How SEO and ASO Can Work Together to Boost Your App’s Success
Introduction
Do you run marketing campaigns for an app-based company? If so, then perhaps you’ve found ranking on app store results pages to be a challenge.
The good news is that many app store optimization (ASO) techniques are similar to the search engine optimization (SEO) techniques you’re likely already familiar with. The even better news is that combining the two—SEO and ASO—can benefit your overall marketing strategy.
In this article, we’ll explore the connection between SEO and ASO and highlight key takeaways from analyzing the success of three popular calorie counter apps. By understanding how SEO and ASO can work together, you can replicate a similar process for your own app.
How Do SEO and ASO Work Together?
Before digging into how SEO and ASO can work together, you first need to fully understand what each is.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of practices with the goal of optimizing your website and content for search engine rankings. The better optimized your content, the higher the chances it will appear at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).
App store optimization (ASO) is similar to SEO, but instead of focusing on optimizing your website for SERPs, it focuses on optimizing your app for the app store. Think of it as app SEO.
You can combine your SEO and ASO efforts for the best results. By using consistent and relevant keywords for both your website and app store listing and including backlinks from one to the other, you can align your strategies for both channels.
Let’s consider how SEO and ASO can support each other in their respective environments.
SEO Supporting ASO in the Google Play Store
– Earning backlinks from outreach efforts: By linking from the brand’s domain directly to the Google Play Store app listing or reaching out to reputable sites and asking to be added to link roundups for relevant topics, you can earn backlinks that improve your app’s visibility in search results.
– Optimizing app landing pages: Aligning the targeted keywords on app landing pages with the ones you’re targeting in the Google Play Store helps improve your app’s relevance and visibility.
– Publishing content on the brand site to establish authority in the space: Creating content relevant to the category helps build backlinks to the app store listing and establish brand awareness. For example, a calorie counting app could create a blog post targeting “how many calories should you eat a day” or an interactive asset like a muscle gains calculator.
– Utilizing best practices to establish E-A-T factors: By showing Google that your brand is an expert in your industry, you can improve your app’s credibility and ranking.
ASO Supporting SEO on Google’s Search Engine
– Optimizing your app store listing: Google Play Store app listings naturally rank high on Google Search for target terms. By aligning the search terms you’re targeting on both the app store listing and your website, you’ll likely see a boost in your SERP rankings.
By bringing SEO and ASO together, you can optimize your app for both the app store and search engines, increasing your app’s visibility and driving more organic traffic.
How to Bring SEO and ASO Together
To understand how SEO and ASO can work together, let’s analyze the success of three popular calorie counter apps and learn from their strategies.
#1: Calorie Counter – MyNetDiary
Released in September 2010, MyNetDiary has an average rating of 4.72 out of 5, with 57,755 total ratings. MyNetDiary ranks 51st in the Health & Fitness category on the Google Play Store and has more than 1 million downloads. On Google, the app ranks eighth for the target term under a third-party listicle. MyNetDiary has an ASO score of 95 and an app power of 49. It also has 837 equity backlinks.
#2: MyFitnessPal: Calorie Counter
Released in April 2010, MyFitnessPal has an average rating of 4.23 out of 5, with 2,540,681 total ratings. It has more than 100 million downloads and ranks 25th in the Health & Fitness category on the Google Play Store. The MyFitnessPal app ranks number one for “calorie counter app” on the Google search results page. It has an ASO score of 100, an app power of 81, and 21,832 equity backlinks.
#3: Calorie Counter by Lose It!
Released in July 2011, Calorie Counter by Lose It! has an average rating of 4.45 out of 5, with 129,565 total ratings. It has more than 10 million downloads and ranks 52nd in the Health & Fitness category on the Google Play Store. On Google, the app is mentioned on the first page in multiple third-party listicles. Calorie Counter by Lose It! has an ASO score of 100, an app power of 50, and 5,447 equity backlinks.
From these examples, we can draw several lessons:
– Ranking for a search term on Google is more difficult than on the Google Play Store. Investing in ASO can help your app rank for high-volume and high-competition search terms on Google Search and Google Play Store.
– Investing in ASO and SEO can help lift an app’s rankings in category lists. The app with the highest ASO score and the highest number of equity backlinks also has the highest ranking in the relevant category.
– Top-ranking apps on the Google Play Store have a significant number of high-quality backlinks from third-party sites and high-quality pages on a brand’s website.
By following these lessons, you can optimize your app for both the app store and search engines, improving its visibility and driving more organic traffic.
Conclusion
Your marketing plan should integrate efforts across different channels to ensure a consistent brand experience. By combining SEO and ASO, you can optimize your app for both search engines and app stores, increasing its visibility and overall success.
Whether you implement this collaboration alone or with the help of a marketing agency or an app store optimization agency, combining SEO and ASO is a winning strategy that can bring positive results to your marketing campaign.
If you have any questions or need assistance with implementing SEO and ASO together for your app, let us know in the comments below. Happy optimizing!