3 rules to ensure your brand app gets discovered
64 per cent of American adults own smartphones and are spending an average of 162 minutes per day on their device. During usage, 89 per cent of their time is spent in apps versus 11 per cent in mobile browsers.
Most brands have apps, but only a handful have been optimized to capture the user. With the rise of search functionality embedded within iOS9 and Windows 10, it’s becoming more critical to ensure that your app has the potential to be at the top of user’s search results. What can you do to make your app standout among competitors? App indexation and optimization can play key roles in favorable ranking.
Why is app indexation and optimization important for your brand’s app?
If an app is native (already installed), properly optimizing the app will prioritize its content above other search results made on mobile devices. Not only does this improve ease of entry and usability, it will help drive returning visits. Complete app optimization is an innovative way to drive successful performance and improve the search experience for mobile users.
It’s important to implement the necessary elements early on. Here are three rules to ensure that your brand app is discovered:
Optimize your app
Similar to website SEO certain elements of an app can improve the visibility of your app in the app store rankings. These important elements are the app’s title, description and keywords. Other important factors are how users interact with your app:
- What is your app’s Click-through-rate?
- Is your app native?
- Is your app marked up with Schema tags, Twitter cards or Open Graph tags?
- What is your app’s engagement and retention?
- Do you users remain in the app for long periods of time and return to the app frequently?
Avoid watch outs
Just as there are factors that can improve your apps visibility, there are also factors that can bring your app’s visibility down in the app store rankings. The largest factor is low user engagement.
If users rarely interact, return infrequently and you have a low number of reviews this will hurt your app. Additionally, attempting to keyword-stuff and a low average rating score will also adversely affect your rankings.
Go Deep
By adding deep linking functionality to your app, you enable your apps content to be able to rank in search results as a webpage would. Once the app is indexed, app screens can appear in search results, prompting users to install or open button, increasing downloads and return visits.
App indexation can also improve desktop and mobile site visibility on search result pages across Google and Safari browsers. Google Search promotes indexed apps for relevant searches, guiding users towards a preview of the app and showcasing deep links within the app itself. How to deep link to your app:
- Ensure your app supports deep links
- Publish deep links
- Add intent filters to match HTTP or custom scheme URIs for its content; this involves adding snippets of code to your app
- There are two different processes of this for Android and iOS 9
- Measure deep link performance in Google’s Search Console
Follow these three rules and you’d be much more likely to make sure your app gets found and keeps consumers coming back.
Ben Rotundo is SEO manager at DigitasLBi