect match since you may find some spammy backlinks. So take the time to visit the pages that provide your competitors with backlinks to see if they are worth pursuing.

Once you find a page that you’d like to link to your site, you can begin outreach straight from the Backlink Gap tool. 

Click the “+ Start outreach” button toward the top of the page.

This will open a window that allows you to send prospects directly to the Link Building tool, where you can manage outreach and send emails without leaving Semrush.

9. The Skyscraper Technique

The Skyscraper Technique is a link building tactic that follows a proven process:

1. Find successful content that has earned lots of links
2. Create better content
3. Promote that content to those who linked to the original piece

Why does the Skyscraper Technique work?

People are naturally attracted to the best of the best.

So the goal is to become the tallest “skyscraper” in your space. Your content should be so good that people will want to link to it over other options.

To perfect the Skyscraper Technique, create the best piece of content on the web for your chosen topic. Go all-in on things like:

• Length
• Depth
• Visuals

Let’s dive into a few examples that follow the Skyscraper Technique. We’ll start with this comprehensive list of SEO tools from Backlinko:

You’ll have a hard time finding a longer list of SEO tool reviews than this one (hence why it’s so linkable).

It also includes a filterable table of contents so users can find exactly what they want within the list.

While more isn’t necessarily better, it can be if all the content is useful and covers all aspects of the topic.

Here’s another example from Hubspot. It covers 25 “About Us” page examples, templates, and a downloadable guide for users who want even more information.

The page itself provides plenty of examples and visuals, but they go one step further with long-form downloadable content.

Ready to try out the Skyscraper Technique yourself? Start with competitor research.

Your goal is to find popular sites within your niche and find out which of their pages get the most backlinks.

You can use Backlink Analytics to research a competitor within your niche. Let’s use Crate and Barrel as an example.

Head to the “Backlinks” report as seen below.

Scroll down to see where they are getting backlinks, the Authority Scores of those pages, and more.

Specifically, look at:

1. What pages are getting the most links?

2. What do they have in common?

You can also perform this step in Google if you want to start your research by topic.

Search for a topic within your niche that you’d like to pursue. Then, take a look at the pages that rank on page one.

For further details, enter individual pages into Backlink Analytics the same way we did for Crate and Barrel above:

Be sure to research more than just traffic and backlinks. Editorially review the pages to take note of content, graphics, etc. that you can make even better on your own page.

Once you’ve gathered enough information, create your own piece to compete with the pages you found in your research.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t simply take a piece that’s performing well and reword/add more images—that probably won’t work very well. Add your own spin to the topic via the angle, structure, visuals, etc.

While writing (or updating) a page using the Skyscraper Technique, your goal should be to make your page:

• More comprehensive
• More up-to-date
• Better designed
• Better organized

Now that you’ve updated your page, look for prospects who may be interested in linking to it.

The key is to reach out to people who already link to similar content. You’ll offer them a better, more comprehensive option to link to.

To find people to reach out to, head back to Backlink Analytics and plug in a page you want to compete with.

Navigate to the Backlinks report again and see what pages link to the competition. 

As highlighted above, you can see exactly what pages link to your competitor’s page and what anchor text is used.

Repeat this step until you have a list of potential link building prospects. This is an ongoing process, though, so you can always go back and add more.

Here’s a template you can use when you reach out:

Keep in mind that the idea is quality over quantity here. So while you may only end up getting 10 or 15 links, this can actually make a huge impact if they are from relevant, authoritative sites.

Ideally, if you’ve put in the work and have created a solid page, it should be a no-brainer for others to link to your page.

10. Help a Reporter Out

If you’ve never come across HARO before, you’re missing out on some great opportunities to earn links from the press.

HARO, or Help a Reporter Out, connects journalists with sources. If a journalist chooses to use your content as a source, they may also give you a backlink.

Here’s how it works:

After signing up, you’ll receive emails three times each business day. 

They will look something like this example from zestard.com:

In this case, the journalist is searching for tips on making a home look more elegant. They include requirements so sources know exactly what to send. 

You can choose which industries to subscribe to as well. So if you signed up to get queries within the interior design industry, then you would have received this tip.

Visit the live page from Best Life Online and you’ll find a variety of tips with quotes attributed to various sources. A.k.a: backlinks.

The best part about this tactic is that you don’t need to do much legwork if you set up your HARO account correctly.

Respond to relevant emails with a link and any additional information from the journalist’s request.

Journalists across all industries need quotes and sources to back up their articles. In order to cite a source properly, they’ll need to call out where they got specific information.

So if you see a request that is relevant to what you do, go ahead and respond to it and you could become a source for an article (in other words, earn a backlink). 

Be as comprehensive as possible and only reply to topics and requests that you are indeed an expert on. 

You won’t be successful with every pitch, but choose your responses carefully, and it can be a great way to authoritative links.

11. Provide Testimonials

Customers often rely on testimonials and reviews to make purchasing decisions. 

But did you know you can also leverage testimonials to earn backlinks? 

Here’s how it works:

Write a blog post that highlights products or services you love. Then, notify the owners of the sites you mention. 

They may link to your content or share it on social media. 

Or, if a site has a space for users to leave reviews, that’s an easy and less time-consuming way to get started.

Here’s an example of Hubspot’s testimonials page. If you click the “learn more” buttons, you’ll be directed to the sites that gave Hubspot an award or shoutout:

Semrush also has a Success Stories page where companies can email their testimonials:

We’ve posted success stories for a wide range of Semrush users and link back to their sites from this page:

This process is a win-win: sites can send us their stories and receive a backlink if we feature them, and we can highlight some of the ways Semrush has helped businesses succeed.

Here’s how you can get started:

Begin by writing a testimonial or case study on your site that shouts out a tool/service/etc. (Of course, make sure it’s relevant to your industry and a tool you actually use.)

For example, we wrote a blog on some of our favorite free and paid SEO tools. We included over 50 tools we use and love and added a link to each of them.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t create useless content in an attempt to get links. You’ll want to make sure that your content is valuable to your readers.

However, “free seo tools” has a search volume of 3,600.

So in this case, we chose a keyword people in our industry were interested in. Then took the opportunity to provide some testimonials for tools we use and love.

As of writing, this page has a total of 5.1k backlinks from 421 referring domains.

After sharing an accompanying infographic on LinkedIn, we got over 2.7k reactions and 391 shares:

If you write a thorough, informative piece that also highlights tools you use and love, it can be mutually beneficial. The owners of the tools you mention may share, and it might resonate with others within your community or niche.

Final Thoughts

The right tactics for your link building strategy will depend on many factors, including how competitive your industry is and how authoritative your site is.

While there are many ways to build links, it’s a good idea to start by creating high-quality content. From there, you can start pitching specific pages and trying out different approaches.

Not every attempt will earn you a backlink, but it only takes a few quality links to make an impact.

Good luck and happy link building!

