Is Your San Diego Business Mobile App Fully ASO Prepared?

Mobile applications help boost San Diego business traffic only when people can find them. This is why you need app store optimization (ASO).

This article covers the main points about the topic:

• What is ASO, and why do you need it?
• How do you know your platform is optimized?
• What are the best practices?

The blog post also provides a checklist of the basics and explains why working with a San Diego mobile app development agency is a better choice than DIY.

Make the platform worthwhile by learning about ASO. Let’s go!

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What Is ASO?

ASO is a marketing technique involving optimizing a mobile platform, particularly its page, for maximum visibility and engagement.

It works similarly to organic search optimization. Consider the Google Play Store to illustrate the point:

• The app’s search engine indexes or stores thousands of app pages.
• When someone looks for a platform, the search engine scours its extensive list and chooses the best matches. 
• It then organizes the results, with the first being the most ideal match for the query. 

The search engine’s algorithms consider many factors when ranking the apps. These include keywords, titles, app descriptions, and images and videos. It also values the platform’s overall performance, especially in terms of speed, security, and design. 

What Are Its Benefits?

ASO requires a significant amount of effort, so why should businesses in California bother with it? The following are the three main reasons:

     1. Increased Site Traffic

Well-designed mobile apps increase revenues directly and indirectly by increasing website traffic. One example is push notifications.

Suppose a business sends a promotional email about a new product through the app. When the recipient clicks the embedded link, it sends them to the landing page. Here, they can learn more about the new item and press “check out” when they are ready to buy.

Mobile platforms also allow businesses to display ads on mobile devices and engage social media followers further. Those offering excellent user experience (UX) or value improve the brand's identity. This can encourage more people to visit the website.

     2. Legal Compliance

California has some of the strictest online security regulations in the United States. For example, the state’s 2018 Consumer Privacy Act mandates that certain businesses disclose their data-gathering and usage methods.

Their website or app must also have a clear privacy policy. Users must be able to request from the company how they collected the data and the personally identifiable information they have stored and be able to opt out.

A 2023 study revealed that nearly half of the most popular apps used by California families would have to amend their privacy policies and procedures after the state redefined the terms “sharing” and “selling” of data.

ASO helps keep your platform legal and safe. Otherwise, app stores might have to reject it, and you risk hefty fines.

     3. Positive Impact on the Bottom Line

The multibillion-dollar app industry is notorious for being cutthroat. Only a few survive after a year, and those that do rarely sustain themselves without additional funding, perhaps from investors such as private equity.

Even if the app aims to supplement your website, it will still have to compete with hundreds of others. Some are equally good, if not better.

With good ASO, you can make your app stand out. You can target a specific audience, track their engagement with the platform, and even attract new users through strategic campaigns.

Increased targeted traffic often leads to higher conversion rates and revenue. It also uses resources, especially money, more efficiently. Overall, ASO makes mobile app development more sustainable.

Is Your App ASO Ready? Use This Checklist

Optimizing the app page varies depending on the store. However, the primary elements differ little from enhancing the website for organic search. 

Use this checklist to prepare and optimize your app page for store search:

• Have you conducted thorough keyword research for your app?
• Is your app’s title short, descriptive, and relevant?
• Have you included relevant keywords in your app’s description?
• Are the screenshots and videos visually appealing and informative about your app’s features?
• Does your app icon stand out and represent your app?
• Are you encouraging users to leave reviews and ratings?
• Have you responded to negative reviews in a helpful and professional manner?
• Are you monitoring and analyzing user behavior and feedback to improve your app?
• Have you considered influencer marketing or partnerships to increase your app’s visibility?
• Have you localized your app’s listing for different regions/languages?
• Are you using region-specific keywords in your app’s title and description?
• Did you consider cultural factors when localizing screenshots, videos, and icons?
• Have you optimized your app’s size to ensure quick downloads?
• Does your app load quickly and run smoothly without crashing?
• Have you implemented deep linking to provide a seamless user experience?
• Have you evaluated your app for common web security vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection?
• Did you ensure robust authentication, authorization, and encryption processes to prevent security vulnerabilities?
• Are you conducting automated security testing at crucial points of the software development life cycle to check for known issues, bugs, and vulnerabilities?

Hire a San Diego Mobile Development Agency for ASO

Can you do everything on the checklist? Maybe, especially if you have a good marketing and IT background. However, skills do not matter if you do not have the time to do ASO well.

ASO is complex. With new trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), rules change rapidly. It requires intense commitment to avoid security issues such as bugs and breaches.

The best approach to ASO is to hire a mobile app development team that offers an in-depth understanding of how app store rankings work and the strategies to influence them positively. Applying a holistic strategy including user acquisition, user retention, conversion optimization, and more, they can make your app stand out. Let the professionals handle it all, including target audience identification and segmentation, reputation management, analytics and continuous optimization, and A/B testing.

Summing Up

The checklist above helps you get started with ASO. However, to carry it out optimally takes expertise, time, and a comprehensive approach. No component is enough without the others.

Digital Authority Partners (DAP), an award-winning San Diego mobile app development agency, comes into play. The platforms we’ve developed have already received 2 million five-star reviews and 125 million downloads. Most of all, they have generated more than $1.5 billion in revenues.

Be one of these success stories now. Contact us to schedule a free consultation.