ASO Audit

Lemon8 ASO Audit Report

Buse Kanal

21 November 2023

Lemon8 iOS App

Lemon8 is among the lifestyle content community in app stores today. With over a million people downloading the app, Lemon8 has enjoyed a relatively high ranking in the App Store. In fact, Lemon8, by the time of this writing, is rated to be the #3 app in the Lifestyle category.

While Lemon8 has already accomplished things that other lifestyle content community apps haven’t achieved, there is still a way to maximize their app store visibility and increase their chance of getting noticed.

After all, the biggest room is the room for improvement. No matter how great Lemon8 might already be, they can still do something to reach the number 1 spot and not be overtaken by competitors.

In this ASO audit, let’s take a look at how Lemon8 can improve its keyword ranking in the most efficient way possible.

Lemon8 Keyword research

We did a quick keyword research for Lemon8. We have shared the details at the end of this post.

Looking at the research result, we can see that we are already ranking for some important keywords. Nevertheless, we have identified some great opportunities for us to take advantage of.

In this situation, ASO intelligence tools come in handy. These tools are effective in identifying popular keywords with the lowest competition. For example, in ShyftUp, we use Mobile Action to perform reliable keyword research.

Among the results we get is the term Search Score. Here’s a quick overview:

The Search Score ranges from 5 to 100. The score represents the number of users who are searching for a specific keyword compared to other keyword options in the App Store and Google Play.

To give you an example, one of the keywords with the highest ranking is the keyword “Facebook.” It has a search score of 100.

The lowest score is 5, which means no one is virtually searching for that keyword. Most keywords will never even see a score beyond 5.

Going back to the results that we got, here’s how Lemon8’s ranking looks like:

“Discovery” keyword has a search score of 56, which we rank at no. 17.
“Social media” keyword has a search score of 55, which we don’t rank.
“Fashion” keyword has a search score of 49, which we don’t rank.
“Beauty” keyword has a search score of 41, which we rank at no. 168.
“Post” keyword has a search score of 38, which we rank at no. 48.
“Lifestyle” keyword has a search score of 37, which we rank at no. 35.
“Community” keyword has a search score of 33, which we rank at no. 18.
“Explore” keyword has a search score of 31, which we don’t rank.
“Templates” keyword has a search score of 28, which we don’t rank.
“Travel itinerary” keyword has a search score of 23, which we don’t rank.
“Ideas” keyword has a search score of 20, which we don’t rank.

We also did research on competitor keywords. We got the following results:

“Instagram” keyword has a search score of 100, which we don’t rank..
“Pinterest” keyword has a search score of 80, which we don’t rank..
“Style DNA” keyword has a search score of 34, which we don’t rank..
“LTK Creator” keyword has a search score of 34, which we don’t rank.
“Insense” keyword has a search score of 27, which we don’t rank.

The results show us that there is a lot of work to do. To ensure that we climb up the rankings, we should use these keywords in our metadata.

Title

The title of Lemon8 in the App Store is this:

Lemon8 – Lifestyle Community

Lemon8 already has a strong title. Take note that the App Store allows us to use up to 30 characters for the title. As of now, Lemon8 is using 28 characters.

Looking at the search scores of the keywords included in the title, the search score of “lifestyle” is 37 and “community” is 33. As you can see, all of the keywords have high search scores, and we can conclude that Lemon8 has a quite strong title. However, there is a great opportunity for improvement.

To ensure we stay competitive, we must test the title and its keywords continuously. One way to improve the title is to go to the keyword pool. From there, we should continuously check how many keywords we are ranking for that are in the title. For instance, we could check the keyword “social media” in our keyword pool.

After starting to use the “social media” keyword, do we start ranking higher for these keywords? Do we start ranking for more keywords that include “social media”? If the keywords are not improving our ranking, then we should test other keywords and their variations.

In this case, we can try a new title like:

Lemon8: Find Lifestyle Content

As you can see, we have added the words “find” & ”content” and removed “community” . This is a great move in terms of keyword ranking for the following reasons:

The term “find” has a high search score of 43.
The term “content” has a high search score of 23.
By adding the term “find” we can potentially rank for longer search terms such as “face shape finder” & “free stud finder”. Both have good ranking scores, which are 28 & 24 respectively.

All these changes to the title can potentially improve keyword ranking. However, please note that there are other combinations and possibilities when it comes to using keywords.