An In-Depth Guide to App Store Optimization (ASO)

If your business has an app, you need to ensure you take advantage of proper app store optimization (ASO) methods.

There are millions of apps in the Apple App Store and Google Play store. To stand out, you need to understand how app store optimization works and how it can be leveraged. ASO shares many similarities with SEO, but there are some distinct differences that you need to know about if you want to accelerate your app’s performance.

Keep reading to learn how to optimize your app for the two major app stores, as well as the reasons why you can’t ignore ASO and the major ranking factors for each. 

Specifically, we’re going to look at:

• What is App Store Optimization?
• 3 Reasons Why You Can’t Ignore ASO
• Optimizing Your App for Different Platforms
• How To Optimize Your App 

What is App Store Optimization?

App Store Optimization is the process of increasing the visibility of an app on the major app stores. The two major app stores are Apple’s App Store for iOS devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.

3 Reasons Why You Can’t Ignore ASO

To be successful with ASO, you need to be aware of what factors impact it. Its main factors include optimizing your app’s title, subtitle, and description, choosing the right keywords and categories, encouraging reviews, and more. This guide is going to explore each of these in detail. Before we take a deep dive into how you can optimize your app, let’s take a look at three reasons why you shouldn’t be ignoring ASO:

• 1. Improve Your App’s Visibility
• 2. Increase Organic Installs Of Your App
• 3. Increase Your App’s Revenue and Conversions

1. Improve Your App’s Visibility

Ask yourself this: if your app isn’t ranking prominently on the app stores, how will people find it?

The answer is that you need to rely on your other marketing channels to drive traffic and awareness: your website, social channels, email list, or paid media. In fact, according to App Radar:

A whopping 70% of mobile users utilize search to find new apps and 65% of all downloads occur directly after a search, making app store search the most popular way of finding new apps.

Ranking on the app store doesn’t happen by chance. Just like ranking on Google doesn’t happen by chance. You need to have a solid ASO strategy in place to influence your growth on the platforms. 

2. Increase Organic Installs Of Your App

Just ranking on app stores doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to see an influx of installs, but you should expect to see improved metrics when combined with an effective ASO strategy.

Part of the ASO process is all about writing enticing descriptions, titles, and sharing attention-grabbing screenshots, all of which can help to make your app stand out and grab clicks from searchers. 

3. Increase Your App’s Revenue and Conversions

The majority of apps are set up to earn revenue or drive conversions in one way or another. Many free apps take advantage of user-friendly ads—well, as user friendly as they can be. Most users dislike interruptions when using apps; it makes sense to increase your revenue by implementing in-app ads that don’t disrupt the users. 

You can use reward ads, where users receiving a “reward” in your app for watching an advertisement. There are also interactive ads; these types of ads can be mini-games that can entertain users. Or, you can use ads to encourage users to upgrade to more premium levels of your app.

Optimizing Your Apps for Different Platforms

We’ll walk you through exactly how to optimize your app. However, it’s important first to address the differences between optimizing for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. There are different ranking factors specific to each platform.

The Differences Between Apple App Store and Google Play Store

These two popular app stores have a lot of similarities. Each operates (from an end-user perspective) in the same way and serve the same purpose: to allow users to search for and install apps on either their iOS or Android device. However, each app store has its own system (or search algorithm, for those thinking as SEOs) that you need to optimize your app for.

Both app stores use a review system to ensure that they maintain a consistent level of quality. However, it’s important to note that the process for Apple is typically lengthier. That’s one key difference; you’ll need to leave at least a three-day buffer for iOS apps.

Secondly, another key difference is the way that keywords are used as a ranking factor. The Google Play Store indexes the entire content (title, description, etc.). In contrast, the Apple App Store uses a specific keywords field for you to include the relevant keywords for ranking purposes. 

It’s important to note that neither platform has released the intricacies of their algorithm. However, conclusions can be drawn to determine what is relevant for each platform:

Apple App Store Ranking Factors

The key ranking factors for iOS apps on the Apple App Store, based on the things that you can influence, are:

• App name
• App subtitle
• App URL
• Keywords
• The number of installs
• Reviews and ratings
• App updates
• In-app purchases

Google Play Store Ranking Factors

The key ranking factors for Android apps on the Google Play Store, based on the things that you can influence, are:

• App title
• App short description
• App long description
• The number of installs
• Reviews and ratings
• In-app purchases
• Updates

How To Optimize Your App 

If you’re looking for higher install numbers, you need to know how to optimize your app properly. We’ve compiled this step-by-step guide to optimize your app’s listing on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, paying close attention to the slight differences between the two platforms:

• 1. Optimize Your App’s Title and Subtitle
• 2. Optimize Your App’s Description
• 3. Use Keywords Effectively
• 4. Choose The Right Screenshots and Add A Preview Video
• 5. Encourage Reviews and Ratings
• 6. Work To Maximize Downloads
• 7. Analyze and Optimize

1. Optimize Your App’s Title and Subtitle

Not only is your app’s title the first thing that a user will see on the search listings, but it’s also used as a ranking factor by both app stores. 

On the Apple App Store, your subtitle also helps to give context to your app and add further insight.

You need to carefully use keywords here. This has the strongest weighting across all ranking factors, but you need to incorporate keywords naturally, and while being sure you’re creating a memorable and engaging name.

In the example below, we can see that ‘Map My Run by Under Armour.’ It includes both the app’s name and its association with Under Armour, a well-respected and established brand. 

Just be sure to take note of the character count for your titles. Apple’s App Store only offers space for 30 characters. Google Play Store has space for 50 characters. 

2. Optimize Your App’s Description

Google Play Store uses your app’s short description and long description. The App Store doesn’t. Although that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take time to write a compelling and engaging description for iOS apps!

On the Google Play Store, your description is one of the main pieces of content indexed and analyzed by the algorithm for ranking purposes. With this in mind, you need to strategically include the keywords you want to rank for.

When you stop to think about the purpose of your app’s description, it’s to help users to understand what your app is, the main features, and any other information that you need to communicate.

The description for both the Apple and Google stores has a character limit of 4,000. That’s plenty of space to get across the main features and reasons why someone should download your app.

3. Use Keywords Effectively

Keywords play a huge part in ASO success.

While the Apple App Store allows you to include up to 100 characters of keywords within the keyword field, Google Play Store doesn’t have this feature. Rather, it indexes keywords within other content elements (pro tip: be sure to include your main keywords in your description and title).

Across both platforms, you need to make sure that you’re choosing your keywords carefully and focus on the key queries that searchers are using. But how do you decide on these? Keyword research.

The way users perform written searches are typically the same across all areas of the web. This means the keyword research tools you use, such as the SEMrush Keyword Magic Tool, can help you identify the way people are searching.

Start by entering the main features of your app and note down the trends and high-volume searches. It’s also recommended that you take the time to analyze your competitor’s app names and descriptions to determine the keywords that they’re targeting for a good starting point for your research. 

