Are You Guilty of These 5 ASO Crimes?

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• How to Perform Your Own ASO Audit

  May 18, 2020
  With ever-changing algorithms, App Store Optimization is a continuous process requiring constant updating in order to ensure long-term success. It is important to monitor your ASO variables with regularity, and our roadmap to getting started with your own audit can get you cruising down the path to app store domination in no time. Optimize Your App's Metadata The first step in an effective ASO checkup is to analyze your meta assets following these easy steps: Step 1: Start by analyzing the title & subtitle. Ask yourself, is the char utilization optimized for each app store? iOS allows 30 characters for both title and subtitle while Android allows 50 and 80 respectively. It is important to use all of the allotted character spaces in order to maximize organic traffic. The logic is simple: the more keywords, the more ranking, and thus the more downloads. That being said, be wary of simply stuffing your titles with any keywords that come to mind, and be sure to choose them carefully after heavy research. Step 2: Next, when choosing keywords, focus on intent. It is crucial to find the right terms in order to target the right audience and focusing on search intent can shed light on areas and keywords that are lacking. As a practice, define your app in three to five words and determine the relevant semantic core, or a set of keywords and key phrases that describe your app in the most precise and clear way for your brand. Check the traffic of these keywords. If they have a strong score, target them and make them part of your core group, and find a way to get them into your title. For the keywords in the subtitle, widen the core a bit. Finally, add any and all other relevant keywords to the full description. Choosing the right keywords with search intent Step 3: Avoid repeating keywords, one mention is enough. A repeated keyword is simply taking the place of other keywords that offer better ranking potential, and as we said before, the more ranking the better. Step 4: Steer clear from irrelevant “filler words” such as ‘with,’ ‘app’ and ‘you’re.’ Filler words have no discovery value and merely take up valuable character space. It is also good to check phrases as stand-alone keywords and see if they are still relevant. For example, though ‘series’ might have a high traffic score, it is a general keyword that can pertain to various subjects such as movies, books, or art. Consequently, it is less relevant as a single keyword as opposed to a phrase like ‘story series’ ‘watch series’ or ‘read series.’ Therefore, check to see if there are keywords that might bring value as both a phrase and as a single keyword. Step 5: Avoid using long sentences.  It’s better to split them up than pack everything into one. Keep things short and sweet. Step 6: Create different meta assets for the App Store and Google Play Stores. Each store assigns different weightings to ASO factors and even contains completely different elements. The traffic score for keywords also differs from store to store, so make sure the meta assets are unique to the store the app is launched in. Step 7: Lastly, for iOS apps, use Apple Search Ads to boost app store optimization. Besides being effective in driving highly relevant installs, search ads can benefit organic ASO by collecting keywords & with conversion rate optimization. Then use them in your ASO strategy to measure each keyword’s value. For a full example of text optimization, let’s take a look at Coffee Meets Bagel’s metadata. As you can see the char utilization is maximized for both title and subtitle. This is a good sign. However, if we look more closely we see the keyword ‘dating’ is repeated in both the title & subtitle: one of them should be removed. For the title, we would also suggest moving the brand name to the end so that ‘dating,’ a very competitive keyword, has a higher chance to gain ranking. For the subtitle, we would recommend removing the keyword ‘app.’ Like in step four, it brings no ASO value. Though ‘real connection’ captures the branding, it brings little traffic. ‘Connection’ as a single keyword is not a very targeted keyword. We would recommend using a relevant keyword from the semantic core that brings traffic. Read more for an in-depth guide on writing app store descriptions. Pro Tip: For new apps, consider putting the brand name at the end to boost the chances for keyword ranking. Untapped Potential for Organic Traffic Low hanging fruit and missed opportunities exist in all sorts of ways such as keywords competitors are not using, and phrases that have high search volume but relatively low competition. Research and read different apps’ full descriptions to get ideas. Check autocomplete for insight. It is important to search for descriptions that explain your app from the point of view of users.  Use your keyword research to build ASO phrases instead of merely single keywords. See which phrases have a high volume of traffic and include them in your metadata to gain the ranking for the phrases as well as the single keywords. Doing this also offers a more specific find, focusing more on user intent. For example, although ‘relationships’ in itself might bring traffic, ‘serious relationships’ might bring more value as it combines the traffic of the single keywords and the phrase itself as well as offering a very targeted keyword. This will also offer insight into core phrases that you are not getting ranked for (missed volume score). Pro Tip: Typos can often be easy wins. Localize Your App Successfully For your audit’s next step, check the app’s localization. If you aren’t spending time on localizing your app store’s listing, you are missing out on a strong strategy that can heavily increase discoverability.  