I followed the advice of an App Store optimization expert last year in an attempt to promote my iPhone app. Big mistake. It felt wrong at the time, and it did more harm than good. Now I’ve learned to trust my gut instincts instead.
Marketing gurus and snake oil salesmen have been selling search engine optimization (SEO) for years. The trouble is that there are millions of websites competing for the top spot and they can’t all win.
Now, with more than a million apps on the App Store and only a handful ever visible in the rankings, a new industry of App Store optimization, or ASO, has emerged. And like SEO, it has big problems.
ASO: the good, the bad and the gray area
Some ASO advice is common sense, like choosing the right categories to list your app in, designing a good icon and writing clear, concise copy. But other ASO techniques are just plain cheating, like paying for downloads and reviews.
And then there’s the ASO that falls somewhere in between. It’s not wrong, per se, but somehow it’s just uncool.
My big mistake
And this brings me to the mistake that I made. Our app had always been called “Reps & Sets” on the App Store. But in an attempt to improve its visibility in search results, I added some keywords to the name, and so it became: “Reps & Sets – Gym Logging”.
The name change had no significant impact on our sales, so I decided to switch it back. But it turned out I couldn’t because another app had now taken that name.
I had made a stupid mistake, and its one that my partner still hasn’t quite forgiven me for.
What’s frustrating is that I knew at the time it was not cool, but I was just so desperate to do whatever I could to improve our sales, I figured it was worth a try. Never again.
Would Apple do that?
These days, I ask myself, “Would Apple do that?” And I’ve got much better at saying “no” as a result. Can you imagine Apple cramming keywords into their app names, like: “Keynote – presentation slide templates for business” or “iMovie – video editing movie editor.” Of course not.
You might say that’s just because Apple is so big that it doesn’t need to use ASO. (Plus it helps that they actually own the App Store.) But I think there’s more to it than that.
An app with loads of keywords crammed into its name just looks desperate, and the resulting negative impact on your brand does far more harm than the handful of extra sales the clunky title might deliver. Brands like Apple prefer to keep it classy instead. And from now on, so will we.
Learning to say “no”
But this is about more than just ASO. There are many ways that app developers can be tempted to the dark side.
Since positive reviews have a major impact on your visibility in the App Store, it’s tempting to pester your users into giving you a review with annoying pop-up messages in your app.
Many apps do exactly that. Some even ask: “Are you enjoying using this app?” and then only request a review if you say “yes.” If you say “”no,” they ask you to send them an e-mail about it, which may well go ignored, since it was clearly all about getting good reviews in the first place.
How uncool is that? It hardly suggests an app that is putting its users’ best interests first.
Attack of the marketing droids
My partner and I have started calling people who recommend this kind of technique “marketing droids,” because they are following conventional wisdom on how to market an app without really thinking about whether it is how they would like to be communicated to as a consumer.
And the marketing droid mentality isn’t limited to ASO. I’m continually bombarded by spam telling me how I can “monetize” our app with all kinds of ads and promotions. For example, someone wanted us to offer free snacks as a reward for completing a workout. When I explained that I didn’t think this kind of promotion was appropriate in a fitness app, I was told that the marketer “didn’t think of it as a promotion so much as a value-add feature that users appreciate.”
Seriously?
We don’t have ads and promotions in our app — because we don’t like them. That’s why we don’t do a free, advertising-funded version of the app. We prefer to keep the app uncluttered and charge a fair price.
No special offers. No time-limited sale prices that seem to go on forever. And no nasty-surprise expensive in-app purchases necessary.
Keeping it classy
Some marketing droids may think we’re being hopelessly naive as a tiny business trying to keep our marketing classy like Apple’s. But I think they’re wrong, and here’s why. We have tried plenty of different marketing techniques in the past, but the only thing that has ever really driven sales for us is when we’ve been featured on the App Store by Apple. And Apple curates the App Store carefully, selecting apps that reflect the company’s values.
So perhaps keeping it classy and ignoring the marketing droids is not such a bad strategy after all.
Graham Bower is a designer, writer, fitness geek, and long-time Apple user. He is the co-host of Apple Core a podcast about the history of Apple. In his spare time, Graham writes fantasy and sci-fi novels. Connect with Graham on Bluesky or at www.grahambower.com.
11 responses to “How App Store optimization can harm indie developers”
I checked out your app in the app store. It definitely looks top notch and the reviews have been very generous. Maybe I should get off my ass and use something like this.
Wow! Your biggest mistake was not changing the title to your app, it was writing a post on something you clearly have no clue about. Let me help you out a little:
1. ASO is not something you do once after you launch your app and are not getting downloads. ASO and specifically keyword research is done months before, during the idea validation stage. If you do keyword research and you can’t find keyword phrases which are relevant featured based and form keyword phrases that can be ranked, then it’s time to pivot.
*Effective ASO requires testing, monitoring and iteration every 30-45 days to be most effective.
