App store optimisation that turns impressions into installs
Keywords, listings, creatives and reviews for the App Store and Google Play
Building the app is half the job. The other half is being found in two stores that rank things by different rules and give you three seconds to explain yourself. We research the terms people search, rewrite the listings for each store, test screenshots and icons, and run the review process. The number we report is installs, not rank.
Two stores, two rulebooks
Apple leans on the title, the subtitle and a hidden hundred-character keyword field. Google reads the full description and pays close attention to behaviour: installs, retention, uninstalls. So the same app needs two genuinely different listings, and copying one across is the most common mistake we find in an audit.
We handle both. Keyword research per store and per country, listing copy written to rank and to convince, and creative tests on the screenshots and preview video, which is where most of the install decision is actually made. The first two screenshots are seen without anyone tapping through, so they carry most of the weight.
Reviews and localisation
Ratings feed ranking in both stores and conversion even harder. We put the in-app prompt at a moment when somebody has just had a good experience rather than on second launch, and reply to reviews in your voice.
Localised listings open markets where you are already available and invisible. Translating the metadata alone, without touching the app, regularly moves installs in markets people had written off. The same discipline applies to the app itself, where the first screen decides whether anybody keeps it. Paid install campaigns are covered under mobile advertising, and the two work considerably better together.
What ASO includes
ASO keyword research
Search terms gathered per store and per country, scored on volume, difficulty and whether the searcher actually wants your app.
Title, subtitle & description
Listing copy written twice, once for Apple's fields and once for Google's full-text indexing, and for the human deciding in three seconds.
Screenshots & preview video
Creative that makes the case in the first two frames, since most people never swipe, tested against each other where the store allows it.
Ratings & reviews
In-app prompts placed after a good moment rather than on second launch, replies to reviews, and monitoring for sudden drops.
Localisation
Listings translated and adapted, not run through a translator, for markets where your app is already available.
Store analytics
Impressions, product page views, install conversion and retention read together, because a listing that wins installs and loses users has not worked.
The first quarter of ASO
Listing auditweek 1
Both stores and every country you publish in: keywords, conversion rate, creative and reviews benchmarked against the competitors ranking above you.
Keyword & copyweek 2
New titles, subtitles, keyword fields and descriptions written per store, then submitted with the next release.
Creative testsweeks 3–6
Screenshot and icon variants run through Google Play experiments and Apple product page optimisation, one change at a time.
Review engineweek 3
Prompt placement agreed with your developers, plus a response workflow with approved wording for the common complaints.
Reportmonthly
Keyword rank, impressions, install conversion and day-7 retention, split by store and country.
From $400/month
From $400/month per app; localisation priced per market.
ASO, answered
What is app store optimisation?
The work of improving how visible an app is in the App Store and Google Play, and how many of the people who see it install it. Keywords, listing copy, screenshots, ratings and localisation. Search optimisation, with a much smaller index and stricter fields.
How is ASO different from SEO?
The index is smaller, the fields are fixed in length, and behaviour signals count for far more: installs, retention and uninstalls all feed ranking. There are also two separate rulebooks, since Apple and Google weight completely different parts of a listing.
How long until ASO shows results?
Metadata changes are indexed within a few days. Keyword rankings move over two to six weeks. Install conversion changes as soon as new screenshots go live, which is why creative is usually where we start if the traffic already exists.
Can ASO really increase downloads?
Most apps we audit are losing roughly half their store visitors to a vague title and screenshots that show the settings screen. Fixing that costs less than buying the equivalent installs, and it keeps working after the work stops.
How do you choose ASO keywords?
From store search suggestions, competitor listings and your own analytics, scored on search volume, how hard the term is, and whether somebody typing it wants what your app does. Ranking first for a phrase nobody searches is not a result.
Do ratings affect app store ranking?
Yes, in both stores, and they affect the install decision even more strongly. Recency matters: a steady flow of current reviews beats a high all-time average with nothing from the last six months.
Get found in the stores.
Send us the two store links. We will benchmark both listings against whoever is ranking above you and send back the fixes.