## App Store Enhancement: The Significance of Search Terms – iGB

No matter how excellent an application is, it’s useless if it doesn’t appear prominently in search outcomes. Matthew Balch clarifies how to utilize the appropriate search terms to enhance your app’s position.

We’ve been hearing “This is the era of mobile” for years, and finally, numerous businesses have decided to prioritize mobile devices.

In 2017, most organizations developed applications, integrated diverse products and payment methods, and incorporated various software development kits to determine what functions and what doesn’t.

It’s a wise decision to concentrate on mobile, but for many organizations, the reality is unforgiving. They invest substantial funds in developing an application that ultimately ranks poorly in the app store, resulting in minimal downloads and even fewer conversions.

Since 2013, App Store Optimization (ASO) has been a prominent subject in the mobile sector. Many well-known companies swiftly recognized its potential and have been employing this “black box” marketing strategy.

Although, if you’re not a “bigwig” and your application ranking is too low to get any organic downloads through the App Store chart browsing, App Store Optimization does offer hope.

This article focuses specifically on keyword selection and how to use single and combined keywords to help drive organic downloads and attract the right clientele.

At present, the Apple App Store algorithm assesses keywords in three ways: brand name, keywords used in the app title, and keywords used in the app keywords field in iTunes Connect.

Nevertheless, there are limitations on the number of characters (including spaces, up to ) that can be included in the app title and the number of characters allowed in the keywords field in iTunes Connect .

The good news is that any keywords in the brand name and app title are already included, so you don’t need to repeat them in the keywords field in iTunes Connect.

When selecting an app for a case study, I decided to step outside our industry and choose an app from the equally competitive UK travel industry.

Rather than choosing a well-known app like Trivago, Expedia, or Hotels.com (which I know have all invested heavily in “online” marketing funds in recent years), I chose an “all-rounder” app called HolidayPirates.

A key factor in my selection of this application was its consistent placement within the top 50 of the “free travel” category, despite my prior unfamiliarity with it. How does an “all-encompassing” application contend with numerous top brands and maintain its position within the top 50?

Initially, I embarked on a keyword analysis to comprehend the keywords for which HolidayPirates is currently recognized in App Store searches.

The following table presents the top 20 most pertinent terms for which the application is recognized within the top 10, along with the quantity of applications ranked for each term, search volume (a relative score out of 100), competition level among all applications (not solely travel) (again, a relative score out of 100), and ultimately, the keyword efficiency score, which is a score out of 100 that evaluates the overall suitability of the keyword in relation to all of these combined elements.

Table 1. Source: AppTweak

While the number of relevant keywords for which HolidayPirates is recognized within the top 10 is indeed notable, perhaps more intriguing is the range of single and combined terms for which the application is ranking highly and their potential to lead to direct sales.

However, numerous factors must be taken into account when condensing your list of keywords into a limited character allocation, such as:

The term “reservation” serves as a suitable illustration.

AppTweaks statistics reveal that the application holds the 29th position for the specified term. Why incorporate it as a designated keyword within iTunes Connect, given that App Store users are unlikely to navigate to such a low keyword search outcome page to download, let alone make a purchase?

Nevertheless, by including it, we are able to construct and enhance key search expressions within the App Store – in this particular instance, “hotel booking app” (ranked 4th) and “flight booking app” (ranked 20th).

These two phrases are not only highly ranked, but they are search terms that prospective customers are likely to employ.

Taking all of the aforementioned factors into account, here are my recommendations for the HolidayPirates app title and keyword fields:

App Title: HolidayPirates – Flights, Hotels & Package Deals (50)

As you can observe, it incorporates no fewer than five highly searched, relevant keywords and utilizes the exact 50 character allotment.

Intriguingly, the app title does not contain any keywords, which represents a missed opportunity for the developer.

Suggested iTunes Connect Keyword Field: airlines, budget, cruise, travel, tourism, booking, vacation, tickets, railway, fares, cheap, beach, train, last minute (100)

Naturally, here are the actual keywords that are presently driving downloads:

If particular search terms show much higher search frequency than others, you may wonder about the worth of including search terms with lower search volume, intense competition, and poor efficiency scores.

However, I suggest these search terms are still worth adding.

Give yourself a pat on the back every time your application ranks in the top ten for a search term other than your own brand terms.

Ranking higher for a search term with a lower efficiency score is more beneficial than ranking after position 25 for a search term with a higher search volume, as long as the search term is relevant and has the potential to convert.

Any respected mobile marketer will tell you, “We don’t just want traffic, we want traffic that has the potential to convert.” By changing the key performance indicator of any ASO strategy from “ranking” to “acquiring high LTV users” and “first-time purchase customers,” the importance of keyword selection becomes clear.

A quick look at HolidayPirates’ UK travel category ranking chart (see red line below) suggests their strategy is not to manipulate chart rankings through “paid installs,” but rather through careful keyword selection.

The result is consistently high search rankings on the App Store for keywords and phrases (see Table 1), all of which have led to increased organic downloads, keeping the application in a stable chart position throughout 2016. Efficient, effective, and free!

Table 2. 365-day chart ranking, peaking at position 18 on January 9th.

## Essential Strategies for Keyword Exploration: A Roadmap for iGaming Enterprises

Don’t be discouraged if your application isn’t among the top 40! Thriving mobile acquisition isn’t solely reliant on substantial marketing expenditures.

By meticulously selecting your app title and keywords, coupled with a compelling description and visually captivating graphics, you can draw in the ideal users who will contribute to revenue and enduring value.

Matthew Balch, a media advisor who assists iGaming businesses with mobile and app promotion, offers his insights.

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