Nov 25th 2020
ASO Guide: 11 ASO Mistakes
ASO is a very new thing to many companies and thus, there are common mistakes made. Hopefully this list will save some of you from either doing mistakes or overall improving your ASO behavior.
1. Not understanding and studying ASO and its benefits
If you’ve already overcome the first mistake - not knowing the existence of ASO - you’ve overcome a lot. However, after realizing that this awesome tool exists, ASO can seem new, weird and confusing. Thus, you need to study it - just like everything new. If you use ASO, you are not dependent on cooperation deals with users and other marketing tools. Obviously these other tools won’t hurt you, but ASO alone will take you far. I have also written an ASO Vocabulary which you can find here; hopefully it will help you with your first steps when understanding ASO.
2. Not taking a look at competitors
When you take a look at competitors and what works for them and what doesn’t, you can save a bunch of time from whirling around wodering whether something will work or not. You can also use your competitors to get inspiration from, for example on keywords.
3. Trusting only on what competitors do
Even though competitors are a valuable source of information, don’t rely your whole business plan on them. You also have to be bold and brave and try what could suit precisely YOUR app and YOUR values. Not everything has to be based on trends. Maybe you have the next big trend hiding in your imagination.
4. Not seeing the difference between App Store and Google Play
If you're not familiar to how algorithm works in App Store or Google Play, now it's time to start learning. If you use the same keywords for both platforms, you won’t get the full benefit. In Google Play, all the content you have in your listing, including short and long description, title, reviews and much more, is indexed. In App Store there are much less characters which will be working as your keywords, so pay attention to distinctly making these two different.
5. Usage of the keywords
5.1. One of the common mistakes is not using your keywords in the name and subtitle as well. This means, that there is a possible user searching for your app, but doesn’t remember the actual name of it, and thus will try and search it with keywords. However, they won’t find your app because you did not include keywords in your name and subtitle - thus they will most probably find competitors who have done so.
5.2. Don’t use extremely difficult keywords. I know, that you are familiar with your app, and you know all the technical features and aspects to it. However, an outsider doesn't, so make sure your keywords don’t require professional knowledge. You should use the advantage of optimizing your keywords so they match your app perfectly, but in addition, don’t forget to make the keywords relevant as well. Easier keywords tend to sometimes blend in, and don't do your app any justice regarding more views and downloads.
6. Ignoring the relevance of visuals
If you are ignoring your visuals, you are ignoring your conversion rate (visits turning to installs). Make sure you take the time to plan and test your icons and screenshots. You need to think of a color scheme, do A/B testing and see, what works for your App the best. People are visual, and they won’t download the app only based on what is written in the description.
7. Not running A/B
This is the best tool you can use, so don’t miss out on it. AB testing gives you exactly what you are hoping for; the data of how your app is doing on stores. It shows you how different options succeed, or whether they do succeed in the first place, and which options work best for you. You could think AB as feedback - it tells you exactly how people react when you make changes.
8. Not localizing
If you ignore localizing, you are throwing away so many potential downloads. Localizing means translating the metadata for a specific language and deeper localization takes cultural differences into account holistically throughout visuals and all the meta-data. But remember NOT to use crappy translations - it will be next to nothing.
9. Not keeping on track with App Store changes
Making sure you are up to date with changes in the algorithm of App Store and Google Play, assures that you will be on time when changes are required. Without being on track, you can easily fall behind of competitors and thus lose possible users and downloads. One factor that could help you be on track with these possible changes, is to follow experts. There are several experts of ASO, who will most likely give information on possible changes.
10. Mixing up ASO and SEO
A common though is that App Store Optimization is the Search Engine Optimization for Apps, but that is not fully how it should be seen. Yes, they are similar and yes, their visibility comes from searching, but there are many differences which should be known. Main difference with these two is their goals: ASO aims for organic downloads where as SEO aims for organic traffic. It's also relevant to understand, that ASO is for iOS and Android devices, App Store and Google Play Store but SEO is for web search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
11. Doing it only once and not frequently enough
Once you’ve done A/B testing and found the right keywords, screenshots and other aspects for your app, you would think that’s it. However, you have to continue optimizing your app, because ASO is a continuousness process. In addition, if you try multiple keywords, you should keep those specific keywords for a couple of weeks or even more, to see how they interact with possible downloaders. It's not a one time thing, nor a quick one. It takes a lot of effort and time.
Related Stories
5 Endless Running Games
”Endless” or ”Infinity” running games have been a... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Tips and Tricks for TikTok
TikTok is one of the most powerful platforms on the plane... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Read More
What's New: Geeklab 2021 H1
Our users may have noticed a lot of changes and improveme... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
ASO Guide: Keep your ASO strategy alive
There are numerous stages to consider before, during, and... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Read More
NEW: Demographics
The vast majority of use in Geeklab is centered on concep... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
ASO Guide: Comparison of ASO and SEO
App Store Optimization and Search Engine Optimization mig... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Why is Pinterest such a valuable tool
Almost 500 million people actively use Pinterest every mo... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
NEW: Review Groups
Our first of two significant June updates was released... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Read More
Read More
The similarities of platforms: Creator Fund
In a few of my previous posts Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Masters Of ASO: Erik Hegely from Pixel Federation
Take in the first episode of our Masters of ASO, as we in... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Read More
New: Geeklab Free for life
We've been blessed to work with the biggest developers in... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
ASO Guide - Localization
In today’s global mobile app market, localizing is a ne... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Geeklab's taxonomy
Follow our brief introduction to Geeklab's taxonomy, to h... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
The Story of Spotify
Spotify is one of the leading streaming platforms in the ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Instagram for kids - is it really necessary?
