These numbers show the huge number of downloads, but they also tell another story. Looking at these numbers it\u2019s obvious that even very large publishers might benefit from App Store Optimization.<\/p>\n Projection of app downloads in billions by Statista<\/i><\/p>\n With Apple Search Ads, managers discovered that not every download comes from the brand search. In order to stand out on the App Store and cut their pie from a massive number of organic downloads, they need to optimize their store presence. However, most big companies still miss how to do ASO right. Therefore, I\u2019ve decided to show on the popular app called Viber where are the most common opportunities for improvement.<\/p>\n However, most big companies still aren\u2019t doing ASO properly. To help explain what I mean, I\u2019ve decided to use the popular app Viber* to show the most common opportunities for optimizations improvement.<\/p>\n *Disclosure: Viber is not our client, and my recommendations here are based on publicly available data only.<\/i><\/p>\n We know that Apple puts the biggest weight on the keywords used in the title and subtitle. As a result, every app should use these keywords wisely, optimizing them for maximum impact. Utilizing this strategy immediately can help achieve good rankings and more organic downloads, which can lead to more revenue.<\/p>\n Here is how Viber currently appears on the App Store:<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s take a closer look at the title. The title allows us to use up to 30 characters, but if we look at Viber\u2019s app it has only 15 characters.<\/p>\n I understand the branding and that the brand name has to be visible but it doesn\u2019t mean that Viber couldn\u2019t benefit from using more keywords in the title.<\/p>\n Viber ranks on the keywords \u201cViber Messenger\u201d and \u201cViber\u201d as #1. They have done a good job and have put the right keyword combinations there in terms of traffic score.<\/p>\n However, there is unused space that could be used to add more keywords. If we take a look at a combination of words \u201cphone\u201d and \u201ccalls\u201d we get this.<\/p>\n Rankings from AppTweak<\/i><\/p>\n I see an opportunity for Viber to try these keywords for the title. Keyword \u201cphone calls\u201d have a big traffic score (44), but as you can see, the Viber app doesn\u2019t rank for this keyword at all. There could be various reasons for this, for example, they didn\u2019t use the word \u201ccalls\u201d (Apple takes automatically singular and plural too, but sometimes it doesn\u2019t have to be like this), Apple\u2019s algorithm simply didn\u2019t rank them for this keyword etc.<\/p>\n If you take a look at the second keyword \u201cphone call\u201d they rank #17, which isn\u2019t very impressive either. However, we can try to improve it by updating the title.<\/p>\n Viber Messenger, Phone Calls<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The reason for using these keywords is because they don\u2019t rank for \u201cphone calls\u201d at all, and as I mentioned earlier Apple puts more weight on the keywords in the title. By using this strategy we can kick this keyword up again, and Viber can start to fight for a good ranking on this keyword.<\/p>\n Also, Apple\u2019s algorithm automatically takes the plural and singular too (in most cases) and by utilizing this strategy we can also increase ranking for the keyword \u201cphone call\u201d. So we get double the benefit, targeting two good keywords by using only one.<\/p>\n Subtitle<\/b><\/p>\n The title and subtitle of every app should describe what it does. However, there should always be a balance between this and the search terms people are using.<\/p>\n This is Viber\u2019s current subtitle:<\/p>\n I\u2019m unable to access the exact search terms that Viber is targeting, but from my research, there doesn\u2019t seem to be any reason for using such a keyword combination in the subtitle.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s start with the keyword \u201cconnect\u201d. I have tried to find possible combinations with all the keywords that include the word \u201cconnect\u201d where Viber can rank.<\/p>\n Rankings from AppTweak<\/i><\/p>\n In the image above we need to look at the Volume (traffic) Score. Number 5 means a traffic score of 0. That means that nobody is searching for this term.<\/p>\n If we look at this example there are a lot of those kinds of keywords where Viber ranks high, but traffic is nonexistent. Basically, Viber\u2019s prominent ranking means nothing because those keywords don\u2019t generate any downloads.<\/p>\n Viber is currently #6 for the keyword \u201cconnect\u201d. We need to ask whether it is relevant and useful to this app and if it\u2019s worth keeping it in the subtitle. The word \u2018connect\u2019 is potentially confusing, as users may be searching for \u2018connect dot\u2019 games like Dots, which fill up search results.<\/p>\n Also, when it comes to more specific apps like Viber, users usually search by using more specific terms rather than \u201cconnect\u201d. It\u2019s too generic and doesn\u2019t represent any specific need.<\/p>\n The same thing happens when we look at the traffic score and rankings for the keywords \u201cfamily\u201d and \u201cfriends\u201d.