How to Rank #1 on Google Play Store with ASO?

February 7, 2024 / App Optimization

Has it been months since you added your app to the Google Play Store, but users cannot find it? Your app needs to be optimized!

There are over 3.718 million apps listed on the Google Play Store currently. With the raging competition and a crowded world like Play Store’s, App Store Optimization is the need of the hour. There are four major things you need to understand to master the art of App Store Optimization:

• How to build a solid first impression of your app?
• How do you enhance app reliability and Android vitals?
• How to get your app featured on the Google Play Store?
• Why is the role of Google Play Console in App Store Optimization (ASO)?

By the end of this read, you’ll know how to hit millions of downloads for your app!

Why is App Store Optimization (ASO) Important?

Even if you’re confident in the utility and accuracy of your app, it can still get lost in the ocean of infinite apps on the Google Play Store. Therefore, App Store Optimization (ASO) is essential because of the following reasons:

• Enhance user downloads: Make your app discoverable by optimizing it for Google Play. This will lead to more app downloads, thus increasing app revenue.
• Increase app credibility: When your app appears on top of the Google Play Store or the home page, it is inevitable for the users to notice it. They’ll automatically trust the app.
• Beat the competition: You can get ahead of your competitors by creating an App Store Optimization strategy. It is more like performing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) but for apps on the Google Play Store.

Strategies to Rank Your App Using App Store Optimization (ASO)

Follow along to crack the code of top-notch strategies to optimize your app using App Store Optimization. The strategies are mentioned as follows:

A. Build a Solid First Impression

People get attracted to what sells to the eyes. Therefore, focusing on the app title, icon, long and short descriptions, promo video, and app screenshots is a significant practice. Let’s go over the strategies for each one of them.

1. App title

Since Google Play Store has now limited the app title to 30 characters, you must create a crisp one. Tailoring the app title by incorporating the most-searched keywords is essential. Another tip is to keep the title catchy and easy to read. Refrain from substituting the app title with something fancier. This practice can divert the app from what the user is looking for.

2. App icon

Another excellent practice for app optimization is creating an impactful and intuitive app icon. For example, if you’re building a meditation app, you can create a monochromatic icon with whitespace in the background. This practice subconsciously allows the user to connect the app icon with peace and serenity.

Note: Don’t use promotional icons such as adding phrases like ‘No. 1 app’. This technique goes against Google Play Store app guidelines.

3. Long and short descriptions

The app’s long and short descriptions are part of the metadata. The extended description should be at most 80 characters and must contain the gist of your app. The users can understand your app’s purpose through the short description.

The extended description includes content related to what your app is all about. It should be at most 4000 characters. Since this is a long description, try avoiding stuff keywords. Google also crawls the app page; therefore, use the keywords wisely.

Tip: Always add a Call-to-Action (CTA) at the end of the long description.

4. Promo video

Uploading a promo video for your app is one of the most innovative ways of App Store Optimization for the Google Play Store. You cannot add a promo video directly to the Google Play Store. First, you must upload the video on YouTube and then link it to the Play Store.

Tip: Keep the video at most 12-15 seconds since most users have short attention spans.

5. App screenshots

App screenshots appear right after the promo video. You must use about 7-8 screenshots for your app. Note that the screenshots must be of mobile and tablet views. These app screenshots must depict the utility and functionality of your app.

B. Enhance App Reliability and Android Vitals

One prominent way to increase app credibility, reliability, and trust is to value app reviews, ratings, and Google Play’s Android Vitals. Let’s discuss them further.

1. Reviews and ratings

The ratings and reviews the users drop directly affect the app’s ranking on the Google Play Store. You must be well aware of how users respond to your app. Are the majority of reviews positive? Are you addressing the users’ problems? Are you constantly fixing the app’s bugs?
All these things matter a lot when trying app optimization on the Google Play Store.

2. Android vitals

Offering a seamless user experience is a non-negotiable for any app on the Google Play Store. Therefore, taking care of the technical aspects via Android vitals is critical. The following factors must be addressed as covered in the Android vitals:

• Crash rate
• Application Not Responding (ANR) rate
• Stability issues
• Excessive wakeups
• Start-up and loading times
• Rendering issues
• Stuck partial wave locks
• Battery issues

How to Get Your App Featured on the Google Play Store?

Getting your app featured on the Google Play Store can skyrocket the downloads of your app, thus leading to high app revenue. Featuring your app on the store takes time and a perpetual series of efforts. You can get your app featured on any one of the following sections in the Google Play Store:

• Editor’s Choice Apps (chosen by Google Play Staff Editors)
• Hero Banner (showing feature graphic of the app)
• Collections (apps representing a common theme)
• Featured popular apps
• New and updated app

Strategies to Get Featured on the Google Play Store

Follow these strategies to get featured on the Google Play Store:

• Keep your app up-to-date and review app performance every day. Ensure that the app is bug-free.
• Use a promo video as a feature graphic to compel users to download the app.
• Use eye-catching, aesthetically pleasing visuals, especially app screenshots. It is studied that the horizontal screenshots perform better than the vertical screenshots.
• Keep the app ratings positive, along with healthy Android vitals. Resolve user issues in time.
• Optimize the descriptions and metadata of your app for getting ranked on the Google Play Store.
• Ensure that your app abides by the Google Play Store guidelines.
• You can also directly reach out to the representatives of the Editorial team to get featured in the Editor’s Choice.

What is the Role of Google Play Console in ASO?

Google Play Console is a valuable tool for App Developers, App Marketers, and App Store Optimization (ASO) experts. It offers a full-fledged interface to test, release, track, manage, and monetize your apps on the Google Play Store. It is also an efficient analytics tool to measure customer acquisition, app performance, and conversion rate.

The Google Play Console offers the following features:

• The store listing tab is the primary tab that lists the metadata, including app title, app descriptions, app icon, feature video, promo video, app screenshots, etc.
• Using the store listing tab, you can also perform A/B testing in the Play Store.
• You can also analyze Android Vitals data, including monitoring app performance, open rate, etc.

Concluding Thoughts

App Store Optimization is the need of the hour for every app on the Google Play Store. The goal is to increase app visibility ranking, get featured, and, thus, get more downloads. Just like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to optimizing websites, App Store Optimization (ASO) is part and parcel of the Google Play Store.

You can also harness the power of Google Play Console to visualize the bigger picture and create a strategy accordingly. Standing out from millions of apps on the Play Store is a daunting task. Yet, constant efforts can be a game-changer.