SEO for Mobile Apps: Increasing the Visibility of Your Mobile App

For the past couple of years now, there has been a rise in the number of smartphone users. More companies are beginning to develop applications to capture this growing audience. This has led to an increase in the number of mobile applications currently in the app stores.

There are about 2.8 million apps in just the Google Play store alone, not considering the iOS app store. It is now getting harder for developers to get their new apps seen by users. Unless you already have a huge business, you might need to put in more effort to get your mobile app noticed and downloaded by your target audience.

Getting your mobile apps ranked well on the app store using App Store Optimization(ASO) isn’t the end. Search engines like Google have now begun displaying mobile apps as organic links in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Sometimes they even contain an install button which takes you directly to the app’s page on the app store.

You can even be sent directly to a specific page in the app from a search engine result page; this is made possible through deep linking capabilities.

There are two main ways to improve the visibility of your app:

• Mobile App Store Optimization
• Mobile Search Engine Optimization

Mobile App Store Optimization (ASO)

Mobile ASO involves getting your app to rank well on the app store. Some of the things you can work on to achieve this are the application:

• Name
• Description
• Screenshots
• Keywords
• Reviews and Ratings

Name

If you already have an established company, you might be considering using a variation of your company’s name for your app. This gives you an advantage, as the search engine might have already ranked your company’s name.

Also, you should choose two more keywords that you would add to the original name describing the app. The keywords should be different from each other, and more importantly relevant to the app’s purpose.

Description

App stores like the Google Play store have a segment where you can describe your product in detail; it is essential to make use of this section very well. Your description should be enticing and detailed enough as it should be able to convince anyone reading it to install your app and give it a try. There are probably other apps out there with a similar purpose as well, so it’s essential you clearly state why you think your app is the best.

Screenshots

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Asides making use of the app description section, you should also include screenshots of the various relevant screens in your app. This gives a user an idea of what your app looks like and how it works.

Keywords

While writing your app description, it is essential to make use of keywords relevant to the function of the app; this increases your app’s chances of ranking in searches. Make sure the keywords you choose aptly describe your app, they should describe actions a user might complete on your app.

The keywords you choose should also be words users are likely making use of in searching for your app. There are some tools out there that also help with analyzing keywords for your apps, tools like thetool.io, AppTweak, Mobile Action, etc.

Reviews and Ratings

Of course, this goes without saying: you should try as much as possible to get a good app rating, preferably one greater than four stars. The higher your app rating, the more likely your app would be downloaded. If you have developed a terrible app, app store optimizations won’t help you out, as people are less willing to download apps with low ratings and bad reviews.

Mobile Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The purpose of mobile SEO is to get your app ranked on the SERP. There are specific steps to take to ensure that your app appears on the SERP for a relevant search.

They are:

• Get Backlinks to Your App
• Use QR Code Links for the Download Page
• Avoid App Interstitials on Your Mobile Site
• Cross-Promote Your Apps to Mobile Users

Get Backlinks to Your App

Getting backlinks to your mobile application is a significant step to take towards having your app ranked on SERPs. Having quality links pointing to your download page or app listing goes a long way in improving your app SEO. Of course, getting quality links is easier said than done, but there are ways to go about it.

If you have a website, you should link it to the download page of your app or app listing. Make sure the anchor text on the website is the name of the app, include the link to the app’s download page in your social media profiles.

Post articles on relevant blogs explaining what your app does and of course link it to your apps download page.

The quality of your backlinks is paramount. Links from irrelevant sources or sites with low authority might affect your ranking negatively.

Use QR Code Links for the Download Page

Having a QR code on your desktop site makes it easy for your app to be downloaded by a prospective user. All he or she has to do is scan the code, and the person is redirected to the download page of your app.

Make sure to compress the download page URL. QR code created from long URLs tends to be highly dense and might prove hard to scan when displayed at small sizes.

Avoid App Interstitials on Your Mobile Site

Sometimes web developers make use of interstitials to prompt a user to download an app. Doing this on a mobile website isn’t advisable as it brings about poor user experience. It prevents a user from doing any other thing, so it’s better to place an HTML banner at the top of the page.

Cross-Promote Your Apps to Mobile Users

You can also set up your website such that it displays links to your app’s download page whenever visited by a mobile browser.

Wrapping Up

There are various ways you can use to increase the visibility of your web application, discussed in this article are some of the most effective ways of doing this. The proper application of the majority or all of these steps will lead to an increase in the visibility of your app, provided you can be consistent with them.

The ball is in your court now, baller.