4. Choose The Right Screenshots and Add A Preview Video

We’ve already mentioned that ASO is as much about encouraging people to click on and install your app as it is increasing your visibility.

After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than having prominent rankings but a poor click-through rate.

One of the most impactful things you can do to increase the CTR on the Apple App Store is choosing the right designs to attract attention. These display both on the app search results and within the listing itself on iOS. On Google Play, they only show when someone clicks your listing. 

This is your opportunity to visually showcase your app even before a user has clicked onto it. And there’s an opportunity here to get smart and create visuals that really stand out. 

You can also choose to include video in place of static visuals. This can help your app to stand out against the competition. However, you need to know your limitations:

• Apple App Store: You can showcase 10 screenshots. You should use all 10 slots, being sure to create the right image sizes for different devices. You can find the dimensions here.
• Google Play Store: You can choose up to 8 screenshots. You can find the dimensions here.

5. Encourage Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are an indication of your app’s popularity and quality. If you have lower ratings, you won’t be shown at the top of the app store results; it’s that simple.

A key part of app store optimization is encouraging users to leave reviews and ratings, especially when both stores consider higher rated apps to be more relevant.

But how can you encourage users to leave reviews or rate your app? Here are a few ideas:

• Ask users to leave a review from within the app itself. A good time to do this is after a stage where a user has completed a positive action. You could ask for a review after a user has completed a level, application, or purchase. However, be cognizant of how often you’re asking for reviews— the App Store has a limit of three times per year per user that you can seek a review.
• Consider encouraging reviews from your existing audience through other channels. Using social to drive awareness of your app? Or email marketing? Ask your users (often your loyal fans) on those channels to consider leaving a review of their experience. 
• Use gamification as a way to reward reviews. If your app lends itself to this, you can provide rewards to garner more reviews. You can learn more about the gamification tactics here.

6. Work To Maximize Downloads

This one is a bit like a double-edged sword. 

The more downloads your app gets, the better visibility it will receive. It all comes down to the algorithm rewarding popular apps.

You need to emphasize the importance of increasing your visibility. But you also need to work to increase your app’s install rate. After all, a visible app that isn’t getting downloads won’t remain visible for long.

When it comes to benchmarking and setting goals, the overall market is pretty tough. According to an app conversion rate study by AppTweak:

The average Install Rate in the Apple App Store in the US is 3.42%.

However, this does differ by category, with finance apps enjoying an install rate of up to 8.5%. Meanwhile, board games receive just 0.7% of installs once they’ve been seen on the search results. 

Take the time to research the average in your industry and set your sights on improving your install rate above this mark. 

7. Analyze and Optimize

Once you’ve optimized your app, started to encourage reviews and ratings, and see an increase in installs, it’s important to analyze your results and continue to optimize.

Look at ways to continue improving your install rate, click-through rate, and the volume of downloads you’re receiving. Don’t be afraid to swap out keywords and try different titles, subtitles, and descriptions. 
Just as with SEO, you’re going to be constantly fine-tuning your strategy to see what works and delivers the results you’re looking for. Be sure to keep your keywords fresh and update where necessary and update your design images or videos if you make changes to your app over time. These small adjustments may move the needle toward a successful app!

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Having an app can be a valuable asset to your business, but it needs to be visible and get installs to drive value. 

Anyone with a solid knowledge of SEO shouldn’t have difficulties applying their skills to ASO, so long as the ranking factors are understood and the processes laid out by the platforms are followed. 
Good luck!

A Complete Guide to App Store Optimization (ASO)

Learn the practical steps of App Store Optimization (ASO) from start to finish so you can improve app visibility & downloads.

In Q1 2021, there were 3.48 million apps available for Android users on Google Play — and Apple App Store has approximately 2.22 million apps in place for iOS users.

The dilemma marketing teams face today is not whether to invest in apps to engage with their audience, but how they can enable people to discover their apps in the first place.

This is where app store optimization (ASO) is so important.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What is app store optimization?
• How to achieve higher rankings within app stores.
• Types of app stores to promote your company app.
• Tactics to improve your organic rankings for apps.

Whether you are new to app store optimization or simply keen to refine your approach to ASO, this post shares practical insights which are proven to maximize app store success.

What Is App Store Optimization?

App Store Optimization (ASO) is known by a few names, including App Store Marketing and Mobile App SEO.

ASO is fundamentally about improving the visibility of your apps inside an app store search engine such as Google Play or Apple App Store. By increasing impressions, you can support other goals such as traffic to your online app and downloads.

The focus of ASO is expert resource applications related to improving the ranking of mobile applications (apps) directly within app stores (like iTunes, Google Play, and Windows Store).

The main mobile phones that apps are created for are the iPhone/iPad, Android, and Windows Phone.

The goal of ASO is nearly always app downloads, but supplemental goals can include items such as:

• Increased brand exposure.
• Positive app reviews and ratings.
• More frequent and increased volumes of app reviews.
• Audience engagement.
• Additional marketing channel diversification.

Are you considering how to justify an investment in ASO?

Well, you should know that app store users and app downloads are growing fast!

According to Statista.com, since 2016 the number of mobile app downloads worldwide continues to grow:

• 140.68 billion in 2016.
• 192.45 billion in 2018.
• 204 billion in 2019.
• 218 billion in 2020.

Understanding App Store Optimization

If you are new to ASO, it may be a more familiar approach to your business’s online marketing than you initially thought.

There are quite a few overlaps in approach between traditional search engine optimization (SEO) and ASO – something we’ll cover in more detail in the next section.

When you think about it, this makes perfect sense.

App stores are, in effect, a closed site search engine, which in turn rely on:

• Easy content (app content) discovery.
• Indexation.
• Plus, app ranking algorithms tied to:
  • Perceived app quality.
  • Freshness.
  • Brand scale.
  • User value signals (e.g., reviews, ratings, engagement).

Sound familiar? It should.

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These factors are all important organic search ranking signals, too.

Marketing experts focusing on generating increased ROI from app stores are primarily targeting key performance indicators tied to increasing app visibility:

• Ranking.
• Impressions.
• Shares.
• Engagement (reviews/ratings).
• Downloads.

Just like SEO, optimizing for your app’s visibility is a constantly evolving and ongoing process.

When you build an app, your goal is to drive traffic.

With a commitment to ASO, consistently tracking and measuring performance and results, you can stand out in the App Store and Play Store where your reach is limitless.

In case you are wondering what categories have the most traction in app stores, the top 5 most popular Apple App Store categories in March 2021 were:

1. Games (21.53%).
2. Business (10.11%).
3. Education (8.67%).
4. Lifestyle (8.62%).
5. Utilities (6.24%).

The percentages outside of the top 5 categories are closely grouped between 2% and 4% and include travel, food/drink, health/fitness, and more.

The only exception to this close grouped trend being entertainment, which has 5.72% of popularity.

