AppStoreOptimizationTips15ASO

CaseStudies

HughKimura
July14,2015
Blog,MobileAppMarketing
15Comments

DoesthatASOthingreallywork?

Wehearthisquestionquiteabitandwedontreallyblameanyoneforasking.

Afterall,itisalittlehardtobelievethatafewlittletweakscanhavesuchabigimpacton
howmanytimesyourappisdownloaded(andhowmuchincomeyourappproduces).

Ontopofthat,ASOcasestudiesarealittlehardtocomeby.

Thatmayseemstrange,butthereisaperfectlylogicalreasonforthat

WHY APP STORE OPTIMIZATION TIPS AND CASE STUDIES

ARENT PUBLISHEDAS OFTEN AS THEY SHOULD BE

CompaniesthathaveASOplatformsarelimitedtopublishingresultsfromtheircustomers.

Makessense,right?

WouldFordpromotethe060timeoftheChevyCamaro,ifitwasbetterthantheMustang,
justtoshowhowawesomeAmericanmusclecarsare?

Noway.

CustomercasestudiescanalsobeaCatch22:
 PotentialcustomerswanttoseeproofthatASOworks.
Butoncetheyarecustomers,theyhaveNDAsthatpreventtheASOcompanyfrom
releasinganyoftheirresults.

Perfectlyunderstandable.

Butitsashame,becauseASOisapowerfulweaponthatshouldbeinthemarketingarsenal
ofeveryapppublisher.

Itreallyisthebestplacetostart,whenitcomestoappmarketing.

ASO SUCCESSCASE STUDIES

Sincewearentanappstoreoptimizationcompany,wedontcarewhichASOplatforman
apppublisheruses.

Wesimplywanttoshowyouthatitworks,soyouwillimplementitandgetresults.

These15casestudiesprove
that#ASOworksifyougive
ittheattentionitdeserves.
Clicktotweet

Ifyougetthisquestionasoftenaswedo,thispostwillalsogiveyouaneasywaytoanswer
thequestion,insteadofhavingtodigupabunchoflinks.

SoherearesomeAppStoreOptimizationtipsforyourapp

1. GASTON IRIGOYEN (GUIDECENTRAL)

Uh,yeah700%.DoIreallyhavetosaymore?

GastongaveatalkatAppPromotionSummitthatsharedhowAppStoreOptimisation
helpedhimincreasethedownloadsoftheGuidecentralappby700%.Luckily,they
recordedtheentiretalkandposteditonYouTube.

Checkitout

An error occurred.

Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.

BiggestLesson

TheASOelementthathadthebiggestimpactforGastonwastheappicon.

Inthebeginning,theydidnthavethemoneytopayforanicon,sotheydesignedit
themselves.Soundfamiliar?
Butwhentheyfinallydecidedtogetanicondesigned,theywonderedwhytheydidntdo
itinthebeginning.Hesharesotheroptimizationsinthevideo,butthatwasthebiggest
one.

Soifyouthinkthatanappicondoesntmatter,thinkagain.Ifyoudonthavedesignskills,
youcaneasilyhiresomeonetodesignoneforyou.

Itprobablyisntasexpensiveasyouthink.

GastoncreditsappstoreoptimizationasthereasonthatGuidecentralisabletocompete
withwellfundedSiliconValleystartups.IfthatisntatestamenttothepowerofASO,Idont
knowwhatis.
2.SPIROS CHRISTAKOPOULOS (SENIOR MANAGER OF
USER ACQUISITION FOR SEGA)

OK,sothatlaststorywasfromasmallercompanybutwhataboutabiggercompany?This
videohassomegreatinsightsfromSprios,wholeadstheASOeffortsatSega.

IfyouthinkthattheyonlyhaveacoupleofSonicgames,thinkagain.

Theyhaveseveralstudiosandlastyear,theywere#14intheworldinAppStore
revenue.

