How to Top the
Ranks and Rule
the Play Store
April 2016
1
Getting started
A lot has been written about ASO (App Store Optimization) on the Apple
side of things, and we are well-aware of how crucial parameters like total
installs and download velocity are on iOS. It’s also well-known that the
Google Play algorithm for rankings and search is a bit more sophisticated.
We figured we’d take the time to compile a comprehensive memo of what
we’ve learned and present you with 9 actionable tips on how to run a
successful ASO campaign in the Google Play Store.
Head of Search and Discovery for Google Play, Ankit Jain, states: “For the
average app, search actually makes up the vast majority of installs.”
According to Jain, 12 percent of daily active users (DAU) search for apps
every day, 50 percent of DAU search for apps weekly and Google sees six
million unique phrases searched monthly.
Another interesting note is that in the iOS App Store, no app ever stays in
the same ranking spot all seven days of any given week. When you look at
Google Play, you often find five or more apps maintaining the same top
spots for over a week. Apple appears to be much more volatile in their top
charts rankings, where the Play Store does not change ranks more than
once a day, resulting in much more gradual trends.
ironSource March
September
20162016
9 Ways to Master the Play Store
1. Category
Find the best category for your app. Take a look at the competition in your
current category and if your app can be put in another category, you may
want to do that. App category placement is an essential aspect to ASO,
as new or less-trendy categories are less crowded and thus likely to
rank your app higher on their lists.
Less common categories, such as Business, Travel, and Location-based or
Work-related Services, for example, are likely to provide more
opportunities for higher ranking and optimal app store placement, as these
categories have shown lower review and download numbers at the time of
writing.
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9 Ways to Master the Play Store
2. Daily installs
Driving installs will have the effect of a higher ranking for your game, which
in turn drives more organic installs. This virtuous spiral of growth is a key
goal, and burst campaigns which drive a high volume of installs at high
velocity is one way to attain those top spots.
3. SEO
Google Play gets the keywords for an app from the app description. This
field has 4,000 characters, so there is plenty of room to add your
keywords. Keywords appearing within the name of an app itself usually
allow the app to rank higher for those keywords. However, where Apple
allows 255 characters in the app name field, Google only allows 30
characters. Therefore, you really need to choose the app name wisely in
the Google Play store.
Google also uses Pagerank to assess your ranking, which refers to the
number of inbound pages pointing to your App. There are many
traditional SEO activities you can do to generate links to your app, but here
are some suggestions:
-
Make sure you include a link to the app on all pages of your website,
blog, etc. Put the link in your website footer.
Reach out to media outlets or ask bloggers to write about or review
your app.
Cross-promote the app within your other apps or through
cross-promotion networks like those offered by ironSource.
ironSource March
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9 Ways to Master the Play Store
4. App ratings
Your app’s rating is one of the most important factors influencing its
ranking in the Google Play lists and search results. It’s also one of the key
metrics that the editorial staff looks for when curating apps and games.
Jain says reviews and ratings are “a very strong signal for Google,” so
maintaining an app rating average above 4.0 out of 5 is mission
critical.
App Ratings go much deeper than the simple 4.0 stars average. All these
criteria play a factor:
-
Average star rating
Total number of reviews
Amount of keywords used in each review
Frequency of reviews written
How recent the reviews are and their ratings per update
Don’t be tempted to use fake reviews in Google Play and the iOS App
Store, as the risk of getting your app flagged is extremely high.
When it comes to reviews and ratings, Jain reveals that reviews are
ordered based on relevance to the user, such as reviews from other users
who have the same device or live in the same country. This means that
personalized results exist, and if your friend in the network has installed
and rated it, then it may appear on the first page of the Google Play Store
only for you, so find a way to encourage a variety of people to review your
app. The trick is to request a review from your users while they are deeply
engaged in your app, while making sure you do not disrupt the UX.
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9 Ways to Master the Play Store
5. +1
One of the more obvious distinctions between the Apple App Store and the
Google Play Store is the ability to +1 an app’s page on Google Play
(similar to ‘liking’ a company on Facebook). This is one of the unique
factors that influences an app’s ranking in the Play Store, and can be used
by developers looking to increase ASO.
6. Launch window
New apps tend to have an easier time ranking and getting featured in
Google Play than older apps. The logic for this is sound. Users want to try
new apps and games. This is about giving new titles a chance. See this as
the Play Store’s algorithm giving your app a little test to see if users
actually like it. Likewise, apps that have been on the market for more than
a month will find it very difficult to rank, unless their app is well-represented
in the app store listing, with factors such as app title, description text, and
social elements strong and steady.
7. Retention
It’s still not entirely clear how Google Play calculates this, but it most likely
involves a combination of active install rates and a stickiness formula such
as DAU/MAU. Jain also revealed that Google takes into account
statistics such as the rate of installs, uninstalls, long installs (an app
that has been installed for months), and engagement, so it’s imperative
to effectively re-engage with your current users in order to retain and
retarget your established audience.
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9 Ways to Master the Play Store
8. Long tail
Steady efforts work best. Google Play’s ranking algorithm is tilted towards
long-term. Download growth over the last 30 days is more important than
the latest 24 hours. Use closed loop marketing to ensure you are
identifying and utilizing ad sources that bring loyal users – apps that
acquire and retain satisfied users are rewarded with higher ranks.
Advertising campaigns should be run over a longer term and sustained
over two to three months, as opposed to the short bursts of activity often
seen in the iOS market.
9. CTR on search
With app store search accounting for more than 65% of all app downloads,
search is clearly the leading source of app discovery. If someone searches
using a leading keyword and taps on your app in the search results, your
app will move higher in the rankings for that keyword search. As an
example -­ if users are searching for flight tickets and click the most on
Expedia, then Expedia will be the first result shown for “flight tickets”
search queries.
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Conclusion
In order to best leverage search then, make sure to categorize your app
with relevant keywords. Don’t overstep and stuff your description with
popular and less applicable keywords dominated by huge apps with
millions of downloads. Not only does Google Play penalize spam, but it’s
not beneficial for your app to have it appear in the search of a popular but
irrelevant keyword, where few users will actually click to download your
app. Instead, focus on the edgy keywords that are more applicable to
your app, that enjoy a respectable amount of traffic, and that provide
low competition – ensuring a high CTR on search. After all, you’re looking
for those who are most likely to actively engage with your app.
Google Play continues to reap the lion’s share of global app downloads, as
the store’s worldwide downloads were about 90% higher than on the iOS
App Store in Q3 2015. Optimizing your app’s page in the Google Play
Store isn’t optional, it’s critical. Perhaps most important is to always
educate yourself on new ASO tips and tricks. With app-store optimization
constantly evolving, make sure you stay up to date on the latest techniques
in order to improve your app’s rank.
By Pascal Clarysse
Pascal Clarysse is a marketing and growth strategy consultant who has
been around the video games industry for 17 years. He advises many
mobile gaming publishers and ad-tech startups. Follow him on Twitter:
@PascalClarysse. Special Thanks to Daniel Herman for his valuable help
with research and data-gathering.
ironSource March
September
20162016
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