It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that search optimisation only applies to websites, but if your business operates a mobile app then you should use similar strategies to ensure it gets pushed to the top of search results when people are looking for options on the App Store or Google Play.
If you don’t already have one, an app can be a great way to improve the performance of your businesses in mobile services.
And an additional, very important point to note, which, despite it seeming obvious, is often overlooked, is that you must make sure you have a mobile-friendly version of your website. Nearly two in three web searches are done on mobile devices or tablets – you don’t want to leave the majority of your site visitors behind!
In this blog post, we talk through these points in more detail. Click here for more info on how Freshpath can help you improve your SEO.
MAKING A FUNCTIONAL APP THAT CREATES A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION AND OFFERS SOMETHING MORE
Remember that your app, like your website and all other marketing tools, is a way to attract people to your brand and your aim is to turn as high a proportion of this traffic as possible into revenue. This means that, along with building an app in the first place, you must ensure you keep it up to date with your business goals and values.
But the app is not simply a re-hashing of your website so you have something for people to find on the App Store – people downloading it will expect to get something above and beyond your website. If you’re a window washing business, your app might be able to send reminders to your customers to get their windows washed, or even handy interior design tips if you want to get creative.
NAMING YOUR APP AND CHOOSING KEYWORDS
Naming the app is also very important – it must not only be similar to your core business name, containing the keyword that people are likely to search for, to ensure the best SEO results, but also short and snappy so that it is mobile friendly.
You should also try to come up with two additional keywords that describe your app and include them next to the name. This has the same effect as adding keywords in the title of an article or a page. As long as the keywords are relevant and different, you should enhance your SEO results with this strategy. You can use Google Keyword Planner to take mobile search volume information for the targeted keywords.
A DEEPER DIVE INTO SEO FOR MOBILE APPS
What users normally see when they conduct an app-associated search is something called a “single snippet”. It comprises:
– the app name,
– no. of ratings + average ratings
– a text fragment describing the app
– an install button.
Google will sometimes suggest a group of recommended apps, called an ‘App Pack’, as a search result for an app-related query. Depending on the keyword, this might include 3 or 6 apps in the bundle. Typically, App Packs are featured at top of the SERP. At the time of writing this, roughly one in ten mobile searches contains an App Pack, so it’s worth putting some care into improving your mobile search visibility and trying to implement SEO alongside ASO.
ASO and SEO optimization strategies are broadly based on similar principles. This means that if you can secure your app a high ranking on the app stores it should likely rank well for the same searches on the web. The URL or package title, the descriptions – both full and short – the name of the App, and so on, are all relevant (though in the iOS App Store, a description won’t affect the app search optimisation).
Other key factors over which you don’t have (direct) control include any reviews or ratings from your users, backlinks from other sites and how many people install your app and how quickly. Of course, these factors are impacted by how well you build your ASO and SEO in the first place so get that metadata right from the start!
LSI keywords are also hugely important in making sure your landing page is successfully detected and shown in Google’s search outcomes. These LSI keywords are closely related words that Google use to divine what kind of information your page contains. For instance, when users are looking for the word ‘Guitar’, Google should know whether you are searching for a movie ‘Guitar’ or the instrument itself. This information is easily attainable from webpage’s LSI keywords.
Finding the right SEO consultant Brighton can help you answer all these questions and many more.
