Improving Visibility in Mobile Web Search

Every App developer has the primary goal of improving the visibility of their work in app stores. A more visible app means you will likely have more downloads, and more downloads usually mean more revenue. As more and more apps make it to the apps store every day, it is increasingly difficult to maintain a good visibility. New ways of getting your app discovered need to be adopted. One of these is by employing the use of a traditional web search.

More and more people are using their mobile web searches to find apps that they need. Studies show that over a third of app discoveries are made when browsing search engines. This means we can no longer ignore mobile web searches as a means of getting our apps out there anymore. The key to ranking highly in a mobile web search is through SEO.

Everything You Need To Know About SEO For Apps

Two factors come into play when it comes to mobile app ranking: App Store Optimization (ASO) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Similar factors affect the ranking of an app in SEO and ASO, even though the ranking algorithms for Google and that of different App Stores are not the same. These ranking factors can broadly be grouped into two categories, on-page factors, and off-page factors. On-page factors are factors that are on the app itself, such as URL, app name, and descriptions. Off-page factors include reviews, ratings, number of installs and backlinks.

That being said, here is how to optimize SEO for apps and get the best results:

Keyword Research

The first thing you need to do before everything else is a thorough keyword research for both ASO and SEO. Select the keywords with the highest estimated traffic and low competition.

Place the core keywords in app titles and descriptions. There are many keyword research tools out there that you can use to analyze your keywords for free. Take advantage of them.

Reviews and Ratings

It goes without saying that good reviews and ratings are important. Both Google and app stores rank apps with better reviews higher than others. Same goes for a high average rating. Google takes this a step further and crawls user reviews for keywords, which add even more juice to your ranking. Plus, good reviews and ratings usually translate to more organic downloads, so convince your users to leave a positive rating!

Backlinks and Installs

Good backlinks are vital for good SEO. To get these backlinks, a good place to start is by adding a download link to your download page on as many reputed sites as possible. Add it to your websites, and try to get media houses talking about your app. Build a dedicated site for your app. This will almost always lead to more installs and higher ratings.

Track Your SEO Performance

SEO is an ongoing performance, you never just do it once. It is constant, and you need to track it and update it based on the data and insights you get. There are endless options available for Android developers to track the performance of their apps. Among the best of these is the Google Search Console, which allows you to add your app and view its analytics data in just a few clicks. Use your Google Play console to see the highest ranking keywords and employ these in your app to improve SEO. iOS developers, on the other hand, have to use the App Analytics available through iTunes Connect. It is an effective tool, although it has limited capabilities.

Another tool available is Ahrefs. It is an SEO tool originally designed to monitor backlinks for websites. It can also be used to monitor both iOS and Android apps, showing all the relevant data for URL ratings, Domain ratings, referring domains and organic keywords.

Good visibility can make or break an app. You may have the best app, but as long as no one knows it exists, it is a failure. Improved visibility is, therefore, an essential factor in the life of an app. In today's changing landscape, it is no longer enough to take advantage of ASO and rank highly in app stores. You have to go a step further and use SEO to rank highly in mobile web searches too. This way, you can extend your reach to 100% of potential clients and achieve app success.