MMSS 2015 - Mobile App Strategy and App Store Optimization (ASO)

Mobile App Marketing Strategies

and App Store Optimization

Dave Lloyd – Sr. Manager, Global Search MarketingMark Simon – SEO Analyst

Mobile Marketing Strategies Summit 2015© Adobe 2015 All Rights Reserved

About Dave

14 years in Search & Digital Marketing

Global team of 7 delivering Organic, Site Search, & App Store Optimization strategies for all Adobe products

http://www.slideshare.net/dalloyd

@davelloyd1

Deliver industry best practices1

3 Showcase Adobe solutions

2 Drive KPI-focused results

Adobe’s app universe

6 iOS categories, 25 iPhone apps, 41 iPad apps22 Google Play apps

“Business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.” Peter Drucker


The next phase of your mobile app strategy requires…

Strategic Alignment

Best Practices

Better Collaboration

Focus on big trends and top business objectives

Align ASO best practices with mobile strategy goals

Work effectively with key stakeholders

Key message


App Trends

Worldwide 2014 Revenue

$8.3 billion (iTunes) and $1.8 billion (Google Play)

Apps currently available

1.2M+ (iTunes) and 1.2M+ (Google Play)

New apps added monthly

60k+ (iTunes) and 50k+ (Google Play)

23% of iOS apps used only once

80%+ are “zombie apps” with few downloads in past 6 months


Global trends and global app store revenue

Most marketers don’t realize that J/APAC is already mobile-first

Phone OS trends


ASO is…

“Everything that helps yourapp be visible in app stores.”

- Johannes Borchadt, inventor of the term ASO in 2009


ASO is not…

• Separate from an overall brandstrategy

• A miracle cure

• One and done – best if done witheach update

• Easy to game

• Entirely within your control (e.g. hundreds of poor ratings immediately after an update willtank your visibility)


Common issues

•App strategy not considered as part of brand strategy

• Just launch it, worry about optimization later

•Not focused on consistently across apps

•No consistent KPIs to measure success

•Not acting on customer experience in Reviews feedback


Chronology of a Mobile App Strategy

1. Be clear about what your brand stands for

2. How does mobile strategy align to current business challenges and how does the org pivot to new skills or ways of marketing

3. Align the organization to deliver on the tactics effectively

4. Ongoing focus on customer experience (hint: Ratings & Reviews)

Ideal: mobile app strategy fully integrated with marketing & brand strategy

Mobile Marketing Strategies Summit 2015© Adobe 2015 All Rights Reserved 12

Strategy & Roadmap

Optimization &

Governance

Training & Best

Practices

Results & Reporting

1. Strategy• Best-in-class marketing practices • Guide overall app & launch

strategy across portfolio

2. Optimization & Governance• Influence app marketing

performance• Consistent practices & process

improvements

4. Results & Reporting• Create & deliver KPI scorecard• Resolve analytics issues

3. Training and Best Practices• Educate on app best practices• Communicate learnings widely

Mobile App Council – Charter & Structure


Meet and greet

2 minutes

End

• Meet someone new• 1 minute each

What kind of apps does your company market? How many apps?

1

2 Top App or Optimization challenges?


Strategic Alignment

Best Practices






About Mark

Owns Adobe.com Site Search and App Store Optimization (ASO)

Expertise at CNET, eBay and Yahoo in product management, project management, agile development, faceted search, SOLR search, structured data feature development, technology platform, process scaling and content automation

M.S. in Computer Science

@msimon3256


Common Errors

1. Poor quality apps - building good apps is building good software

2. Not using keywords at all

3. Focusing too much on high volume keywords, rather than based on relevance AND opportunity

4. Low quality images that don’t highlight app features

5. Non-engaging Descriptions that don’t address features or potential app issues

6. Not incorporating Reviews feedback into app updates


Search Factors1. Category (KW)2. Publisher (KW)3. Title4. Ratings (quantity)5. Ratings (score)6. Keywords (visible only

in iTunes CMS)7. Download quantity8. Download velocity9. App uninstalls10. External links *

Conversion Factors1. Description2. Reviews3. Images 4. Preview video *

1 23

45

Search Ranking Factors


Apple iTunes vs. Google Play

Keyword FieldDescription has no rank impactUp to 5 images

No Keyword FieldDescription impacts rankUp to 8 imagesSocial and +1 signalsExternal linking


App Portfolio Management

App portfolio strategies are dynamic and iterative

Best Practices


Keyword research

• Talk to Product & Marketing teams

• Review competitors

• Generate KW ideas

• Evaluate volume, opportunity, and relevance

• Review & reduce

• Select keywords

Keyword Research Tools• Google Keyword Planner• Ubersuggest.org• Keywordtool.io• App-specific tools


Anatomy of iTunes Keyword property

1.100 character keyword limit2.Ordered in priority to support localization3.Keywords aligned with Product & Marketing4.Brand Terms5.Phrases have stronger match for search


Description

• Compelling first sentence

• UVP – Unique Value Proposition

• Authoritative 3rd party reviews (if you have them)

• Features

• Benefits


Images

What’s most unique to your app?