2. ASO is not optional. Is SEO optional? ASO forms the biggest part of the mobile marketing pie. Do you expect traffic to a website which has zero SEO?
3. Reviews and ASO. Reviews help support keywords and can be mined to understand user’s language.
4. The ASO expert was 100% correct in telling you to add a few keywords to your title. There is nothing original about the title “Reps & Sets” nor is there anything unique with your app. Blaming ASO for creating an app which doesn’t solve a problem any better than what is on the market is silly.
5. The titles you mentioned are not “cramming” keywords. They are using keywords which identify their unique value and make it easier for the app to be found in search (which accounts for 60% of all user acquisition).
6. I can’t believe I am reducing myself to explaining why reviews are important but asking for reviews in a way that helps ensure the app is not penalized for bad reviews is wise. If someone leaves a bad review there is not a chance for rebuttal as there is in the Google Play Store.
7. You are mentioning monetization and ASO. They are not related. Monetization, user onboarding, retention mechanics and gamefication are after the user has downloaded the app.
I could keep going but you are so far out in left field that it doesn’t deserve my time to educate you. The fact that a respected website like such as Cult of Mac would publish such an ignorant post is incredible. ASO is not a “silver bullet” and it most definitely won’t help a completely average app.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks
guys let’s e fair. This author is an expert in the topic…
”
Graham Bower is a designer and a fitness geek. An Apple-obsessive for over 25 years, Graham’s first Mac was a Power Macintosh 6100″
Clearly he has the DATA to support this claims… oh wait… no data.. just theory…
wait, may be I can find some graphs, some stats, some sources…. mmmm .
Just 1 dude, talking abut “look at me, look at my app, look at what I think of something I have no idea about”
Cute. How is your Power Mac 6100 going?
Graham Bower is clearly an ASO authority though. He published an app and hired an “expert.”
I feel your pain, the only developers making big bucks these days are either winning the lottery lucky or use every unethical marketing trick in the book. I can’t spend months on developing an app that could pull only a handful of sales..not worth it, so I’ve given up. The flip side is I struggle to find good iOS titles which aren’t trying to nickle and dime me because there is so much of that to wade through on the App Store. I’m surprised it hasn’t all imploded to be honest, though there are signs this year is getting tough for everyone.
What? The only developers making money are building apps which provide value to the market. They raise funding, have marketing teams and budgets and are led by bright and knowledgable people. The devs not making money are the ones that are trying to shove an app into an already crowded space giving no consideration to ASO and marketing or market interest, let alone a marketing budget . Sure, a unsuccessful app must be the fault of the app store or powerful publishers or god forbid the advertisements the struggling indie developer uses to try and cover development cost and feed a family. Big developers aren’t “winning the lottery” they are strategically and wisely dominating the market. It’s all about execution not some amazing idea which most likely has already been done. I could be making millions if I could monetize the phrase “I have a great idea for an app which nobody has ever thought of, I will tell you if you sign a NDA.” Yep, congrats your brilliant idea is called Facebook.
Is that you, Grant Shapps?
I gotta say the devs not making money..you know the 99% of devs out there without the massive budget or marketing teams..they hate this playing field. I was my own marketing team, like most indies you have to figure it out for yourself, you read, you learn, you try different things…no way I can compete with a 30 strong marketing army! Back in the heyday of iOS anyone could have a great idea, build a great app and monetise it. Now it’s all about ripping off other peoples ideas with better “execution”. The bigger game developers are the worst at this, and have the most developed nickle and dime schemes. Like I said..unethical. I’m not interested in playing in that kinda space, and Apple are yet to really do anything to level the playing field.
Thanks for sharing your story. I like the idea of keeping it classy. I think a simple, clear experience that puts users first is a great approach, and I picked up a few tips from your insight:)
Hey Graham,
Thanks for sharing your experiences. First off, there is obviously no one formula for success and there are different things that could work. And yes, just like in the SEO world, there are a lot of consultants who may pretend to know more than they do.
That being said, our experience with many large corporations and indie developers alike, has taught us that ASO does work. But it is not an instant solution. You might have to go through many iterations before you find something that works well.
In addition, you shouldn’t be afraid to promote your product if you believe in it. ASO is basically free advertising. Just like going on a job interview, or on a date, or being a consultant. In all these things, you have to do some marketing to get your name out there and hustle to get what you want.
In a similar way, if you have a killer workout app, there is nothing wrong with giving it the best chance at success. That means doing some great ASO, or asking for reviews. You should be proud of your app, not hide it away.
Don’t worry, what you are describing in your post is a common mistake that indie developers make when it comes to app marketing. Looking at your keywords, it seems like some of them are too generic, even with keyword combinations. Suggestion…maybe adding “tracker” to your list would allow you to rank for [health keyword] + “tracker” That would be something that people would be more likely to look for.
Good Luck!
Hugh
P.S. – Putting keywords in your app title does work. We know several big companies who experiment with it quite frequently. The publisher who only has “Reps & Sets” is losing out on free organic traffic.