By localizing your app in different languages, the opportunity to reach more people increases. This, in turn, can increase your app’s rank by leveraging your app against competitors who focus solely on local markets. Plus, app store search algorithms take your metadata into account from relevant localizations when ranking apps. Your title, for example in Mexico Spanish will affect search results in the US. If localization is already part of your ASO strategy, there is still room for improvement. You can gain keyword rankings by having different keywords per localization. Remember to always adapt to the cultural and linguistic nuances of the respective country. Creating a semantic core of keywords in different languages can help in this regard. Adapting to different areas is also true for screenshots and having different screenshots per country can increase user downloads.  One of the most important assets to consider is the 100-character keyword field in the App Store. You can easily increase keyword indexation by simple localization. Each locale has the potential to be ranked in more than one language. The United States, for example, can be ranked for both English and Spanish. Canada can be listed for both English and French. So make sure to use all the locals for which a territory ranks. Pro Tip: Use these ‘extra’ localizations to add keywords and double your exposure. Boost App Ratings & Reviews Ratings & reviews should also not be overlooked. Besides being crucial for marketing purposes, positive ratings can be a boost for ASO. According to the App Store ranking algorithm, an app’s ratings impact its rank, with better apps getting better exposure. As a matter of fact, apps with more than four stars even receive a rankings boost. It is therefore important to cultivate a lively and positive review column. For more insight, check out our guide for how to take advantage of the new App Store Review guidelines.  Negative reviews can also be thwarted by slight changes to the metadata. Read through the reviews to discern what can be done. For example, one app we were following was receiving negative reviews from users who first learned it wasn’t free only after they had downloaded it. However, by simply adding messaging of a ‘%5 welcome bonus’ to the subtitle in order to ensure clarity, the negative reviews decreased after the update. Pro Tip: Replying to positive reviews can go a long way. Evaluate App Category Competition Choosing the correct category for your app’s listing can play a major role in boosting visibility and ranking. Check your competitors’ categories and look for opportunities. Is there a relevant category that your competitors are not listed for?   A good example of this was Twitter.  It was previously ranked in the top 10 for the category ‘Social Networking’, competing against Facebook, Instagram, Messenger & Whatsapp, and although it is a pertinent category, its competitive level skyrockets. However, once the company switched their category to ‘News’ it quickly ranked #1. Furthermore, not only did their App Store visibility increase but a few months later they were now ranked #5 in the hyper-competitive ‘Social Networking’ category as well.  Pro Tip: Finding a less competitive category will allow your app to gain visibility and through that increase in ranking across different categories. Design Better App Store Screenshots Screenshots are the next crucial part of an ASO audit with the visuals and content both vastly influential. When it comes to screenshots, promoting user exploration is key. Start by studying industry trends to match your designs and color accordingly, including what competitors are doing to foster engagement. For example, at Moburst we have found that using a gradient background and 3D pop-out graphics has proven an effective tactic for captivating users.  Additionally, avoid having standalone screenshots that lack connective tissue. Encourage further exploration by cutting images between frames to create “scroll bait” that entices users to swipe all the way to the end.  Additionally, similar-looking screenshots are also not advised as they cause user fatigue that results in users looking elsewhere. Finally, be careful your store listing doesn’t have too many screenshots either, sometimes less can actually be more. Stand-alone screenshot gallery Panoramic screenshot gallery Finally, although some users will make a decision without scrolling, for everyone else, making sure they get to the CTA is vital. Your the screenshots leading up to it, use clear and distinct text that conveys your app’s USPs. Also avoid having too much text in the screenshot as it becomes tough for users to read. Typography is also key, so choose a font big enough and readable on a phone screen.  Pro Tip: If you have a video, never use portrait orientation within landscape proportions: you lose valuable screen space and text readability. Tap Into Google Play Experiments Last but not least, test!  A/B testing plays a crucial role in improving conversion rates and in reducing unnecessary risks. If your app is listed in the Google Play Store there is a wide selection of app listing elements you can test with Google Play experiments, ranging from icons to screenshots to full descriptions. These experiments are free and offer valuable insights so take advantage of them all.  