Organic Optimization: Your ASO Foundation

The key ingredient missing from many ASO marketing delivery approaches is organic search optimization and integration of app stores within the broader organic marketing mix.

There is more overlap with ASO and SEO than direct competition between the two.

The integration of these areas, and the application of consistent focus on ASO, can support numerous search marketing gains.

You may be surprised to discover that lots of the traditional search engine optimization tactics that work for search engine performance, such as Google and Bing, can also be directly applied to ASO.

Examples of this include:

• App name, title, and URL optimization.
• Keyword research for ASO.
• App rating and reviews generation and handling.
• Deep linking within mobile apps.
• Indexation of Apps in Google SERPS (search engine results pages).
• Click-through rate (CTR) optimization.

The biggest marketing mistake, however, when it comes to integrating SEO and ASO is overlooking the role of the website for driving volumes of referral visits directly to your store page, and app downloads section.

Your website should be seen as the driving force behind leading people throughout the information seeking and buying funnel from your main online entity (your website) through to an engaged, ready-to-buy/download audience (your app store).

As content levels are limited within the app stores themselves, the more that you can leverage your website content to increase app awareness and discovery to build external app authority and visibility, the greater the wider value, traffic and downloads your app will receive.

In-App Store Tactics

A number of specific optimization areas within app stores, including Google Play and other app promotion platforms, can be targeted for updates, refinement, and ongoing optimization.

The vast majority of all app downloads are directly attributed to app stores, so you cannot overestimate the value of in-app store maximization.

While app store features and available fields will vary, the following are the core optimization items you will need to focus on and improve:

App name, URL, and subtitle

Ensure they reflect the core keywords describing your app as well as reinforcing value, differentiation, and other perceived value signals. It is important that these areas reflect the highest value keywords and user search behavior.

You should also note that there are character restrictions in place for areas such as app title (name), and be cautious about potentially implementing low-quality or spam tactics. Keyword stuffing, for example, is easy for algorithms to identify, demote or penalize, so should be avoided.

If in doubt, speak with an expert, or ask yourself why you are adding in this combination of terms? Do they speak to the user? Are they reflective of their search habits?

App keyword field(s)

These are imperative to get right and to update to show the latest and changing user search queries. Traditional keyword research is required for optimizing this. Ensure you take time to gather a comprehensive data set and put in place measures to review, refine and improve this and the other key items in an iterative way (likely monthly).

App ratings and reviews

These are a core trust area for users as well as a ranking signal for app stores. Volume, freshness, and rating all matter.

You will need to have a framework in place for generating regular reviews as well as for replying to and engaging with reviews. Front line staff can provide a wealth of value in this area, and having in place some form of staff training and incentivization can help motivate and empower your team to be proactive and consistent in gathering positive volumes of app reviews.

App downloads

As you would expect, the more downloads your app receives, the higher the perceived buzz, demand, and user value associated with the app. Increasing the volumes of downloads will support increased prominence within the app store’s organic ranking.

It is as important to integrate your marketing channels outside of the app store to drive people to the app as it is to maximize the in-app performance. The better you can combine marketing channels and track the interactions between them, the greater your ability to impact them.

App Updates: Downloads Deserve Freshness

The top-performing apps in app stores are those that are ever-evolving (reflecting user feedback, technology changes, feature additions, and improvements).

They are also those apps that are constantly changing, evolving, and reflecting the feedback and requirements of the audience.

Apps that get updated more frequently tend to derive more positive and more frequent reviews.

They also provide iterative ways to update, engage with, and service your company community.

Updating your app at regular intervals can bring with it added relevance for your product to your audience and enable your brand to react to changing audience needs and competition changes with app refinement and improvement.

Both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store take into account the regularity of app updates as part of the ranking algorithm.

This means that the more your brand is dedicated to progressing your app product offering, the greater your likely app ranking and in-store performance will be.

It is also a useful means to ensure your app remains fit for purpose and supportive of positive reviews and open feedback loops with your audience.

5 Extra App Store Optimization Tips

Here are a final few more tactics that you can deploy for app store gains.

1. App stores use keyword triggers in your app name, title, description, and associated fields, so ensure that you spend time researching the best keywords to use and that you revisit them at regular intervals for optimization opportunities

2. How you present your app store product page will have a big impact on the conversion rate value (downloads) you get from the page. Product page CRO should be an ongoing focus area for generating downloads.

3. Thumbnail images and screenshots used to promote your app in app stores will directly impact the click-through rates (CTR) of impressions compared to clicks to extra app pages.

4. A/B test each of your app store fields for continually improving key metrics associated with the field (CTR, CRO, etc.). This type of experimentation and hypothesis testing is critical for getting every ounce of value from the available optimization areas within app stores.

5. Consider using Apple’s Spotlight Search. By using this app store users can search the apps that they have already installed on their mobile phones. When you enable Apple’s Spotlight Search you can also impact app use and engagement levels as people are going to be exposed to your app more frequently.

Conclusion

App store optimization (ASO) continues to outperform growth trends.

Over the past few years, the necessity and value of apps within the marketing mix have been cemented as a key marketing tactic.

The initial challenge now is how to get apps discovered by users organically within the major app stores.

Hopefully, you now have practical steps to take today to refresh, refine, and better position your apps to generate increased results.

YGOASO – Mumbai based Digital Marketing agency that helps businesses stand out with its plethora of services

YGOASO – Mumbai based Digital Marketing agency that helps businesses stand out with its plethora of services

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YGOASO – Mumbai Based Digital Marketing Agency That Helps Businesses Stand Out With Its Plethora Of Services

YGOASO – Mumbai Based Digital Marketing Agency That Helps Businesses Stand Out With Its Plethora Of Services

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10 Powerful Strategies to Boost organic App Downloads in India

10 Powerful Strategies to Boost organic App Downloads

Tips to Increase Mobile App Installs/ Downloads Organically !

You’ve finally built your own app. Now you have to focus on to increase mobile app installs/ downloads organically.

You love your design, your app icon, and it works flawlessly on every device you tested it on. The niche you found is unexplored and competition-free.

There’s only one problem (and it’s a big one):

No one is downloading your app.

If that’s the case, you’ve run into the same problem many developers encounter after they publish their apps. But don’t be discouraged – if you have an app you want the whole world to use, you can make it happen.

Once you get downloads you’ll be able to make some real money.

All it takes is a little effort and the right know-how to bring your app to the attention of the masses. So, to learn the best ways to boost your mobile app downloads organically, let’s first understand how apps are downloaded in the first place.

How App Store Optimization Works

The first thing you need to grasp to generate more app downloads is how the app stores you publish your app to actually work.

Let’s go over some basic app developer language.

You may have heard of SEO – Search Engine Optimization. But have you heard of ASO – App Store Optimization?

