Diagram of ASO Factors by Priority

Breaking down all the factors that play into app store optimization is difficult and not always easy to explain by plain text alone; so we put together a set of diagrams to explain the main factors affecting ASO in bit more of a visual format.

Some important points to note:

1. The factors affecting Android ASO are different from iOS ASO, both from a keyword perspective (Google's keyword algorithm is much more complex than Apple's) and conversion rate optimization perspective (not only are there different elements, but most of the order in which users see each element is different).
   1. While an Android app's screenshots are likely to be more important to users than the feature graphic, the video/feature graphic is listed first in Google because it is the first thing that users see after landing on your app's page.
2. The single most important factor for earning top keyword ranks is to earn more downloads than other apps competing for the same keywords, both in terms of downloads sourced from people searching that keyword and total downloads. While your ASO strategy will produce more downloads as you increase the number of keywords you rank, boost your keyword ranks and earn more installs per store view via CRO (conversion rate optimization), being able to drive more downloads to your app from other marketing activities can supercharge your efforts and grow your success faster. Additionally, if you begin to earn fewer downloads than competitors for keywords or overall, your ASO efforts can suffer.
3. Your app's star rating and reviews are a very large, yet often overlooked component in your ASO strategy. Earning a high rating and generating positive reviews is vital to your app page's CRO, but also your keyword rankings. Additionally, the velocity and volume of ratings your app earns will affect your keyword rankings as well.
   1. Another often overlooked part of reviews is that the most recent or helpful reviews will float to the top and be seen the most often by users, meaning that these reviews will influence users the most. And don't forget that you can reply to reviews in Android!
4. In the last diagram, the smallest boxes are factors that likely have an impact on ASO, yet the weight of which is largely unknown.

Stay tuned for a study on the top 10 ranking apps for seven sample keywords, where we'll uncover correlation data on what influences ASO performance.

That's all for now, folks! Be sure to bookmark our blog, sign up to our email newsletter for new post updates and reach out if you're interested in working with us.

Incipia is a mobile app development and marketing agency that builds and markets apps for companies, with a specialty in high-quality, stable app development and keyword-based marketing strategy, such as App Store Optimization and Apple Search Ads. For post topics, feedback or business inquiries please contact us, or send an inquiry to hello@incipia.co.