It is the perfect tool to run global tests and evaluate new features. Pro Tip: When testing, determine a clear objective and test one attribute at a time. Conclusion Because of both the evolving ranking app store algorithms and the industry’s competitive landscape, App Store Optimization is an ongoing process and key to mobile success.  Having helped countless apps increase their CVR, downloads, and app store rankings, these steps have proven time and again to be the best places to start in order to improve your ASO.  In summary, be meticulous about your app’s metadata.   Leveraging character space may seem straightforward on the surface, but pay special attention to search intent when it comes to choosing keywords.  Make sure your app store listing screenshots are captivating and tell an effective story. Make sure your captions and visuals craft a story that leads to a clear and compelling CTA.  Put an emphasis on testing your app store listing.  Different screenshots and video dimensions can sometimes cause dramatic changes in CVR, so be diligent and leave no stone unturned.  For Android apps, take advantage of free tools like Google Play Experiments to see which of your efforts are paying off. By following our tips based on careful measurements, you’ll be well on your way to an efficient and effective ASO strategy in no time and one that will improve your app’s conversion rates and visibility. When it comes to App Store Optimization success, every situation requires its own unique solution.  We would love to connect and learn more about your specific needs. Get in touch with us today to schedule a consultation and find out more about how Moburst ASO can increase your organic downloads by over 30%.
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• How to Effectively Scale Up Your Apple Search Ads Campaign

  May 05, 2020
  When it comes to iOS apps there is no better user acquisition tool than Apple Search Ads. Running ASA campaigns helps to increase brand awareness and app installs by promoting your app exactly where users are looking: at the top of App Store search results. In this post, we’ll share the key steps to take in scaling up your ASA campaign including the four tactical strategies for going about it, along with our recommended step-by-step guide for getting it done. Choosing An ASA Scaling Strategy It’s time to get started ramping things up with your ASA campaign, and reaping its benefits in paid performance.   There are four tactical approaches in which you can scale your ASA in order to increase the volume of traffic your app receives.  These include the following: Increasing Your Cost-Per-Tap (CPT) Bid Try raising your bid in order to be more competitive, but make sure to do it gradually. Plus, be careful, as this may negatively impact both ROI/ROAS, meaning the increase in the spend does not necessarily lead to an increase in revenue. Expand Your Targeting and Match Types You don’t want to just get more taps, you want those that lead to installs.  Consequently, this particular strategy may not be suitable for some apps.  It may also negatively impact ad performance ROI/ROAS due to less engaged users tapping on the ad. Modify Your App’s Metadata ASA relies on the app category and your app’s metadata (i.e. title, subtitle, keywords, etc.). In order to determine whether your ad is eligible to participate in a search auction, Apple’s relevance score analyzes your app’s metadata to determine whether your app is relevant enough to show an ad for the keyword you’re bidding on. So, if you get no impressions for a keyword (and you already tried to increase the bid), it may be that the relevance score is too low. If that’s the case, try to add the keyword to your metadata in order to improve relevance. Increasing Your Ad Account’s Keyword Volume This strategy is by far the best and safest bet with the least amount of downside.  It involves the gradual increase of new relevant keywords to your ad account over an ongoing period of time through the use of a Discovery Campaign. How to Scale Up Your Campaign Having determined that the tactic of increasing your ad account’s keyword volume is the best course of action, it’s time to get to work.  The following are the recommended steps to keep in mind as you work to scale your ASA campaign and begin to drive more high-value installs. Step 1:  Setting Up Your Discovery Campaign To kick things off you’ll need to set up your Discovery Campaign.  Discovery Campaigns are used for finding new relevant keywords by using Broad Match and Search Match. To get started add all your existing keywords from Brand/Generic/Competitors (Exact) to two distinct ad groups. The first of these ad groups will be your negative keywords.  This will serve to avoid any conflicts between your ad groups.  The second ad group will be your targeted Broad Match keywords.  This ad group will help you to generate more of those all-important long-tail keywords. Step 2:  Divide Your Ad Groups & Conquer! Now that we’ve created our structure it’s time to shift gears and get into the day-to-day optimization of the course of a seven day period.  This process will include splitting our search terms into 3 new categories of ad groups generated by the Discovery Campaign. The first of these categories should be classified as “Good” and include all our relevant search terms.  As more and more of them are generated you will want to add them to a new Exact Search keywords ad group with a bid of 3X your CPA.  