The two are very similar in relation to your app’s success, but ASO has even greater impact on its listing than SEO does for Google search results. ASO is specifically what increases the visibility of your app in the marketplace. The higher its rank, the more users will find your app when they search.

And once a user finds your app, ASO also helps determine whether they actually download it. There are quite a few factors that affect your ASO:

1. Positive reviews: The more positive reviews an app has, the higher its rating will be. When users rank an app highly, it will also be ranked highly, which naturally improves downloads.
2. App downloads: The more downloads you have, the more downloads you’ll get. App publishers should aim for a steady amount of downloads to rank highly.
3. Keyword relevance: Apps with popular keywords in their title and description may see more downloads.
4. Revenue: Apps with a good record of revenue generation will get more visibility from the app store.
5. Country: Regional success can influence your ranking in that region. Boosting your ranking in multiple regions can have a snowball effect.
6. Backlinks: If you can include backlinks to many relevant pages, you can improve your app ranking.
7. Social proof: Your app’s popularity across social media platforms can affect its app store ranking – especially on Android. Shares and +1’s on Google+ can determine whether users notice your app or ignore it.
8. App starts: The number of times users actually open your app also has a significant impact on ranking.
9. Retention: The number of people who uninstall your app vs. the amount who keep it within 30 days also affects rankings. To ensure retention, cater heavily toward your target audience in the app description.

Taking all of these into account can dramatically alter the way your app is perceived by the general public, and how it’s treated by app store algorithms.

Now that you have a better understanding of where your app lives once its published, let’s look in more detail at the 10 best ways to boost your app’s downloads.

1. Create an Enticing App Icon

Your app icon is the first thing someone sees in the app store, so the design you choose is critical to your success. As users scroll through the app store, yours should pop out as eye-catching and recognizable.

Make sure you use a design that serves as a clear representation of your app. It should provide as much of a clue as possible to what users will find after they install it.

With that said, you should keep the app icon as straightforward as possible, and not too flashy. Simplicity is best – you don’t want it cluttered and confusing to the eye.

2. Social Media Outreach

Before you decide on which social networks to use to build your app’s public personal, you have to decide what angle to start from. This means your social media voice must match your app’s personality.

Who is your app? If it were a person, what would it sound and act like?

When posting, use that voice consistently. If your app is edgy and “cool,” don’t bore your fans with bland business language. But if your app is geared towards young professionals, that business speak might suit your audience well.

The social media platforms where apps tend to get the most attention are:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Youtube
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn

But don’t just post information and promotions concerning your app to these platforms. Create conversations and engage with your fans. Reply to comments in your app’s voice to increase engagement. Such a relationship will increase word-of-mouth praise of your commitment to users, and increase downloads as a result.

One word of caution: each social media platform has its own terms of service regarding contests, giveaways, and advertising. Be sure you’re never in violation of them while you draw attention to and build loyalty for your app.

3. Name and Describe Your App Appropriately

A good title means the difference between people knowing your product by name and referring to it as “This thing on my phone.”

So, if you want your app title to stick in people’s heads, the name needs to be unique and appropriate. And while no one can give you the perfect name, here are some evergreen tactics for coming up with your app name:

• Don’t use names that are already in use – Search extensively before you settle on a name and click Publish, or else you might end up face-to-face with a lawyer.
• Keep your app name short and sweet, easy to spell, and memorable.
• Do your best to choose a name that reflects what your app Users should not scroll past your app when looking for something to fit their needs.

And while app stores give you a 225 character limit, you should only use around 25 of them. That’s all that shows up in a search result, so be sure those characters are used wisely.

Your description, on the other hand, is where you need to be most strategic about ASO. It works similarly to the meta description tag for a website but isn’t searchable on the app store.

So, while you don’t need to pack it with keywords, you do need to be strategic with it. By listing important information, benefits and features, social proof, and a call-to-action, you can greatly affect your ASO.

4. Market Your App Effectively

If you’re fortunate enough to have a marketing budget, don’t be too conservative with it.

Typical marketing is structured over a few weeks or months. But if you want to get a sharp spike in downloads for your app in a very short time, concentrate all your marketing spending into a small time frame.

It takes some courage and dedication to roll out a full marketing campaign all at once, but if done successfully, you can see some awesome returns.

Depending on your total budget, you should spend the money within a few days or a week at most. Spread your advertising across the channels that are most popular with your target audience, which could include:

• Social media
• Sites like Reddit and Digg
• Email Marketing
• SMS marketing
• Content Marketing
• App directory sites
• Relevant blogs/magazines

A lot of your downloads will come from organic searches, but many downloads will come from your web-version landing page. That’s why you should also create a webpage dedicated to your app with a clear call-to-action directing users to download your app.

5. Using Eye-Catching Photos and Videos

One of the most important aspects of your app description is your collection of photos, screenshots, and videos.

Photos related to your app that highlight your most popular and needed features will immediately encourage downloads. Screenshots from your app itself are what users will typically look at after they first find you in search results.

A good combination of these two is crucial to encouraging users to click that download button.

Here are a few ways you can use photos to make users more interested:

• Show what your app actually looks like for users – not splash screens.
• Make sure your screenshots contain different aspects of the app in action.
• Include explanations, captions, and arrows that show users what they can do inside your app.
• Put extra emphasis on the most popular and needed features of your app.
• Convince users that your app has a better design than that of your competitors.

If you have the necessary tools, you can even design a video for your app. If you don’t have the tools to make your video, you can hire a professional agency or find mobile specific video editors like the creators at Apptamin.

And if you can, have your app subtitled and translated in several different languages. Reaching out to as many people as possible is key to increasing your download rate, after all.

6. Ask for Reviews

If you can draw positive reviews from fans of your app, you can see your downloads increase exponentially.

Reviews that declare your app a valuable download or say it provides a great user experience are “testimonials” that let other users know your app is worth downloading.

You might be tempted to purchase fake reviews just to increase the amount of attention your app is receiving as a whole. But if the app store finds out you used this tactic, you may have your app suspended entirely.

Organic reviews from real people are far more valuable to your app than fabricated ones because you as the developer can learn from it as well. Not only will the feedback provide other users with an understanding of your product, it can also inform you about what needs to be fixed or changed.

So, send out requests to a variety of people with real influence. Popular YouTubers and critics on major tech websites with large readership are some great targets for your requests.

In your press releases, mention the fact that you’re looking for feedback. In some cases, the media outlets you’ve sent them to will already have someone on their staff specifically there to review apps.

Because you took the time to alert them to something related to your product, they might return the favor by reviewing you positively. And once a publication writes about you, contact every smaller outlet you’ve reached out to in the past. Refer them to the new article and they might write their own with the initial reviews in mind.

You can also offer incentives to users who leave you reviews. This is a great method to increase the amount of users who actually choose to do so. Coupon codes, tangible prizes, or redeemable points to be used within the app can all be great encouragement for people to leave you positive reviews.