<\/p>\n Rankings from AppTweak<\/i><\/p>\n It should be clear that it\u2019s really important to create a title and subtitle that truly represents your brand and explains what app does, but still, include the keywords people are searching for.<\/p>\n With iOS11 gives you a great opportunity to showcase the features of your app in the search results, because now you are able to show three screenshots instead of two.<\/p>\n You get one additional screen, but the payoff is that the individual screenshots are now much smaller. That means that the size of text in each screenshot is smaller, and can be more difficult to read. You could potentially lose users because you only have a few seconds to catch their attention and not everyone uses a magnifier. To see what I mean, just look at those super tiny subtitles\u2026!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our research<\/a> at AppAgent showed that only 4% of users enlarge portrait screenshots. It\u2019s vital to have large oneliners readable on iPhone 5 without taping images to see them in a full size. Here you can compare Viber\u2019s screenshots with YouTube\u2019s to see the difference:<\/p>\n Viber could double or even triple US keywords by using a very simple strategy. This trick has helped many developers and companies to achieve rankings for many relevant keywords with high traffic score.<\/p>\n Apple indexes Spanish (Mexico) keywords for the US App Store. If we put English keywords into the Spanish (Mexico) title, subtitle and keyword field we will rank for them on US App Store.<\/p>\n Instead of targeting 20 keywords in the US localization, by using this trick you can now target 40-60 keywords.<\/p>\n With over 3 million apps on the App Store already it is becoming harder and harder to stand out from the crowd and be visible in a specific category.<\/p>\n Number of apps according to Apptopia.com<\/i><\/p>\n Thanks to testing we have done on our apps we are pretty confident that we can help our clients to stand out from that crowd by using some effective techniques, and industry insights, that can help them rapidly increase rankings for the best keywords.<\/p>\n Here is an example of the ranking improvements we have managed for a client:<\/p>\n We were able to achieve a #2 ranking – up from #10 – for \u201cflight tickets\u201d, one of the most competitive keywords in the travel category.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s another example for the keyword \u201cairline tickets\u201d:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hope that you have found this article interesting and that it explains clearly why every app should use App Store optimization to improve traffic and increase revenue.<\/p>\n If you want to receive more in-depth ASO insights then please sign up for news at asofriend.co<\/a> and appagent.co<\/a>. Also, please feel free to comment below and share this post with your friends and colleagues who may also benefit from ASO insights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NOTE: Viber released an updated store listing shortly before we published the analysis, where they utilize several strategies mentioned below (new keywords in the name of the app or added subtitle). We\u2019re glad to see Viber is actively improving their rankings and identifies new opportunities with iOS11. According to Statista, consumers downloaded a total of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[205,209],"tags":[96,97,27,67,28,94,30],"class_list":["post-1369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-aso","tag-app-search-optimization","tag-app-store-keywords","tag-app-store-optimization","tag-aso","tag-case-study","tag-mobile-growth","tag-organic-growth"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/3b2d86e1af4dad0bb1a36d3b2160f8e7\/tumblr_inline_oy0r3pX6Dr1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n1) Title & Subtitle<\/h2>\n
Title<\/b><\/h6>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/6a1886955a316784c2d6845fa145fec2\/tumblr_inline_oy0r69KC7E1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/f9d4c3c4dbc048c31130d39de41cc661\/tumblr_inline_oy0r74yRdG1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/676737e0e0f6facfb5bc0cfda225124f\/tumblr_inline_oy15xdhR7S1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/497108cc17da2aa56b8e60fe0a59f4bd\/tumblr_inline_oy15vnme7x1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/10cb81d82c1b9b7f7efdcc1197439954\/tumblr_inline_oy1611BvZD1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/32aa7aaa1d92ef882297739c0dfb7c68\/tumblr_inline_oy163nekq31roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/5261d8a582669bf92250b6aabbd7a851\/tumblr_inline_oy16422yrj1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n2) Screenshots<\/h2>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/401a6767f16781e7cbfc26ff7ffb523e\/tumblr_inline_oy164iL3VV1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/e46ff136722af403b82ae263d86d806a\/tumblr_inline_oy18k89b6r1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n3) Spanish (Mexico) localization<\/h2>\n
4) Secret sauce<\/h2>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/4016f78e3e83cfecfe3482e86614538c\/tumblr_inline_oy18bpVfLn1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/1e635866a37d3276a5c6fe7e98e64364\/tumblr_inline_oy18cw0tS61roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/a2c2c45936bc19de989e932b1333dc0c\/tumblr_inline_oy18e6y3Fv1roeoc7_540.png\")
<\/figure>\n