You should begin to see downloads begin increasing as a result. The next category of search terms to classify are those that are not relevant, underperforming, or in some cases not performing at all.  These keywords should be moved to your Negative Exact keywords ad group for both Exact Search and Broad Match instances. Finally, you will be left with a collection of keywords that true to their name do not provide enough data to fall into either category.  In other words, they need more testing before either putting more money behind them or casting them aside.  For that reason, we recommend another week of experimentation after which you should have a good indication of where they belong one way or the other. Step 3: Continued Optimization The last component in the process of scaling your campaign is optimization.  More of an extension of the second step mentioned above requires ongoing attention and effort.  Finding the correct balance between doing too much too soon and reaching a point of statistical relevance can be tricky.  Therefore, we recommend conducting your optimization on a weekly basis in order to ample insights into the data being generated. You can next expect to see your number of relevant keywords increase gradually as you continue to optimize your campaign.  Not surprisingly, your app’s traffic will also begin to increase as your campaign successfully scales. Conversely, you will also notice a decrease in your Discovery ad group traffic at the same time.  Don’t be alarmed, it’s a good thing as it means exact negative keywords are consistently being added to that ad group.  You may want to also increase your CPT bid in the Discovery ad group (Search Match & Broad Match Keywords) in order to keep mining new relevant (and non-relevant) keywords for the duration of your campaign. Pro Tips for Successful ASA Scaling Keep Your TTR as High as Possible Your tap-through-rate (TTR) is the number of times your ad was tapped by users, divided by the total impressions your ad received. A high TTR is one of the main factors for determining whether your ad will show for a search impression compared to the competition. Utilize Creative Sets Simply put, using creative sets allows you to tailor the assets that are displayed to users based on what they’re searching for.  It allows you to create ad variations that are specific to the keywords you have selected and is a great way to improve ad performance. One such example of this is displaying to your audience screenshots that are relevant to the keyword they have searched, thus helping to ensure the best results. Separate Your Search Match Targets It’s important to maintain a different ad group for your Exact keywords. Consider using Broad Match or Search Match On if you want to generate more impressions as Exact is the most restrictive match type. Conclusion If you have an iOS app, Apple Search Ads (ASA) are hands down the most effective way to generate traffic in the App Store and increase downloads.  Getting started with them can be easy, however, scaling up your campaign to the next level can be tricky, and even costly if not done correctly.  While there are at least four different ways to ramp things up, our experience shows that gradually increasing your ad account’s relevant keywords by far offers the lowest risk and highest reward.  By following the proper procedure you can start seeing significant results in as quickly as a week, and with continued optimization, the sky's the limit. Still have questions about scaling your Apple Search Ads campaign?  Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.
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• 3 Things You Need to Know About Push Notification Ads for iOS Apps

  April 20, 2020
  It’s easy for an app to rack up a high percentage of dormant users. With push notifications, you can send out fun prompts to remind them why they downloaded your app in the first place.  When it comes to mobile apps, having a great product doesn’t always guarantee success. In fact, that’s only the very first step. With countless tactics available to market your app, it certainly pays to consider leveraging them all. If you find that you’re struggling to build user retention, push notifications may be the way forward. When used correctly, they’re an excellent way to engage your users, while striking a mutually beneficial experience.  Introduction In case you weren't aware, Apple made a lot of changes to the App Store in the first quarter of 2020, so we won’t blame you if you haven’t noticed their updated Review Guidelines. For example, in early March, just as the COVID-19 pandemic began to reach new heights outside of China, Apple made many seemingly subtle changes enabling app developers to improve user experience. One of the least subtle, you could say, was in their change to regulations to allow for push notifications ads.  As a result, this new change allows customers full control over whether or not they want to receive notifications. For those who do, it allows useful information, such as upcoming sales, to reach them with no effort required. This represents a big opportunity for publishers to make essential marketing gains. While email marketing can easily find its way into the spam folder, never to be read, mobile messages are read almost instantly. As such, push notifications ads are a crucial tool to boost an app’s retention rate and sales.  