What is ASO? How apps get found on the App Store and Google Play

ASO, App Store Optimisation, is the work of making your app show up when people search the App Store or Google Play, and making them tap Install when it does. It is not advertising. It is the words and pictures on your store listing, chosen so the store's search understands what your app does and shoppers see why they should want it.

Definition

App Store Optimisation (ASO): improving an app's store listing so it ranks higher for the searches people type and converts more of the people who see it into installs.

The app store is a search engine

Most people do not browse the App Store or Google Play. They open it with a job in mind, type two or three words, and pick from the first few results. Apple's own ads page puts it plainly: 70% of App Store visitors use search to discover apps, and almost 65% of downloads happen directly after a search.

That changes how you should think about your listing. It is not a brochure for people who already know your app. It is the page a search engine reads to decide whether to show you at all, and the page a stranger reads for about three seconds before deciding whether to tap.

The three jobs of ASO

Everything in ASO falls into one of three jobs. If you remember nothing else, remember these.

1. 1

   Be found

   Your name, subtitle (App Store) or short description (Google Play), and keywords must contain the words people actually type. If the words are not there, the store cannot match you to the search, no matter how good the app is.
2. 2

   Be chosen

   In the results list, a shopper sees your icon, your name, your rating and your first two or three screenshots. That is the whole pitch. If it does not say what the app does and why it is good, they tap the next one.
3. 3

   Be kept

   Ratings and reviews feed back into the first two jobs. A 4.6 gets tapped more than a 4.1, and both stores use ratings as a ranking signal. Replying to reviews and fixing what people complain about is ASO too.

What the stores actually read

The two stores look at different parts of your listing for search. This is the single most useful table in ASO, so keep it close.

What you control, and what you don't

A lot of ASO advice sounds like magic. It is not. Here is the honest split.

You control

• Every word on the listing. Name, subtitle or short description, keyword field, description, what's new.
• Every picture. Icon, screenshots, preview video, feature graphic on Google Play.
• Which countries and languages you list in. A Hindi listing on Google Play is a separate page with its own words.
• How you ask for ratings and how you reply to reviews.
• How often you update. Both stores like apps that are alive.

You don't control

• The ranking formula. Nobody outside Apple and Google knows the exact weights. Anyone who claims to is guessing.
• How many people search for a term. You can only pick terms people already use.
• Your competitors. If a well-known app owns a search, you will not beat it on that word. You win on the next word over.

The mistakes almost every new app makes

• A brand-only name. "NoteNest" tells the store nothing. "NoteNest: Voice Notes & Memos" tells it everything. See the words that rank.
• A subtitle that is a slogan. "Capture your ideas" is nice. "Record, transcribe, search notes" ranks.
• Screenshots that show the app, not the benefit. The first screenshot needs a four-word caption that says what you get.
• Never replying to reviews. A reply often turns a 2-star into a 4-star, and both stores notice.
• Chasing the biggest word. "notes" is owned by apps with millions of ratings. "voice notes for meetings" is yours to take.

A 10-minute first check

You do not need a tool to start. Open your own listing as a stranger would and answer these.

1. 1

   Search for your main job, not your name

   Type what someone with your problem would type, like "expense tracker" or "pdf scanner". Are you in the first 10? Which apps are?
2. 2

   Read your name and subtitle out loud

   Does it say what the app does? Does it contain the words you just searched? If not, that is your first fix.
3. 3

   Look at only your first three screenshots

   Cover the rest. Would a stranger understand the app from those three alone? Is there a caption on each?
4. 4

   Check your rating against the top three results

   If you are below 4.3 and they are above, fixing the top complaint in your reviews comes before anything else.
5. 5

   Write down three searches you want to win

   Specific ones. These become your keyword list in part 4 of this series.

If you want this done for you, the free audit at the top of this page runs about 30 checks on any App Store or Google Play link and scores them. The next guide in this series explains how the stores decide what to show, and the full 30-point checklist covers every check by hand.