Theirgoalistogetto#12thisyearandapppromotionandASOaregoingtobeabigpartof
that.

Thisvideoactuallyfeaturestwospeakers.ThefirstspeakerisAlex,cofounderatSensor
TowerandhegivesagreatintroductiontoASO,ifyouarenewtoit.Ifyoualreadyknowthe
basicsofASO,thenSpirostalkwillbemoreinteresting.Youcanskipto16:00inthevideo
tohearhispartofthepresentation.

BIGGEST LESSON

ThebiggestappstoreoptimizationtipsfromSpirosareintheareaofGooglePlay
optimization.Therearealsoalotofappmarketingtips,soIrecommendthatyouwatchthe
videoabovebecausetherereallyistoomuchtolisthere.

3. JUSTIN MAILK (MONEY FROM APPS)

WhenJustinfirstgotintoapps,hedidntknowanythingaboutASO.Asa
result,hisappswouldmakeabout$10perdayforafewdays,thenjustdie
off.

ButafterhefiguredouthowtodoASO,hesawthathecouldmakeabout
$10perdayforthelifetimeoftheapp.

Yeah,thatdoesntsoundlikemuch.

YoucouldalmostgetlunchinmostUScities.

Butwhenyoumultiply$10perdaybyalloftheappsinhisportfolio,thecashflowstartsto
pileuprealquick.Soon,youcanbuymorethanjustlunch.

Justinlefthisfulltimejobin2013andhasntlookedback.

BiggestLesson

Justinsaysthatifyoureallywanttoseeresults,youneedtoreviewyourkeyword
rankingsweekly.Thisneedstobeacoreappmarketingstrategy.Atthebareminimum,you
needtoreviewthemmonthly.

Mostappdevelopersthinkthattheycanchooseabunchofkeywordsonceandjustletitrip.
ButyouneedtoadapttochangingconditionsontheAppStore.

Healsobelievesthatappstoreoptimizationwillgiveyousomeofthebestlongtermresults:

ifyouwanttocreatelongterm,sustainableincome,focusingonASOsothatyour
appsprovideconsistentreturnsoverthecourseofmonths,ifnotyears,canbeagreat
strategy.

ReadmoreaboutJustinsappdevelopmentexperiencesinthisblogpost.Healsorecently
publishedablogpostonhowASOusedtoworkandhowheisapproachingitnow.

4. DAVID JANNER (MAKE APP MAGAZINE)

LocalizationisanareaofAppStoreOptimizationthatiseasilyoverlooked.However,itcan
alsogiveyouthebiggestgains.InDavidscase,hewasabletoincreasehisdownloadsby
767%.

Heisanamazingapppublisherandhespendsmostofhistimecreatingapps,insteadof
blogging.

Butwhenhedoesgetaroundtowritingapost,itisalwaysloadedwithusefulappmarketing
strategies.

BiggestLesson

DavidsaysthatFrench,Spanish,ItalianandRussianhavedoneverywellforhim.

Ofcourse,thiswilldependontheapp.Butthisisagoodstartingpoint,ifyouwanttolocalize
yourapp.

Finally,Davidsumsitupprettywellwhenhesays:

Putsimply,withoutlocalization,wewouldhavehadaround3,000downloadsforthat
month.Withlocalizationwehad23,000downloads.Localizingthisappskeywords
helpedincreasedownloadsby767%!Yes,thatsover7xthedownloadswewould
haveotherwiseachieved.

Readtheentireblogposthere.

5. WOJTEK SZYWALSKI (PRESSPAD)

Thisonewillbequickanddirty

Afterdoingappstoreoptimization,PressPadincreasedtheirdownloadsby140%.Hereis
thechart:

Downloadsgrew+140%(measured30daysbeforeASOvs30daysafterASO)DownloadsbetweenJan
2nd2015andMar2nd,2015Image:PressPad

Thattranslatedintoan87%increaseinrevenue:

RevenuebetweenJan2nd2015andMar2nd,2015Image:PressPad

BiggestLesson

Whatdidtheydothatwassospecial?