Previously, Apple had banned apps from using push notifications for “advertising, promotions or direct marketing purposes.” However, with the update apps can now technically send marketing notifications to their users. There is a clear caveat, though: “push notifications should not be used for promotions or direct marketing purposes unless customers have explicitly opted in to receive them.” In addition, customers must also be able to opt-out.  Screenshot from Apple While the change in policy is new, the use of push notifications has been around for a while.  In fact, over in the past couple of years, Apple has been a bit sneaky in bending its own rules. For example, they would send out push notifications that looked suspiciously like ads such as a free three month trial to lapsed subscribers of Apple Music. Not surprisingly, they faced heavy criticism and backlash.  So, now that Pandora’s Box is open, how should you be using push notifications ads? We’d like to outline 3 essential things you should know to help you get the most out of this tactic without turning off your users. Let’s Talk Targeting Know Your Audience It’s crucial that you understand your target audience in order to use push notifications ads effectively. There’s really no point in sending inappropriate push messages to the wrong consumer. In fact, rather than simply being ignored, it can actually do more damage than good. Ever found yourself on the receiving end of unwanted marketing? Of course, you have, and it’s annoying. As a result, you probably unsubscribed from the mailing list or removed yourself from the marketing database. So obviously you wouldn’t want to risk doing the same to your users.  With that said, bear in mind your target users' ages, locations, interests, mobile spending habits when creating your push notification strategy. Chances are you don’t want to be sending the same push messages to millennials as you will to baby boomers. Targeting your messages according to different audiences can make a vital difference to your app’s retention and engagement rates.  Screenshot from Localytics Real-World Applications To give this concept examples of real-world use cases, retailers can personalize promotional messages for current sales, or new collections. Streaming and entertainment apps can target people according to their watching habits, for example, Netflix recommends similar shows users might enjoy and informs them when their favorite series is released.  Of course, consumers may have their reservations about allowing push notifications. But what if you were a collector of rare vintage items and could opt-in to be notified when something you’ve been eyeing up is on sale? Push notifications ads, when accurately targeted, can work extremely well for both the consumer and publisher alike.  Once you start targeting your push notifications ads, you can start to analyze the results and gain insights in order to continue more effectively. If you find that some aren’t garnering the results you’re looking for, you can easily try another tactic. Conversely, if something is working particularly well, use it more. You get the gist.  It’s Important to Remember Of course, we would be remiss to not offer a word of caution.  If users are spammed with too many ads, especially inappropriate ones, it will be hard to win back their trust. This could lead to users opting out of receiving all push notifications, which means you’ve lost them and they probably aren’t coming back.  It Pays to Have a Plan of Action Now that you’ve thought about targeting your push notification ads, it’s time to think about how you’re going to send them out into the world. Failure to devise a well thought out plan means you risk missing out on some low hanging fruit.  After all, according to this Localytics survey, 42% of respondents said that they’d use an app more if it factored their location into the push messages sent to them. Localization According to LeanPlum data, retention rates can increase by 7 times in the first 90 days if push notifications are sent out at personalized times. Therefore, if you’ve got users in different countries, it’s no use sending your push ads out at the same time for everyone. While it may be the optimal time for users in one country, users in another may be fast asleep. You don’t want to miss out on potential engagement due to thoughtless timing.  Frequency Additionally, the number of ads you push per week is another factor you must consider. We touched on this briefly above...DON’T SPAM YOUR USERS. They almost certainly won’t thank you for it, and you’ll be damaging your reputation.  We recommend starting small and building up the frequency as you gain more insights into what’s effective and what’s not. For example, Localytics, indicates that the optimal number of push notifications per week is between two and five. More than that, and you risk losing your users.  Screenshot from Localytics Opt-In Process Another factor worth considering is how to encourage users to opt-in to begin with. While you can’t customize Apple’s official push notifications prompt, you can create a personalized splash screen aimed directly at your users. So make it engaging, consistent with your brand tone, and informative. It needs to tell users why they should opt-in. If they respond positively, the official opt-in screen will then appear for them to confirm. However, if they don’t, you can always prompt them again a little later.  According to LeanPlum, only 42% of iOS users opt-in to push notifications. This indicates that it’s probably better to improve your opt-in rates before you can expect to see dramatic increases in retention and engagement rates from the push notifications themselves.  