7. Devise Clever Promotions

If your app is available with a pay-to-download monetization model, you can experiment with temporary price drops to drive downloads.

An analysis by Distimo compared downloads and revenue data estimates for 12 games from the week of their price-drop promotion to the previous week without the promotion.

The games were able to increase total global revenue by an average of 437 percent in the seven days during the price-drop promotion.

Sure, this might not work for every app or game. But if you have loyal users and powerful word-of-mouth, people might jump at the opportunity to snag your app on the cheap.

8. Hacking the Press

According to a story from Entrepreneur.com, one app developer was able to dramatically increase his downloads and drive impressive revenues by “hacking” the press.

Iliya Yordanov, founder of the personal finance app MoneyWiz, first tried to get publicity by contacting US media and app review sites. To his disappointment, none of the media sites got back in touch with him.

He then realized that if he sent the same press releases to select foreign markets – Russia, Spain, Germany, Italy, and France – he could get reviews and write-ups on his app. The response from the media in these countries drove his app all the way to the number one spot in the finance category on the App Store.

As a result, his app got noticed in the US, which led to Apple featuring his app. After that, the US media quickly took notice.

You can take a similar approach in boosting your app downloads. When you make a list of media outlets to send your presses to, include many in Europe, Asia, Australia, and any other substantial market. If you think users there might love your app, tell them about it!

9. Sharpen Your Keywords

Remember when we talked earlier about the difference between SEO and ASO?

We’ve covered a lot about ASO so far, so here’s how to make sure your app is optimized for search engines.

Say you have a finance app called “Modern Finance.” When choosing your keywords, you’ll want to include the word “finance” as many times as possible in any relevant copy or descriptions found by search engines.

What other terms do you think users are searching for when looking for the need that your app fulfills? Take the time to perform keyword research to see which words tend to get the most traffic.

You can also use the normal Adwords Keyword Tool to search for lateral keywords to use as well. Lateral keywords are the ones suggested by Google after you’ve located your app.

But remember – you shouldn’t just choose any keyword because it has high search volume. Any keyword you use should be accurate and relevant to your app and audience. If you pack your descriptions full of irrelevant keywords, your app could lose credibility and your downloads might suffer as a consequence.

10. Focus on the User

It’s not all about the number of downloads you get. It’s also important to know how, when, where, and by whom your app is used.

Analytics are very important to determining what your users want the most out of your app, and how you can deliver that. They’re also the key to generating continuous downloads.

Analytics should inform you of your users’ behaviors from download until deletion (if they ever do delete your app!). They should also facilitate A/B testing to determine what works best based on certain trigger points you set up inside the app.

The most used analytics on the planet is undoubtedly Google’s Universal Analytics.

Universal Analytics allows you to connect to multiple devices and associate multiple sessions with a unique ID. When you send that ID to Universal Analytics, you can get an accurate user count, analyze the signed-in user experience, and get access to a huge amount of other helpful data.

There’s also Flurry Analytics, a service that boasts huge clients like Yahoo!, EA, and Groupon.

Flurry provides you with loads of info about your app, including:

• Usage: Active users, sessions, session lengths, frequency, retention, and more.
• Audience: Your users’ interest, personas, and demographic breakdown.
• Technical: Device information, carrier data, firmware versions, and details on bugs and errors.
• Events: Define events, see user paths, and create funnels.

There are a lot of other resources out there for analytics for your app. Here are a few:

• Amplitude
• Apple App Analytics
• Mixpanel
• Apsalar
• Localytics
• Countly
• Appsee

Any of these are great options to know how your app is used and what you can do to improve the user experience. The data you’ll get along with your download tracking will help you adjust your app marketing and improve your tactics for boosting those downloads.

Final Thoughts

Generating more downloads for your app is not always the easiest thing to accomplish.

But, if you make use of these tips and best practices, you’ll see a considerable boost in downloads and app store rankings.

Always remember to keep your target audience’s preferences in mind when trying out these strategies. What works best for general consumers might not work as well for your audience – so use these tips while keeping their best interests at heart.

And here’s one last tip: the iTunes App Store and Google Play sometimes change what they consider most important for apps to feature. So, always stay on top of on industry trends and update whatever elements of your app are necessary to deliver exactly what your users need. That way, you’ll always stay high in app store rankings.

If you do all of this successfully, you can feel pretty confident knowing you’ll be able to drive some serious app sales.

Which of these methods for boosting mobile app downloads are you most excited to try?

Increase organic app installs in India | App Marketing Service

App Store Optimization ASO Services in India | App Promotion

Enhancing The Visibility Of Your Mobile Apps

What is ASO?

App Store Optimization (ASO) is for mobile apps just like search engine optimization is for websites. It is the process of optimizing apps to increase their visibility on major app stores, such as App Store for iOS, Google Play for Android and Windows Store for Windows Phone. The higher the rank of your app in the app store’s search results, the higher the traffic to your app and more chances of getting downloads. As 63% of apps are discovered through app store searches, it becomes essential to get your app to the top.App store searches drive the majority of installs and our app store optimization services are designed to help you get the most out of this discovery channel.

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of improving the visibility of a mobile application developed on various platform namely OS, Android, Blackberry, Windows, and cross-platform application. Just like SEO is for websites, so as App Store Optimisation is for mobile apps, which means it helps in ranking of apps in App Stores leading to increased downloads. We create differences to your business requirements.

How Does Optimizing Your Mobile App Help Your Business?

Investing in ASO is one of the best strategies for increasing your organic download, that is, a user discovers your app in search results and decides to download it. 63% of people discover apps through search.

ASO improves your search ranking by helping to:

• Enhance your mob app visibility for increased download
• Improve your rank in various app store’s search results
• Drive more traffic to your app’s page in the app store
• Provide access to relevant and targeted users

Why ASO Matters Today

App Store Optimization (ASO) is a rather recent specialty in the world of digital marketing, because never before has the app market swollen to such a size that it’s become possible – and necessary – for businesses to exploit and use definitive marketing factors to bring their app to the top.

We here at YGOSEO utilize those marketing factors to bolster your application, increase brand visibility, multiply your download numbers and bring you as close to the top of your category as possible.

ASO isn’t an exact science just yet – but we’re among the pioneers who are working relentlessly to decipher every last possibility in the world of SEO for apps.

How does App Store Optimization Work?

App Store Optimization is a method of marketing your app.

In today’s high-tech world, people are experts enough and they know how to search for the specific things on the Internet using their mobile devices. When searching for an app in an app store, an average user takes 3-6 seconds to decide whether they want to download that app or not. If your app comes out at the top of the search results and has eye-catching visuals, great title and easy to understand description, then you can get them to download it. If your app is optimized by a professional ASO company like us, here is how you can benefit:

• Discoverability – Make your app discoverable in app stores
• Conversions – Increase visibility to drive conversion rates
• Downloads – Get more organic downloads with top rankings
• Acquisition – Enhance acquisition results at a low cost

Features of App Store Optimization Service

Our ASO strategy is based on understanding the customers, the competitive landscape of your app.