Thatsthethingnothingreally.Inreadingthroughtheirblogpost,theyfollowedstandard
ASOpractices.Theydidnthaveanytricksorgroundbreakingstrategies.

Sothebiggestlessonisthatyousimplyneedtofollowthebestpracticesandgetto
work.

OurAppStoreOptimizationguideisagreatplacetostart.

Readtheentireblogposthere.

6. FELIPE WATANABE (TAPPS GAMES)

ThisinformationisfromapostthatIwrotewhenIfirststartedatSensorTower.Being
completelynewtoASO,atthetime,Ilookedaroundforpeoplewhowerealready
successful.

OneguythatstoodoutearlyonwasFelipeWatanabe,fromTappsGames.

AsIwasbrowsingtheiPhoneDevSDKforum,Icameacrossquiteafewofhisposts

Hehadnothingtogainbyposting,heiscoolandjustwantedtohelppeopleout.Herearea
coupleofexamplesofhisposts:

SoIdecidedtointerviewhimtofindoutwhathewasdoing.TappsGameshasagreatstory.
Theyactuallystartedoutwithenterpriseapps,butthatdidntgosowell.

Theycametoacrossroadeithershutthebusinessdownortrytheirhandatgames.Oneof
theirfirstgameswasahitandtheyneverlookedback.

WhenIinterviewedFilipebackin2013,theyhadjustpassed10milliondownloads
andheattributedalotoftheirsuccesstoASO.Nowwithover170appsandtitles
likeCallofDoodieandGoatEvolutionintheirportfolio,theyhavetrulymasteredapp
templatesandASO.

BiggestLesson

FelipefeelsthatoneofthebiggestadvantagesthattheTappscompanystructurehas,isthat
anyonecansuggestanideaforanapp.

Thisleadstoalotofgreatideas,notonlyfortheconceptsoftheirgames,butforappstore
optimizationandappmarketing.

Soifyoucanfigureoutawaytocollaboratewithothers,thatcanhelpyoualot.Onewayto
dothatistojoinBluecloudSelect.

Youcanreadthecompleteinterviewhere.

7. ABHINAV GUPTA (GAME SCORPION INC.)

OK,sothisisntacasestudyperse,butAbhinavdoeshaveacoolacronymfor
rememberingwhatyouneedtocheck,whenoptimizingyourapp.Heteachespeopleto
remember:T.R.I.C.K.S.

Title
Reviews
Icon
Customer
Keywords
 Screenshots/Video

BiggestLesson

Thebiggestlessonfromthevideoistolocalizeyourkeywords.Hemakesagoodpointthat
justbecauseakeywordishardtorankforinonelanguage,doesntmeanthatitwill
bejustashardtorankforinanotherlanguage.

Inotherwords,youneedtotrackyourkeywordsforeachlanguageseparately.Youcanuse
aspreadsheetoryoucanuseoneoftheappstoreoptimizationtoolsouttheretotrackyour
localizedkeywords.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

8. NIC RABOY (SNAPPER FOR DIGITAL OCEAN + OTHERS)

Nicislikemostindieappdevelopers,scrappyandresourceful.

Sincehedoesnthavethehugebudgettogooutandbuydownloads,hehadtofigurehow
outhowgetthemfromfreesources.

Atthetimehewrotehisblogpost,thesestrategieswerehelpinghimmakeafewhundred
dollarsamonthwithhisapps.

Again,itsnotFUmoney,butyouhavetostartsomewhere.

BiggestLessons

NichassomegreatASOtips,butwhatIfoundmostusefulwastheThingsIveFoundToBe
Uselesssectioninhispost.