Think about when you see the opt-in prompt upon an app’s initial download. It appears after a series of other requests, such as permission to access your location. It’s easy to click ‘don’t allow’ and close the box so that you can begin exploring the app. You might not know yet whether you even like the app, so why would you automatically agree to receive notifications? A request for opt-ins is therefore easily rejected.  Paradoxically though, it’s not always a bad thing if somebody doesn’t respond positively to your personalized splash screen. That’s because it gives you the perfect opportunity to send them another customized prompt later reminding them to opt-in and why. By this point, they’ll be less distracted by other requests and they’ve already had a chance to engage with your app and develop loyalty to it.  Show Some Flair Emojis So we’ve talked you through how to target your audience and how to implement your strategy, now it’s time to get down to something more lighthearted. Although this may seem like a much smaller factor than the others, research has shown that emojis can have a significant impact on the open rates of push notifications.  Emojis are a great way to incorporate some fun into your marketing. They also help catch the eye of more visual consumers who would tend to ignore plain text. They’re more playful, engaging, and make your brand more relatable to iPhone users who are probably no strangers to the Emoji keyboard themselves.  Plus, the numbers don’t lie either!  According to a study conducted by LeanPlum, push notifications with emojis see a 254% increase in open rates compared to ones without. Additionally, it found that apps that used emojis in their push messages saw 26% fewer uninstalls than those who didn’t. With all that in mind, it’s safe to say that emojis can help contribute to an app’s overall retention rates.  Conclusion We hope you’re now a bit more familiar with why you should be using push notifications for your app’s mobile marketing. Just to recap, don’t forget to target your audience by personalizing your messages. Think about how often and when you send out push notifications by developing a push notification marketing strategy.  Don’t be afraid to get creative and implement emojis in your push notifications in order to engage your users.
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• Moburst’s Mobile Marketing Cure to Covid-19

  April 05, 2020
  With the Covid-19 virus upon us, self-isolation on the rise, and entire communities (not to mention countries) going into lockdown at once, no doubt everyone’s iPhone screen time report is through the roof.  As a result, more people are turning to mobile apps for entertainment, education, productivity, and news. Working from home has gone from an employer-extended luxury to a dreaded necessity, and if the experts are correct this will probably be the reality for the foreseeable future. Not surprisingly this has carried over to the mobile app landscape as well, including app store rankings both within categories and as a whole.  While video conferencing apps are seeing a surge in demand, others like travel are getting hammered as more people are choosing to socially distance and travel less for business, let alone for leisure. Source: Neil Patel Even the biggest app store stalwarts such as Uber is feeling the Covid-19 pain.  So what do you do if you’re an app developer looking to make the most of these challenging times?  In short, understand that this problem is here for a while, recognize that you’ll need to make some changes, and then, of course, put them into action.  Unfortunately in times like these, it’s tough to see the forest through the trees, so to help get the ball rolling with some steps you can be taking here are a few ideas from what we’ve been seeing here at Moburst. Rethinking Your Digital Strategy For apps that rely on live interactions such as in-store shopping for retailers or real-life meetups for dating, now more than ever is a great time to rethink your digital strategy.  This is particularly true when it comes to online advertising where an interesting, albeit somewhat counterintuitive, development has emerged. While conventional wisdom would dictate that with more people spending time online brands would be leveraging this opportunity to do more online advertising, in fact, the opposite has taken place.  Case in point, Facebook recently reported that just in the seven days between March 30th and April 5th its ad sales were actually down by 40% in the wake of Covid-19.  Furthermore, when combined with Google the two online behemoths are projected to lose a combined $40 billion in revenue by the end of 2020. It’s understandable that given the economic downturn and uncertainty that companies would be holding off on putting their marketing budgets to work.  However, in our opinion, this actually presents an interesting opportunity for some brands to take advantage - including those getting hit the hardest right! Plant Those Seeds Now & Reap The Benefits Later Believe it or not right now is actually a great time for app developers to be building audiences at a discounted price.  As we mentioned above, as evidenced by Facebook and Google’s declining revenues, brands are clearly not buying ads like they normally do.  So what does that mean? Less competition for the same impressions. So rather than put your online advertising dollars completely on the back burner, perhaps take advantage of these lower CPMs to extend your reach, so you can tag them now and remarket to them later. Something, however, that app developers should keep in mind if they do decide to advertise is to tread lightly in their messaging.  