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Every quarter it seems new data is released or new stats shared about the rapid migration of users to smartphones and mobile apps from desktops and the “web”. In 2014 the time spent in mobile apps surpassed time spent accessing the web from desktops. In 2015 Google announced more video is watched from mobile devices, more local search is conducted via mobile and even more web search comes from mobile than desktop.

Traditional business directories and large retailers from Yelp to Target and Macy’s adopted mobile-first strategies with great success. If the two previous years were the large tech and digital companies moving their businesses to mobile apps, the holiday season of 2015 announced that mobile was clearly not only for tech companies but “brick and mortar” retailers as well.

As search moves from simply “Googling” to interacting with a growing array of digital assistants (Google Now, Siri, Facebook M) and users are more frequently searching for content that exists in apps (Facebook, Yelp, Fandango, AllRecipes, Target, Amazon, Netflix etc.) – it has never been more clear a wide variety of businesses stand to benefit from a mobile app for their business.

Building a mobile app is an important first step, but helping your target market find your app, and then access it easily and quickly on their device requires creating an optimized app listing. The strategy of optimizing an app store listing is called app store optimization or ASO.

The two largest app stores, Google Play and Apple’s App Store, account for over 90% of active smartphones, but have different app listing fields with different requirements. While the approach to optimizing an app for each store is a bit different, the opportunity is the same:  Most users find new apps via app store search, and an optimized app help tap into this huge stream of organic traffic.

There are all sorts of strategies and approaches for optimizing a mobile app, but one of the most important things to understand about app store search is how users search the app stores is very different than how they search the web.

A simple demonstration you can do yourself is to search “bakery” or “craft beer” or “sushi” in Google or Bing, and then again in the Apple App Store. The different results you are sure to have received help show just how different the intentions of a user are when performing an app store search versus a web search.

Users searching the app stores tend to search for features and functions, with brands making up the balance of search. Be sure to use your business’ name, and then what you do, or location if relevant.

Ideally you are optimizing your app using the words your target market is using to find your app, which generally requires partnering with an app store intelligence platform – a service that tracks app store search, trends and related search phrases.

The infographic below provides a good overview of ASO for Apple’s App Store. The Apple App Store listing is comprised of an app name, description field, icon and screenshots as well as a “stated keywords” field for you the publisher to help Apple understand what your app is and who it is for.

As more and more users of all age groups turn to mobile first, now is the time to look at how a mobile app can help your business connect with your target market and future-proof your business during this time of change.

About the author

Dave Bell is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gummicube. In this role, Dave is responsible for overseeing the business strategy for the company, driving growth and market development. Dave is a pioneer of the mobile entertainment industry with more than 15 years of experience publishing, marketing and distributing mobile applications and games across carrier, direct to consumer and app store channels.

According to the recent data by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the market of mobile apps is going to keep getting bigger, and, by 2017, there will be over 268 billion downloads. That said, due to the intense competition in the modern mobile app market, it is not enough just to know how many people download your app. Instead, you also need to learn how, when, where and by what kind of audience your app is used. That is why mobile app analytics is key to remaining competitive and keep demand for your app.

Analytics is a key to app optimization

Josh Todd, CMO of Localytics, an analytics provider, “says that it’s crucial for digital content providers to invest in optimizing their mobile analytics to garner key insights into who their users are and how they’re behaving in your app, which can result in better engagement, retention and conversion”.

Mobile app analytics consists of several approaches.

– Business-related approach

This approach helps to track the status of the app from a business perspective. Such metrics as conversion, retention, engagement rates, etc. can directly show app’s impact on the business.

– User experience approach

The approach focuses directly on the user experience and helps to figure out what features of the app are used heavily or rarely and what users want to get from the app.

– App operation approach

This approach entails the analysis of the app operation generally, for example data on any crash, bugs or bad behavior. This analytics helps to prevent the problem with minimal disruption of the user experience.

Lauren Moores, vice president of strategy for Dstillery, ad analytics and targeting company, says, “Publishing an app without utilizing mobile analytics is similar to throwing up a website without any site tracking”. All things considered, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that mobile app analytics in some way supports the viability of your app. And using the analytics with multilateral approaches will give you even more advantages in app optimization.