Why are we experiencing a boom in ASO audits?
It turns out the audits are quite in demand among our subscribers. Well, the powerful charisma of David Margaryan, our Head of ASO, maybe the reason, and everyone may want more audits because of him. But it seems that it still is not the major reason. Or maybe we need an A/B test to find out. Many say that they would appreciate a professional unbiased opinion. That is, they could easily get the data on their own through our ASO platform, but they may find it difficult to analyze that data and draw some conclusions. Everyone wants a win-win insight and an efficient optimization strategy. That’s why we’ve added an audit option to our plans and made this post. Here we will explain all the peculiarities (what the audit consists of and how it is done), show some examples, and introduce our talented experts.
ASO audit
Just to be sure that we are on the same page. An ASO audit is an analysis of your app optimization quality. ASO audits are conducted by experienced ASO experts. The following people at our team are engaged in this:
● David Margaryan, Head of ASO. He has gone through the darkest times on Google Play and in App Store, and he can see upcoming innovations a mile away.
● Alena Konasheva, ASO Manager. She is a brilliant strategist who can recognize all the weaknesses of your competitors in a heartbeat.
You can find them at the end of the post as they answer frequent questions on ASO audit there.
Why do I need an ASO audit?
An ASO audit is necessary to understand how optimized your app is and what are the strengths and weaknesses of your ASO. An expert will analyze your data and provide advice based on what needs to be changed and what you should look for. An ASO audit is the foundation of a promotion strategy.
What does an ASO audit include?
To conduct a quality ASO audit, we need to analyze all the elements of the app store page:
- Texts (title, subtitle or short description, description)
- Indexing and ranking by keywords
- Graphics (icon, screenshots, videos)
- Rating and reviews
Important to know! At the end of an audit report, we will make a comparative analysis regarding your competitors.
Let us show you how we analyze the relevant elements and how an ASO audit is done. Look at one of our cases as an example. This is a real case that we have adapted for this post. In it, we share our ASO insights with the creators of the app «Buddha Wisdom: Buddism Guide».
Total score
We look at ASOindex, representation within a category, and the number of installs. Then we draw general conclusions.
The app is well optimized but still has little power in its field and remains unknown to the target audience. Working on the app visibility and indexing by new keywords is a necessity. Since the app niche is quite narrow, the traffic is much lower than average. Despite this, there is an opportunity for you to grow and get new installs.
Text elements
The second most important indexing factor is a short description for Google Plat and subtitle for the App Store. Remember to use relevant keywords only and avoid spamming with duplication.
The title and subtitle have a maximum length and cover the relevant key queries. Unfortunately, most of them provide very little organic traffic due to the special nature of the niche. You can optimize these sections by adding more «general» keywords to them that are related to meditation and spiritual enlightenment. They will be less relevant to your app but they will help your app get indexed by new key queries and provide some visibility. Here are some examples of queries with a good search volume in the UK: mindfulness, mindfullness, mantra. You also spelled the word Buddhism in the title wrong by skipping H. Thus, the app is not indexed by this query which is among the most relevant ones.
❗️Text ASO tutorial for the App Store and Google Play is here
Description
Your description should not look like a minefield. If you have a key through each word, you will be spammed and you will get the opposite result. Keep the balance.
The application description is well structured and has an optimal scope. Less than 2% of users read the description (click the «more» button), so you should pay attention to the first sentences that the user always sees. In this segment, it is necessary to convey to the user the idea of the application and its USP (unique selling proposition). The description is not indexed by the App Store, but indexed by search engines. We recommend that you take this feature into account and use keywords when writing descriptions while avoiding spam. Two occurrences of one key request are enough.
Indexing and ranking by keywords
Here we analyze the indexing by keywords and app visibility in the store like keyword frequency and your search ranking This may influence the conversion directly.
As mentioned earlier, the application is indexed by most relevant keywords in its niche and occupies reasonably high positions in them: «buddha» – 1, «buddhist wisdom & meditation» – 1, «buddha wisdom» – 3, «buddhist teachings» – 3
«buddism guide» – 1, «buddism» – 1. The effectiveness of being in the top for these requests is an open question. But if we turn to Apple Search Ads Popularity data, we will see almost zero volume of organic traffic. First, you need to correct the mistake in the word Buddhism; this will give you at least one relevant and popular keyword. Moreover, since the English (U.K.) locale is indexed in many countries, this can give you extra coverage in dozens of countries.
You can also try indexing by competitive keywords, for example, buddhify, buddify. Conversion from competitive requests will be lower, but this will allow you to get a broader reach of the audience that may be interested in your application.