For example, a huge mistake would be to try to “capitalize” on this current situation while people are suffering. A classic case of this would be a travel app trying to sell the notion that given the decline in airfare prices that this is the ideal time to travel.  Instead, we suggest brands be more helpful, useful, and informative in their messaging rather than pushing for that instant conversion even if that means simply providing a much-needed escape to consumers. Acting on Potential Pivot Opportunities Just because an app is in a category that is being decimated doesn’t mean new opportunities aren’t available with a little ingenuity.  While rethinking your business model can seem like a drastic move to make, doing so at an auspicious time such as this might make all the difference when it comes to the survival of your business.  Furthermore, if done in a well thought out and strategic way it could even open up opportunities quicker than you imagine. Going From On Line to Online A great example of a company to jump on this idea is the popular shopper rewards app, Shopkick.  Previously the company’s app relied heavily on in-store visits as a signature component of its user experience.  Under its original modus operandi, Shopkick users would accumulate points called “Kicks” that they could later trade for free rewards by performing different types of in-store activities.  These included walking into stores, scanning products on the shelves, and uploading images of their receipts after making a purchase. However, as Covid-19 spread and fewer people were going to brick and mortar stores, Shopkick decided to change horses mid-stream and shift to a user experience centered around online shopping instead.  The company quickly switched the messaging of its advertisements to stress the benefits of using their app online including more ways to earn “Kicks” easier, faster, in more places, and now safer than before.  Additionally, Shopkick has also ramped up their creative efforts on social media to further promote their online shopping capabilities. Through the use of live streams showing products in action which can then be purchased using Shopkick, the company has begun turning consumers of their content into consumers on their app. https://www.facebook.com/Shopkick/videos/688420378375099/?__xts__[0]=68.ARDzZhOZL3l81xMtB_hEI9oCcqslX_m1VkZjDaTYqkjpb4yJMo6YBXmZL2s5mimzPU1MCbmKj23BxTUmWpUwe9sEIaIEfaRD6pA1Jv3q8AB5FWS4t1Fbj7QH7NKUc4xqcicpNCOyVE2xCRpQnpIxkDhFOca5NL74RSgi3kqAc2bSDFPufTwlvOyhZ0C6TujqXnl9L0pPtXxBYnh06EFzGvs0396m3Uqdu8vqMzGfVEd9OTUKp5LrXpyOAXXUW3AwcF1A2kDGvLDfXMlQ35r5dvN_TXiFw3GtU8kLomLBuwKiWqk5NwZD0thyPyBDUGi153tS_IJ--9oJAEx8qJ1R_IrOkd0&__tn__=-R ASO Tune-Up It goes without saying that staying on top of your app’s ASO is always a good idea.  So if you find yourself in a rut looking for something productive to do, congratulations you’ve just found it. Update Your Keywords Keyword optimization is a huge element of your ASO that benefits from regular updating and maintenance.  Plus, even if you’ve just recently updated your listing’s metadata there is absolutely no harm in monitoring what the competition is up to, especially now that you have the time to do it.  Check out what’s trending online during this pandemic with consumers in your particular industry.  Discover what they’re searching for, including the non-obvious, and then find ways to work them in.   What are you waiting for? Get to work! Note:  Be aware, however, that changing your app’s metadata too often could actually keep it from being properly indexed by these app stores’ search algorithms.   Refresh Those Screenshots If your keyword strategy is already in good shape, or if you’ve just recently performed a metadata update, this is also a great time to rethink your app's screenshot gallery.  If you recently added new features that are not part of your current gallery, now is absolutely the time to incorporate them into your story. Additionally, perhaps there are existing features not part of your current messaging that has become even more glaringly relevant, for example, online shopping, Highlight that now and don’t squander the opportunity.  Not only is it key to let existing users know what’s available to them, but new eyeballs to your app as well. Additionally, even if nothing fundamental has changed about your app or its story, keep in mind that app stores do, which can also present some new opportunities.  Take for example the Google Play Store redesign which has changed the way sizing for both portrait and landscape orientations can be better optimized. Closing Thoughts Unfortunately, Covid-19 has brought the world economy to a grinding halt, and not even the mobile app market is immune to the problem.  However, just because everything is seemingly frozen in time doesn’t mean your app should end up getting put on ice. If you have the budget to advertise online here’s your chance to capitalize on lower trending CPMs.  If you’ve been putting off tweaking your ASO because you haven’t had the time, good news, you just found it. Use this time to learn more about your customers and identify new use cases for your app. Leverage technologies such as video to educate customers about new ways to use your app.  Find a way to make it relevant to them now so you’ll be even that much more appealing when things get back to normal.
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