Highlight compelling features


Video


Ratings & Reviews

Check your lowest-rated Reviews

Share feedback with stakeholders

Update product with feedback


Strategic Alignment

Best Practices






Stages of app marketing collaboration

App development or update initiated

by business

Pre-launch

Immediately following launch

Results

Ongoing execution

http://developer.android.com/distribute/tools/launch-checklist.htmlhttp://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/app-store-submission-checklist.html


Localization and Translation

Translation vs. Localization (context & culture)

Keyword localization should be per geo

Language Translation Localization

English Extract

Japanese 抽出エクストラクト

Norwegian Trekk ut Extract

Polish Wydziel Wydzielanie

Finnish Erota poimi

Russian Извлечение Извлечь


Immediately following launch

• Aim for as many downloads as possible in first few days

• Monitor ratings & reviews very closely

• Use promo codes and social media marketing for more traction

Download velocity & quantity1

3 Keyword ranking

2 Ratings & Reviews


Results - possible KPIs

• Rank• Reach and maintain a target app store rank, either overall or in category

• Downloads• Generate download quantity over a certain time period

• Loyal user acquisition• Downloads from users than make a purchase or use app repeatedly

• Revenue• Hit targets for revenue generated directly through the app

• Competition• Achieve higher app store rank or more downloads than competitors

• New customer acquisition• Acquire a target number of new customers

• Velocity• Meet defined metrics within specific timeframes

• Ratings• % of 4 or 5 star Ratings vs. 1 or 2 star Ratings


Value of Tools• Global visibility• Keywords• Competition• Trends• KPI Analysis• Integration with

iTunes Store data

Easy data extraction

Comprehensive data

Strong visual reporting

Reviews aggregation & analysis

Enterprise tools we use


Search Visibility

Total keyword search volume times keyword rank


Category Ranking


Keyword Overview


Keyword Analysis


Ratings Performance


Download Velocity


Ongoing execution

• Begin testing new strategies

• Update keywords from competitor research

• Review in-app user experience

• After each update, send summary of lowest starred ratings to product developers and stakeholders

• Improve feedback loop with app developers

Improve discoverability

Apps found beyond app store

• Main domain landing page

• YouTube videos

Paid Search boost

• Google Search for local app

• Mobile advertising

Higher total download volume influences higher rankings


App Indexing from Google

Click from listings in Google’s mobile searchresults into apps onAndroid and now iOS

App Indexing’s beenavailable 2 years onAndroid and now oniOS as of May 27

http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/2015/05/surfacing-content-from-ios-apps-in.html


Summary Checklist

Align to brand strategy

Goals and KPIs and reporting

Control: App Name, Keywords, Title, Category, Description, Images, Video

Influence: Ratings, Reviews, Download Velocity

Platforms

Geographies, Translation, Localization

Media plan and budget

Use of outside vendors or in-house

Focus on the customer experience


The near-future of apps

• Google’s Now on Tap makes app content more easily searchable

• Apps for Wearable Technology

• Anonymous app usage (Whisper and Kik)

• Personalized push notifications• Retail-driven by Beacon• Geo-targeted

• Mobile Commerce

• China


Predictions for the future of the internet

• In 2008, there were already more Internet connected objects than people. By 2020, expected to grow to more than 50 billion objects. Projected that Internet of Things market will sell more than the PC, tablet, and phone markets combined.

• Apple Car Play and Google Android Auto are both in development.

• 10% of cars connected to the Internet in 2012. By 2020, 90% estimated.

• By 2020, 20% of U.S. consumers will own a smart watch or smart refrigerator.

• “The shift from desktop to mobile caught so many off guard and so dramatically impacted the competitive landscape, every tech and media company is going to have to be prepared for just the possibility that Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality will become the next platform.” Industry Analyst

• Apple just acquired Metaio (Augmented Reality)

• Google’s I/O conference highlighted Cardboard (Virtual Reality)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/12-amazing-facts-everyone-should-know-internet-things-bernard-marr


Strategic Alignment

Best Practices





Documents

MMSS 2015 - Mobile App Strategy and App Store Optimization (ASO)