Hementionedthathefoundpaidreviewstobeuseless.Heistalkingaboutreviewson
socalledreviewwebsites.Iveheardsimilarreportsacrosstheboard,soifyouare
thinkingaboutit,thattipalonewillsaveyousomemoney.
Interestingly,healsosaysthatpaidadsdontwork.ThatissomethingthatIonlyhear
frompeoplewhoarenewtoads,especiallyFacebookAds.Ifyouwanttolearnhowto
actuallygetresultswithFacebookads,youshouldcheckthisout.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

9. KSHITIJ MINGLANI (MINDVALLEY MOBILE)

Mindvalleyhasanamazingmissiontohelppeopleunleashtheirpotential.EverytimeI
checkonthewebsite,Iseethemexpanding.

IhadtheopportunitytotalktoMindvalleyMobileCEOKshitijMinglanionSkypeandhewas
superhelpfulandfocusedongrowingthecompanyinamethodicalway.ASOhelpedthem
growthedownloadsoftheirOmvanaappby125%.

BiggestLesson

Kshitijmentionedthattheyexperimentalotwiththeirscreenshotsandthathasmadeahuge
differencewhenitcomestoconvertingsearchrankingstodownloads.

HealsomentionedthatFacebookadshavebeenextremelyeffectiveintheir
marketing.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.
10. HARIS IKRAM (CLOUDON)

CloudOnisanappthathelpspeoplesharedocumentsonmultipleplatforms.

IsawavideoofHarispresentingthisslidedeck,butIcantseemtofindit.SoIhadtosettle
fortheslidesthatheuploadedtoSlideshare.

HarisisconstantlytweakinghisASOandhereallytakethetimetofigureoutwhatworks.
Thispresentationmaybealittlehardtoreadattimes,butitwillgiveyousomegreattips.

InJanuary2015,CloudOnjoinedDropbox.Theymusthavebeendoingsomethingright

BiggestLessons

OneofthebiggestwinsforHariswasaddingkeywordstohistitle.

Hewasabletodoublethenumberofdownloadsoftheapp,justbydoingthisone
simplething.

Itcanreallybeassimpleasthat.Ifyouwanttolearnhowtofindtheperfectkeywords,this
willshowyouhowtogetstartedrightnow.
11.COREY BREIER (MAILTIME)

Coreyopenlyadmitsthatthefirstversionoftheirappwasntverygood.Thatiswhythey
didntspendtoomuchtimeonmarketingit.

Buttheyknewthattheir2.0versionwouldbeamazing.Sotheyreallythoughtthrough
theirlaunchplan.

Itreallypaidoff.Hereiswhathappened:

MailTime2.0launchedonMay28onthetopoftheUSAppStoresProductivity
Category,andonthefrontpagein18othercountriesworldwideastheBestNewApps.
Thiscoveragelastover3weeksanddrovetensofthousandsofdownloadseveryday.
NowthatsagoodMailTime!

BiggestLessons

Twoweeksbeforetheirlaunch,theyreallyfocusedondialingintheirAppStore
Optimization.Likewehaveseenbefore,addingkeywordstotheirtitlewasoneoftheir
biggestwins.

Youmightbetiredofhearingthat,butputtingtherightkeywordsinyourtitlecanhavea
hugeimpactondownloads.Tolearnwhichkeywordstoputintoyourtitle,thiswillhelp.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

12.ERIC PARTYKA (SOCIALSELL)

Likealotofdevelopers,ASOisntsomethingthatEricrealizedheneededuntilafterhe
launchedhisapp.

Beforeoptimizinghisapps,hisiPadappwasrankinginthetop1,500onagoodday.

ButthisiswhathappenedafterhisASOupdate:
 Fastforwardtoaround1inahalfmonthsafteroptimizingmyappfortheAppStore
andnowmyiPadappisrankedintheTop5andmyiPhoneappisrankedintheTop70.
Mydownloadsarecontinuouslyincreasing,myAppStoreratingsandreviewsare
improving,andIamrankinghigherandhighereachday.

