App Store Optimization Best Practices For Shopping Apps

Do you have a shopping app? If yes, then you must ensure you perform effective App store Optimization, also known as ASO. App Store Optimization ensures your shopping app gets the highest visibility in the app stores and obtains as many users as possible.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. With millions of apps in app stores today, how can you ensure you do your best to improve your app’s discoverability? Thankfully, that’s precisely what you will learn.

In this post, you will learn 5 ASO best practices for shopping apps.

What is App Store Optimization?

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the process of improving the ranking and visibility of your app in app stores such as Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

ASO helps your users to find you in app stores. With increased visibility, you’ll get more downloads, which leads to more opportunities to earn.

ASO is done by designing your app store listing in such a way that it will convince users to choose your app instead of your competitors. Moreover, ASO also involves adding the right keywords to the correct places, choosing the right app icons, screenshots, and app previews, and writing your app name, subtitle, and descriptions in such a way that it attracts more users.

What are shopping apps?

Shopping apps, as its name suggests, are apps that specifically function as a way for users to browse through a list of items, place orders, and make purchases.

Businesses can use shopping apps as their only online store or they can also have a store online and offline and only use a shopping app to extend their reach.

Some of the most common examples of shopping apps are owned by the following companies:

• Amazon
• eBay
• Etsy
• Alibaba

There are also shopping apps that represent popular brands, such as the following:

• Nike
• H&M
• Asos
• Adidas

As you can see, shopping apps are the perfect tools to get more customers and increase revenue.

How to do ASO for shopping apps?

The principles of doing ASO for shopping apps are almost the same as other types of apps. Nevertheless, there are slight differences. Here are some best practices you need to remember.

1. Think about your overall brand

As a shopping app, your primary goal is to earn and get as much revenue as possible from your customers. For this reason, you need to establish your brand early to ensure that people will trust and do business with you.

Before doing ASO, you should already have decided what type of branding you want to use. The color of your icon down to the CTA buttons should be uniform and represent your brand’s color scheme.

Your branding should influence what app icons, images, and videos you add to your app store listing.

2. Choose the right title

Both the App Store and Play Store put a great emphasis on the app name or app title. They consider it when deciding which app to show users whenever they search.

If you already have a popular and recognizable shopping brand, then you can use that to your advantage. Use your brand to stand out from your competition quickly. You can add your brand name to your app name, so people can easily recognize you.

But what if your brand isn’t known yet? While it is more challenging for you to rank higher when you start from scratch, you can still use your brand name plus the right keyword. Adding your most important keyword to your app name offers a great benefit to your app.

3. Use the right keywords

Not all shopping apps are the same. You might be selling clothes, shoes, or bags. Other shopping apps specialize in selling home products, while others are broader in their scopes, like Amazon or eBay.

Thus, you need to specifically use the right keyword that perfectly matches what your app is all about. Remember that your competitors might already use broad keywords. You can still use these broad keywords, but you will gain the upper hand by finding keywords that would specifically relate to your app.

For example, if you are selling coats, you can use not just keywords like “clothes shopping” or “Apparel shopping.” Instead, you can be more specific, like “coat shopping” or “coat for men.” 

Perform effective keyword research to ensure that your app appears in search results.

4. Use high-quality creatives

There’s no doubt: humans are visual creatures. You might get people’s attention with written words, but app icons, screenshots, and app videos are proven to get more user engagement.

With this in mind, you should perform the following when choosing your app page creatives:

• App icons – choose simple, easy-to-understand, and attention-grabbing app icons. Use simple symbols and avoid overcrowding your icons with elements and words.
• Screenshots – use screenshots that effectively describe your shopping app. Include images that reflect how the app works and its core features.
• App preview – videos are effective tools to grab people’s attention and keep them tuned in. The first 30 seconds of your videos should quickly show your users how your app works and its benefits. Invest in hiring professional video editors as well. It would be worth the money as you see more users get engaged.

5. Know your competition

The shopping niche is a highly competitive category in app stores. There are big companies that already dominate this category, and going up against them can be an overwhelming task.

Nevertheless, don’t lose hope. The best thing you can do now is study how they work. Pay special attention to how popular shopping apps write their app titles and descriptions, choose screenshots, and create videos. By doing so, you’ll have a better idea of how to perform your ASO campaigns as well.

Identify where your competitors are good at. You can then try to replicate that in your marketing. Check as well your competitors’ weaknesses. You can use these weaknesses and find opportunities to become a better choice than your competitors.

Perform ASO for your shopping apps today

Doing ASO for shopping apps is not an easy task. There are a lot of factors you need to consider. Positive results may not even be noticeable within the first few months. You need the right amount of energy, time, and resources to ensure your shopping app will thrive.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do all these alone. You can get the help of ShyftUp. They have the right expertise, tools, and experience to assist you in planning out the best ASO for your shopping app.

Give them a call today and see how your shopping app would succeed!

How do shopping apps differ from other apps?

Shopping apps specifically function as an app that helps users find products that are for sale. Shopping apps are also designed to efficiently facilitate the shopping experience of the user, from browsing listings to receiving their orders.

How to improve the success rate of your shopping app?

Be sure to create a high-quality app that meets the needs and preferences of users. It should have the right features that help users quickly find, place, track, and receive orders.

How can App Store Optimization help shopping apps?

App Store Optimization (ASO) helps shopping apps to succeed by improving their overall visibility in the app store. With increased visibility, more people would find and download the app. More users mean more business opportunities for the shopping app.