Facebook has announced that it is currently working on a ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
ASO Guide - Categories
Despite your goals on your app, categorizing it correctly... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
The Story of Facebook Messenger
I was having a conversation with a few of my friends abou... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Read More
The Story of Houseparty
When people were first introduced to the concept of lockd... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Mobile usage 10 years ago
The last ten years have changed the way we view mobile us... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Did you know? 8 facts and statistics on social media
Don't forget to check out the last Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
The Story of Snapchat
Snapchat is one of the most used apps in the world and ha... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Top 5 of February - All Apps
The statistics are from Sensor Tower and are based on fre... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Read More
Facebook Pixel and iOS 14.5 with Geeklab
With Apple's iOS 14 and its privacy updates, the F... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Step by Step - Artificial Intelligence
Step by step is a series in which complex subjects are ex... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Read More
Mobile Operating Systems - Harmony OS 2.0 influencing a new era?
Android OS and iOS were both released over 10 years ago, ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Instagram vs. TikTok
TikTok as an app was released back in 2016 where as Insta... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Did you know? 6 hidden features in popular apps
Many people use apps everyday not knowing they contain fe... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Popular TV-shows' and movies' influence on people's shopping behaviour
The variety of available TV-shows and movies today could ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Gradients and their hype
You have probably noticed how gradient colors have been r... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Top 5 of January - All categories
To continue the series, next up is the first one of 2021!... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Step by step - How to protect your app and understand copyright, trademark, patent and agreements
Step by step is a series i... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
When working on your mobile strategy: Mobile App or Mobile Website?
Coming up with a mobile strategy can seem like a never en... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Why should you update your app often enough?
Today is the 22nd of January, so Christmas was almost a m... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Gaming communities and friendship
These times have put us all in a situation we have never ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Questions to go through before developing an app for your company
Making an app seems like a good investment in a world whe... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
WhatsApp vs. Signal: Who rocks its security game better?
The comparison between WhatsApp and Signal has people buz... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Top 5 of December - Games
Let’s continue the series of Top 5! This is such a fun ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
ASO in 2021: Secure user journey and overall creativity
This year has been crazy for the whole world and from so ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
App icons - Has iOS 14 made them worthless?
In the past, companies haven’t had the need to update t... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
The End of Skype for Business - Why and who’s next?
We are living a time where online-courses, online-meeting... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Push notifications - How to use them efficiently
Have you ever wondered the core reason of push notificati... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
ASO vs. Influencer Marketing
Approximately 10 years ago, digimarketing started using t... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Colors and their effect on us - Part 2: Secondary colors
In Part 1 I examined the primary colors; blue, red and ye... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Colors and their effect on us - Part 1: Primary Colors
Coloring is an essential part of the branding process, si... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Suomalaiset opiskeluapplikaatiot ja niiden kehityskohdat
Ajat joita elämme, on laittanut kaikki meistä tilanteis... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
How many people have installed iOS 14?
iOS 14 adaptation rates are coming in fast. After just a ... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Top 5 of August - Business
Welcome back to analyzing the Top 5 of the month. In this... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
How to validate your marketability with Facebook campaigns!
Setting up campaigns can seem to be an overwhelming techn... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
How to setup an ASO Facebook Campaign!
Please note that since iOS 14.5 this article is no longe... Read More
![How to setup an ASO Facebook Campaign!]()
Jesse Lempiäinen
Jesse Lempiäinen
Top 5 of January - Education
To continue the Top 5 series, next up is Education! This ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Top 5 of July - Action Games
In this new series, I am going to analyze different App c... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
ASO Guide: Vocabulary - First steps in becoming an ASO Specialist
ASO
App Store Optimization, improving seve... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Make it stand out - How to make an App: Part 3
In order to make your App ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Screenshot Trends - What is next?
Screenshots are an essential part of alluring users in do... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Set your goal and brainstorm - How to make an App: Part 1
Today Apps vary from so many categories to another. You c... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Apple WWDC 2020: ASO recap
Due to the current situation, Apple kicked off its annual... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Am I a gamer?
I scrolled through my iPhone's screen time the other day ... Read More
Miira Vehviläinen
Perfecting the Finished Product: Why A/B Testing is a Vital Step for Your Digital Marketing
Today's digital marketplace can be an overwhelming experi... Read More
Jani Torppa
Custom Details Page (CDP) by Google Play. What will it change?
Regardless of the number of ads you run, in most cases, t... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Mobile Apps: What are the next industries to benefit by shifting their operations to apps?
Everyday, we are taking more and more steps towards mobil... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Case Study: How Rovio decreased their user acquisition cost by 20%
Rovio has been using Geeklab for both ASO A/B te... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
The Ultimate App Submission marketing guideline 2020
Screenshots come in multiple sizes. Big and small, portra... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
Improve marketability, save millions
At its core, improving marketability m... Read More
Jani Torppa
Why and how to add a Facebook Pixel to Geeklab
Facebook pixel is a tool that allows external application... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
3 production phases to run ASO in 2020!
App Store Optimization is crucial, but... Read More
Jani Torppa
Why you need to focus on your icon!
The one single element that follows you through the entir... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen
App Store Optimisation, what and why?
Imagine if Coca-Cola had the opportunity to single-handed... Read More
Jesse Lempiäinen