BiggestLessons

Ericsbestadviceisjusttogetstarted.HeattributeshissuccesstoMobileActionseasyto
useplatformandthehelpthathereceivedfromthem.Thishelpedhimtodrastically
improvehisappranking.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

13. TWITTER

ThankstoAykutKaraaliogluatMobileActionforsharingtheprevioustwocasestudieswith
us:

BluecloudSolutions@BluecloudApps 30Jun
@mobileactioncoWearedoingarounduppostandwantto
highlightASOsuccessstories.Whatareyourfavoritecase
studies?

AykutKaraalioglu@aykutws Follow

@BluecloudApps@mobileactioncocheckout
:mobileaction.co/blog/socialsel,mobileaction.co/blog/happene
d,
4:44AM30Jun2015

WhatHappenedBeforeMailTimeGotFeaturedontheApp
ThispostiswrittenbyCoreyBreier,VPofMarketingat
MailTimeandpostedontheirblogonJun24,2015.Inthepast
fewmonths,MailTimehaskeptalowprofile.MailTime1.0was
blog.mobileaction.co

HereareacoupleoftweetsfrompeoplewhohavehadgreatresultswithSensorTower:
 TimLinklater@TimLinklaterrr Follow

Lovingthegainsmadefrom@SensorTowerdata.BesttoolI
haveinvestedtimeintoinalooongtime!Highlysuggestit!
9:10PM12Aug2014

1 1

KirillZdornyy@zkirill Follow

72hours,withalittlehelpfromfriendsat@SensorTower.Use
theirproduct!
11:18PM4Jun2014

3 5

14. JOHN MITCHELL (VEG PEST ID)

AfterdoingASOforhisbugidentifierapp,Johnwasabletogetthefollowingsearchresults
forhisprimarytargetkeywords.Theyareverytargetedkeywords,especiallysomethinglike
pestid.

BiggestLessons
Theyactuallyusedakeywordsuggestiontooltofindtheirkeywords.Thisisanimportant
pointbecauseyoumaythinkthatyouknowwhatkeywordswilldowell,butyoumaybe
missingoutonkeywordsthatyouneverthoughtof.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

15. CHRIS LACOMBE (APPTATION)

ThispodcastepisodecomestousfromSteveYoungatAppMasters.ChrisLaCombetalks
abouthisexperiencewithappstoreoptimizationandatthetimethatthispodcastwas
recorded,hewasgetting300400downloads,strictlyfromASO.

Thatisasignificantdownloadnumberbecausethatisgenerallywhenanappwillstartto
makemoney.WecallittheRuleof500.

Individualresultswillvary,dependingonmonetizationstrategy.Butthatistheruleofthumb.

BiggestLessons

Asidefromappstoreoptimizationalone,Chrisbelievesthathavingaportfolioisthe
onlywaytocreatepassiveincomefromapps.Youdontneedabigwinwithoneapp,but
youcanhaveseveralsmallerwins,thataddup.

Youcanreadthecompleteblogposthere.

CONCLUSION

ThesecasestudiesdemonstratethepowerofAppStoreOptimization.

Ifyouhavenotoptimizedyourappyet,youneedtogetstartedbecauseitisoneofthe
highestleveragemarketingstrategiesthatyoucanimplement.Rememberthatthere
aredifferentelementsofASO.

IfyouhavedonesomeASOinthepastandthoughtthatitdoesntwork,thenyoumayneed
tosimplydosometweakingandlookformorelongtailkeywords.Learnhowhere.

Finally,rememberthatASOoranyothermarketingstrategyisnotamagicbullet.
Youstillneedtohaveaqualityappthatpeoplewant.Butsinceyouarehere,Imassuming
thatyoudo,oryouwanttobuildone.

ToseemoreexamplesofappsthatdoanamazingjobwithspecificpartsofASO,readthis
blogpost.