• Keyword Research for ASO: We inherently understand that both the Google Play store and the iOS App Store have different approaches to ASO. The App Store allows 100 characters while the Play Store allows 4000-characters to determine search results. We use proprietary tools to understand the language and keywords your customers are searching for, your competitors are targeting, and the ones that will drive the most traffic.
• App Title: The most important part of ASO, the App name or title, needs to be a balance between uniqueness, branding, and relevant keywords that drive search results. We recommend short titles, followed by a dash or vertical bar and select keywords for description.
• App Description: An app’s description should function as a call-to-action – describing what the app does clearly, its features, and compelling reasons to download it. Simple, concise and updated descriptions will drive downloads.
• App Reviews & Ratings: The most important factor in app rankings is volume and quality of reviews and ratings – encourage ratings and reviews from happy customers, either through prompts or incentives. We help analyse your existing reviews, increase the volume of positive-sentiment ratings, and leverage feedback to improve ASO.
• App Logo: First impressions matter, and so does your app logo! An attention-grabbing logo in bright colours, unique shape and/or simple imagery is a key part of your app’s branding. For e.g, take Instagram’s logo – it’s bright, it’s descriptive, and is easily recognizable.
• App Screenshots: Including screenshots and videos allow potential users to visualize your app and will drive downloads. Highlight the best parts of your app, its most popular pages, and its key features – this is your window display to the world! We love the screenshots that Snapchat has used – they accurately depict all that the app can do:
• App Publisher Name: Publisher name and reputation also drives app searchability – choose a publisher name that describes the types of apps you create succinctly. For example, the classic Angry Birds game is published by Rovio Entertainment:
• App Category: In the iOS App Store, you can pick a primary and secondary category for your app while in the Google Play Store, you can only pick one. Choosing a relevant category is extremely important to success – your app’s best fit, user mindset, and competitor categories are all valid considerations.
• Download & Retention: Post download, app engagement and retention are the next challenges to work on – a high quality app is only the first step. Introducing incentivisation, adding personalisation, asking and acting on user feedback, as well as frequent updates to the app will be value additions to the lifecycle of the app.

Advantages of YGOASO – ASO Services

• Promising and long term results
• Quality control and timely reports
• Maintain data security and confidentiality
• Proven and tested methodology
• USP – POC – Proof of Concept available

Why to hire YGOASO – ASO Service

• Improved app search results
• Increase in app ranking
• Help brand recall
• Increase in conversion
• Optimized Content and Data
• Rapid app comprehension
• Increase in app sales
• Improved search discovery
• Higher user retention
• Lower acquisition cost
• More app downloads
• Better app visibility
• Better app searchability

Contact us –

YGOASO.COM

+91-7506172142 (Calls & WhatsApp)

+91-7715997317 (Calls only)

sudhir.tambe@myb.co.in

myB Enterprises

YGOSEO is the outstanding app store optimization company offering best ASO service in India with POC – Proof of Concept, having practical knowledge to promote android app at top 3, 5 & 10 ranking on Google app store with maximum 200 of the keywords.

Improvement in App Ranking first, then Billing!

ygoaso.com

Why We Need to Do Off-Page ASO – App Store Optimization for App Ranking?

App Store Optimization, also known as ASO, is relatively young and common best practices are still being ironed out. We have written a blog on some of the important On-Page or App Store Listing optimization, but what about the “Off-Page” factors?

Similar to SEO, there are certain aspects outside of your listing that will improve your app ranking. These may not have as direct an impact as the main elements such as app description, title or use of keywords, but it is essential to having a complete optimization strategy.

App Store Backlinks

Building backlinks for app store links is a great way of raising your app store URL’s authority:

As you can see from the above image, the iOS app store listing has gained a trust flow of 14 and a Citation flow of 12 due to the backlinks currently pointing to that listing. With apps becoming even more prominent in regular desktop and mobile Google searches, this is a great way of indicating that app is reputable and relevant.

Ways of gaining backlinks for your app:

• App Review Websites
• App Blogs. (List of Top Blog Websites … here)
• App Awards (great for brand too!)

Important: You must make sure that the page sending a backlink is relevant to your app as, with any backlinking, irrelevant backlinks may harm your listing.

App Landing Page on Site

A landing page is one of your most important assets. As apps move into desktop and mobile searches, it’s important for your app to be a prominent feature on your site. Your landing page should include links to your listings, as well as clear descriptions of your app functions. 

Having your app link on your webpage will also increase web links to your store, another off-page ranking factor. 

Downloads and Uninstalls

Having a high-quality app listing is great, especially if your app is also of high quality. 

Your app usage metrics are another major factor that Amazon, Apple and Android take into account when judging the quality of an app and where they should be placed in the app stores. 

An app with a high download rate indicates high popularity and will be preferred by app stores.

How to achieve this:

• Have an app that is useful, fun or high quality
• Social campaigns
• Paid promotion (app, social, ppc)
• Referrals

App stores like apps with a healthy stream of daily downloads and they are more likely to feature these on the app home page, which in turn will attract more downloads.

However, if people are downloading your app and a large percentage are uninstalling, this shows that your app is either poor quality or not as described in the app listing. A high uninstall rate will lead to your app being penalised, and at the end of the day no app store wants bad apps at the top.

Other factors:

• Complex on boarding process
• Unexpected costs
• New competitors
• App size too large (over 100mb)

Cross Channel Promotion

If you’re an app based company it’s natural that you’ll promote it across all channels, but if an app is only one of your products, are you doing the same?

Cross channel promotion will ensure your customer base knows about your app and allows the opportunity to be shared outside of your direct reach.

The second most popular app referral source is word of mouth. How can you leverage this?

• Email campaigns to current clients
• Sharing campaign on social
• Include app link in email signatures
• Allow people to share app link easy (e.g. like Uber) 

These are 4 ways to optimize your Off-page ASO, but there are so many more techniques that I’ve yet to mention.

Most Important Things While Doing Off-Page ASO

While starting any Advertisement campaign for your app, prior to that you need to analyze your TG – Targeted Group of people with Gender, Age Group, Region, Language, Tier Cities, Their Potential Capacity, Interest, Hobbies, Habits, common routine, etc. If you did market survey research then well & good by which you can understand your Targeted Group People to whom you can focus to boost your app installs at first level.