Graphic elements
Icon
The icon should be «self-explanatory», evoke understandable associations, and stand out among competitors. Relevant information and texts often lack in screenshots.
The icon has a neat minimalistic design and reflects the concept of the application. When comparing with competitors, you can see that most of them also use the silhouette of the Buddha. But it is implemented in bright colors and more detailed. Against their background, the icon of your application may not be so noticeable due to simplicity and pastel shades; thereby, you have a conversion below. We recommend experimenting with the icon and testing other, brighter options. You can start small – make elements brighter or choose different shades. We also recommend that you pay attention to how the icon of your application will look like with a black theme on the iPhone since a large percentage of users use it, and you need to adapt the icon to them.
Screenshots
Like the icon, the screenshots are made quite accurately and correspond to the modern trends of mobile marketing. Undoubtedly, this approach, when choosing shades, fully reflects the very concept of the application. But it can negatively affect its conversion, which means the number of installations.
The text in the screenshots is quite small and is difficult to read even on a smartphone with a large diagonal. Reading is further complicated by the fact that some words are highlighted in turquoise color. The approach itself takes place only in the case of a large text and a less vivid and familiar highlight color. We recommend increasing the size of texts by reducing the size of smartphones.
Graphic design also has the potential for improvement. First of all, the sloppy arrangement of smartphones in the screenshots catches the eye. It is necessary to align them in one horizontal line. Secondly, the information on the interface is not as attractive and exciting as it could be. Use vivid images, for example, from the Dhammapada, and as textual accompaniment, well-known and famous quotes and parables. So you can attract the attention of potential users and will stand out among competitors.
Rating and reviews
The app rating may influence user trust levels. And, accordingly, the number of installs.
The number of grades and the general rating of the app affects the conversion, ranking, and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. In your case, the average rating is as high as possible, but the number of grades is a no less critical indicator for users and conversion in general. We recommend setting up a system rating request within the application. With a specific action, the user will pop up a window asking him to rate the app. You can also choose the moment of appearance yourself, for example, after reading the chapter. But do not ask for an assessment in the first minutes, give the user time to evaluate the application, and get involved. It will help to quickly evaluate the app and significantly increase the number of ratings and reviews
An equally important aspect of working with app evaluation is the active interaction with users through reviews. Responding to reviews, you increase user loyalty, get useful feedback about crashes and errors in the application and, in the case of negative feedback, you can quickly solve the problem and inform the user about it. In response to positive reviews, you can ask users to recommend you to their friends. In response to negative reviews, ask for a correction if the users’ problem has been resolved.
Comparative analysis
We analyze your major competitors so that you know who is right behind you and who you need to steal leadership from.
This infographic shows the most semantically relevant competitors for your application. You can see by what parameters your competitors are stronger or weaker than you. Consider the fact, not all the settings from which ASOindex is formed are displayed on the platform. The estimate is underestimated primarily due to low positions in frequency key queries and a small number of reviews.
Checklist
We look if an app page is complete. We then draw conclusions and describe our findings.
Missing video. Video is an essential part of the marketing component, which can have a significant impact on the conversion of the application. There is autoplay of the video in the App Store, which can significantly increase the TTR (Tap Through Rate) if available. During the scrolling of search results, video attracts the users’ attention much more effectively than static graphic elements. We recommend that you test the app video page to determine the impact on your conversion.
Q&A with ASO experts
Head of ASO
How often should I do an ASO audit?
The audit frequency depends on how proactive you are in optimizing your app. Frequent updates and changes to metadata entail more changes that need to be evaluated. At this pace, one audit per month may be sufficient.
Should I audit an app with a high ASOindex?
Yes, an outside perspective and fresh ideas are useful to everyone. What is more, the audit reveals growths and weaknesses where, on the contrary, a decline can occur.
ASO Manager
How long should I wait for better optimization stats once all the elements are improved?
Usually, you will need to wait a week to 1 month. In App Store, you will see the results faster because ranking algorithms are much simpler. On Google Play, the changes need more time to take full effect. This can take up to 1 month, depending on the type of change.
Is it possible for me to make it without an audit and analyze the data myself?
The fundamental things are not difficult to learn on your own, but beginners often do not take tiny details into account. An expert’s main feature is that they can keep all the knowledge and update it while a beginner needs to re-check the training content again and again to recall it. What’s more, the information may be outdated. Appy sums up all the basics. Appy is the Checkaso assistant that provides customized advice. But only a person can give advice related to graphic ASO. Not everyone has a proper understanding of design and composition. I once had a person tell me that they did everything right (sort of) but I then found a lot of mistakes. Every case is individual.
P.S.
If you need an audit, choose the Publisher and Agency plan. Track your ASO progress with the help of experts.
