ASO : the game has changed
- 4. © Thomasbcn 2019
A few pioneers...
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Featuring Brook Lenox, Gabriel Machuret, Stefan Bielau, Daniel Peris, Ian Sefferman
- 5. © Thomasbcn 2019
First resources & tools!
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Featuring Gabriel Machuret, Stefan Bielau, MobileJazz, Appcodes, MobileDevHQ, Distimo, Daniel Peris
- 7. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO 1.0 = mostly keywords
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
• Add keywords to your title
• Fill your kwd field (smartly)
• Done!
- 13. © Thomasbcn 2019
“Browse” ASO back in the days :
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
2013: 700k downloads
1 week featuring: 2,8m!
"It's a magic button that they hit,
and you get drowned in cash“, Ken Soto
2015: 3m in 5 days
Massive featurings!
- 14. © Thomasbcn 2019
“Browse” ASO back in the days :
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Massive organic uplift
+ cheap incent traffic
= high ROI burst
- 16. © Thomasbcn 2019
Not only fairy tales…
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
“Name that song”
indie dev was threatened by a trademark
infringement notice by „Name that tune“
developer; changed into “Who sing it Game“:
Downloads dropped by x10, sales by x2
- 21. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO game changers : metadata updates
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
2016: Apple restricts titles to 50 characters
2017: Apple reduces titles to 30 characters with iOS11
but adds a 30 char. subtitle
- 22. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO game changers : RIP burst
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Organic uplift decreases, incent fades out:
charting is no longer a sustainable tactic
“For every paid install, apps get an average of
1.5 additional organic installs.”
TUNE, “The multiplier”
2014
“Remember the good old days? Those are gone
The organic multiplier has decreased significantly”
Danielle Blumenstyk Peterman
2017
- 24. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO game changers : Keywords data
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
2015 (Google.com) organic keywords
2016 ASA “Search Popularity” index
2018 Play Store organic keywords*
201x ASO tools provide guesstimates
2019 Still no reliable source…
- 25. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO game changers : Pay to play!
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
2015 Play Store search ads
2016 2nd ad placement in search…
2017 Display ads (without data report)
2017† RIP keywords UAC
- 26. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO game changers : Pay to play!
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
2016 Apple Search Ads (US)
2017 6 new geos (CA, AU, UK..)
2018 6 new geos (Europe & APAC)
+ Creative Sets
2019 46 new geos (=59)
- 27. © Thomasbcn 2019
No ASA?
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Cannibalization is proven. So is organic loss…
Paid placement :
- 37% of the whole screen
- 47% of available real estate
#1 organic might come below the fold…
+ no data, no party!
- 28. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO keeps changing… do you?
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Keyword ranking dances
Localized keyword (ES>MX, AU..)
Indexed experiments
Vitals as a penalization factor
Play Store multiple redesigns…
Personalized featurings
Appstore API
Pre-registrations
Try now / Instant apps
Promoted IAP
Ratings reset (iOS), recent ratings (Play Store)
Countless UI & data bugs in the consoles…
…
- 29. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO in 2019 : a holistic discipline
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019
Organic search is just one part of the ASO puzzle
• Search “ASO meets ASA”
• Browse Charts, App of the day, story,
collection, related apps
• CRO! Conversion is the name of the game
- 30. © Thomasbcn 2019
ASO in 2019 :
title, subtitle, keyword field
Icon, screenshot, header,
app preview(s)
App weight
Vitals
Engagement, uninstalls…
[Black hat]
Ratings & Reviews
Localization
Localized kwd fields!
Promo text, description
what’s new
Promo IAP, icon, description
Featurings (inc. Search)
Category Charts
Search Ranking
App Bundle
ASA!
Creative Sets
A/B test
@thomasbcn, ASOconf 2019