That’s the reason you need to constantly test these keywords. You should check your keyword ranking every week and see if the changes in your title bring better results.

Subtitle

The subtitle of Lemon8 in the App Store is this:

Fresh discoveries every day

Like the title, Apple allows us to use up to 30 characters in the subtitle. As of now, Lemon8 uses 27 characters.

Looking at the search scores of the keywords included in the subtitle, the search score of “fresh” is 32, “discoveries” is 5 and “day” is 29. As you can see, all keywords have high search scores and we can conclude that Lemon8 has an average strong subtitle.

Even though, if we would like to test a new variation, the subtitle can be changed to:

Discover, Explore & Share Post

As you can see, we have added the words “discover”, “explore”, “share” & “post”, and excluded the words “fresh”, “discoveries” & “every day” . This is a great move in terms of keyword ranking for the following reasons:

The term “discover” has a high search score of 64.
The term “explore” has a high search score of 31.
The term “share” has a high search score of 38.
The term “post” has a high search score of 48.
By adding the term “share” we can potentially rank for longer search terms such as “photo share”, & “shared notes”. Both have good ranking scores, which are 24 & 18 respectively.
By adding the term “post” we can potentially rank for longer search terms such as “post it notes” & “post it widget”. Both have good ranking scores, which are 26 & 21 respectively.

To ensure we stay competitive, we must test the subtitle and its keywords continuously. One way to improve the subtitle is to go to the keyword pool. From there, we should continuously check how many keywords that are in the subtitle. For instance, we should check the keyword “find community” in our keyword pool.

After starting to use the “find community” keyword, do we start ranking higher for these keywords? Do we start ranking for more keywords that include “find community”? If the keywords are not improving our ranking, then we should test other keywords and their variations.

Ratings

Looking at the ratings, we can see a lot of things to improve here. Take note that Lemon8, at the time of this writing, has an average rating of 4.7 stars from more than 17.3K users.

Let’s compare that to their competitors:

Instagram – 4.7 stars from 25.7M users
Pinterest– 4.8 stars from 4.7M users

We do need to improve app features and overall user experience to raise the ratings up and get more positive reviews.

Screenshots

Screenshots can either make or break your app. Use the wrong screenshots and you’ll surely chase away users. Use the right screenshots and you’ll attract more users.

As we take a look at Lemon8’s screenshots, we can see that they have chosen great images. However, Lemon8 can use more value-oriented headlines on the screenshots. It is super important to choose screenshots that show the value, features, and reasons why users should use your app. Here are some of our feedback for Lemon8:

Readability: The font size is small. Headlines make grammatical sense. Using blurry typography styles on the 3rd photo might feel confusing.
Headline strength: The current messaging is strong. However, different messaging can be A/B tested.
Social proof: Testimonials, media coverage, # of downloads, etc. could be showcased.
Cover Screen & Fitness Featuring Photos: Lemon8’s logo looks good. A new cover screen can be created along with fashion and fitness featuring photos.
Video (App Preview): A preview video that shows the “lifestyle content” through the app’s functions can be created.

The App Store allows us to use up to 10 screenshots. However, these screenshots don’t have equal exposure. As you may already know, potential users will initially see the first three screenshots. They need to open your page to see the rest of the screenshots.

With this in mind, you need to choose the best screenshots and place them on the first three screenshot slots.

To determine which screenshots give you the best result, A/B testing and Apple’s Product Page Optimization (PPO) are always the best way to go.

Here are a few more things to consider:

Apple indexes the title, subtitle, and keyword list to determine app rankings in the App Store.
The app title, which can be composed of up to 30 characters, is considered to be the most important ranking factor. Thus, you should add the most crucial keyword to your title. When you do that, you’ll most likely get a higher ranking for that keyword.
Next to the app title is the subtitle in terms of importance for indexing. Thus, other more vital keywords should be added to your subtitle. Add as many relevant and high-ranking keywords as possible to ensure you increase your ranking. Moreover, if possible, maximize the 30 character-limit for the subtitle.
The keyword list is considered to be the number 3 most important ranking factor in the App Store. You are allowed to use a maximum of 100 characters. You need to add all the keywords that you believe are relevant to your app. You can even include brand names and competitors’ keywords. You have more flexibility to include whatever you see fit based on your keyword research. After all, users won’t be able to see this list. Only you, as the admin, can see them via the App Store Connect. But it affects your visibility significantly.