While focusing on 1st level you have to monitor & keep changing scenarios of above mentioned parameter’s combination ON-OFF to find the best output results, even focusing on results you have to keep monitoring many app parameters to be maintain few of them are App Installs & Uninstalls Ratio, App uninstallation period, more positive App Reviews & Star Ratings on which TGP – Targeted Group Parameter’s combination, More positive App reviews containing service keywords, More potential app users will get if your ad focusing is near to user’s need, Users app using time should be higher (User engagement), CTR – Click through ratio of visitors should be high which improve your app ranking drastically at the same time app Installation & uninstallation Ratio & time has to be low, Ad’s keyword click ratio should be higher than impression (ratio should be high), After ad click User app description page read duration should be high (on-page user engagement), Ad’s Keywords clicks to App download conversion ratio, Low App Size in Mb, App UI & UX should be user friendly to decrease app installation Ratio & Period, Daily app visitors count, Organic search app ranking, count, clicks to conversion ratio and most important Backlinks to app link.

While generating Backlinks for app link, always need to be focus, above mentioned many parameters also affected during backlinks. Don’t generate backlinks to increase the backlinks count be specific & focus to generate quality & targeted potential app visitors which will get converted into potential app users for long term. That’s why generating quality backlinks are most important thing in off-page ASO.

Do you want Off-Page ASO?

Contact us –

YGOSEO.COM

+91-7506172142 (Calls & WhatsApp)

+91-7715997317 (Calls only)

sudhir.tambe@myb.co.in

myB Enterprises

YGOSEO is the outstanding app store optimization company offering best ASO service in India with POC – Proof of Concept, having practical knowledge to promote android app at top 3, 5 & 10 ranking on Google app store with maximum 200 of the targeted keywords.

Improvement in App Ranking first, then Billing!

ygoaso.com

Most Effective Strategies for App Store Optimization (ASO) in India!

Strategies for App Store Optimization (ASO) in India: Globally there are billions of smartphone users, and that number steadily increases year after year, generating a huge market for the creation and purchasing of apps. 

There are over four million apps that rank on the Apple App Store and Google Play Stores today, which means you’ll need to get strategic about marketing your app if you want to generate mobile downloads and engagement.

Here is 7 Strategies for App Store Optimization Guide (ASO) to boost the visibility and ranking of your app.

What is App Store Optimization?

App Store Optimization (ASO) are improvements made on an app download page to help your app to climb the visibility ladder and encourage more people to download it.

ASO is primarily focused on the world’s two leading app store platforms: the Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play Store (Android).

If you are creating an app or already have one on the marketplace, ASO is crucial for standing out in a crowded app market.

“ASO is not a ‘one and done’ project, it needs continuous attention and consistent updates,” explains Emery.

7 Strategies for App Store Optimization (ASO) in India

There are seven basic principles for ensuring that your app is optimized for the app store.

Following these tips will help you effectively market your app, identify your top competitors, and take your app to the next level.

1. Use Relevant Keywords

Researching the right keywords for your audience is essential.

You will need to pinpoint what keywords your potential customers are searching for and ideally the keywords that your top competitors use.

Matching keywords with your customers’ needs will help them more easily find your app on the app store.

• Don’t use keywords unrelated to your app, it will penalize your ranking.
• Only use one form of a keyword (singular or plural).
• Do not use keywords that include the word “app” or your competitors’ brand names.

For help analyzing keywords, we recommend starting with Google Keyword Planner and migrating to app store optimization tools like Mobile Action and Sensor Tower.

2. Optimize Your Title & Description

Titles are the single most important metadata you can use to get more downloads. 

Focus on writing a title that is under 25 characters so the entire title is visible on the app browse screen. A title should also be memorable to increase downloads. Using your company’s name and top keyword will make your app easier to search for.

Once you have chosen your title, try to search for your app. If there are thousands of results, your title isn’t creative enough.

The description should include as many relevant keywords as possible (without stuffing) in the first 250 characters. Anything after this initial description requires a “read more” click from the potential customer.https://ygoseo.com/app-store-optimization-aso-services-in-india/embed/#?secret=pX2xIxJNED

3. Include Compelling Icons & Screenshots

Compelling visuals can give you an edge in the app marketplace.

Choose an app icon that is easy to recognize and will be memorable for your brand. Aim to use different colors than your top competitors to eliminate any confusion from potential customers.

The majority of people will look at your screenshots before making the decision to download, so don’t skimp on these. We recommend using as many screenshots as the marketplace will allow you to upload. 

Use a colorful template so your screenshots look professional and aesthetically pleasing together. The text should not be the primary focus. Include visual features that show how your app is more valuable than its competitors.

“Always be testing your creative; screenshots & preview videos. This will have a large impact on your ASO performance,” says Emery.

4. Add Video

Creating a video within your app’s page can increase downloads by 35%. 

This significant increase is more than optimizing your title (15%) and visuals (30%). Every increase in downloads is also an increase in your rankings.

Since most people prefer to search and download an app within a few minutes, upload a video that showcases your app’s most valuable feature.

5. Research Your Competition

While understanding who your competitors are and their business strategy is important for any successful business, it is especially important in ASO. 

Before adding your app to the marketplace, you should nail down the best category for your app. 

Factors to consider when choosing a category include: 

• the number of competitors 
• the number of apps that are consistently updated 
• how popular the category ranks (in downloads)

Once you have added your app to the marketplace, you will need to consistently monitor the top performing apps in your chosen category. See if their ranking changes when they add a keyword or change their metadata.

Do your best to rank new keywords before your competitors have a chance to. You will also want to track competitors that have a similar purpose, app features, and even apps that are simply using the same top keywords you are using. 

According to App Tweak, a competitor analysis tool, you should be able to narrow your top competitors down to five so you can effectively manage a consistent ASO routine.

6. Build Backlinks

To build the best backlinks, your app should be actively linked on websites that are relevant to your app and have authority according to Google’s current algorithm standards. 

Backlinks can be in text form or by image using the ALT (ALTernative text) tag. 

While there is some controversy about the effectiveness of backlinks in regards to ASO, it is conclusive that quality vs. quantity is the preferred method of backlink success.

7. Drive Traffic (and Downloads) to Your App Store Page

Having a website that is SEO optimized to host your app information will allow you to drive traffic directly to your app store pages.

Utilizing this website for your app can also help you rank on Google, enabling those doing a simple web search for another option for finding and downloading your app.

You can also use paid app advertising to drive traffic to your app — such as Apple Search Ads (ASA) or Google Universal App Campaigns (UAC).

App Store Optimization Strategy

Mastery of ASO will not happen overnight.

However, if you spend a little time each day working on your app store optimization checklist, you will be pleased with the progress you can make.

Once you are comfortable with the traction your app is receiving, you can venture into promoting your app with paid advertising to further take advantage of ASO and increase your app’s market share.

Contact us –

YGOSEO.COM

+91-7506172142 (Calls & WhatsApp)

+91-7715997317 (Calls only)

sudhir.tambe@myb.co.in

myB Enterprises

YGOSEO is the outstanding app store optimization company offering best ASO service in India with POC – Proof of Concept, having practical knowledge to promote android app at top 3, 5 & 10 ranking on Google app store with maximum 200 of the keywords.

Pricing Plans – Cheapest App Marketing Charges | Organic App Installs