Both downloads and user engagement are crucial for successful mobile apps. We often discuss how understanding and responding to customer feelings is vital for keeping users and boosting long-term returns. Today, we will focus on increasing your app’s visibility to drive downloads at the start of the process, using three app store optimization tools that we recommend.
App store optimization, or ASO, plays a critical role in app discovery and customer acquisition. ASO requires an ongoing, data-backed investment from all app publishers. To help, there is a marketplace of app store optimization tools to choose from depending on your needs.
This post explores our top three app store optimization tools to invest in as you plan your budget for 2021. Used individually, each tool is sure to improve your ASO game. Used together, your app store visibility will be unstoppable! These tools all require resource investment in order to make your ASO shine, but are worth the effort.
1. App Annie
App Annie’s comprehensive app market data and their advanced mobile analytics products provide both strategic direction and tactical knowledge to succeed. With data on over eight million apps and thousands of websites, their platform offers a complete picture of the mobile landscape to improve your customer acquisition.
We like this tool because it offers general, no-frills data to help app publishers determine how to acquire more customers in the app stores. Whether you use their free product or invest heavily in their premium features, you’re sure to take away valuable information to help you compete in your app’s marketplace.
Key Products
- App Annie Intelligence: This premium product allows for advanced customers to access the most accurate marketing intelligence data available to the app stores. It provides detailed insights into your app’s users behavior and demographics, along with information relating to user retention, download estimates, and competitor activity.
- App Annie Connect: A free product for basic SEO allowing you to consolidate your data cross 40+ integrations. Use it to track app performance relating to usage, downloads, revenue, and spend across countries and app stores.
- App Annie Ascend: Their newest product, Ascend acts as a single source of truth for data aggregation, data normalization, and automated reporting to accelerate your advertising analytics and monetization strategy.
Pricing
Although Connect is free, Intelligence and Ascend are premium products that allow you to go further with your data. See their free vs premium pricing page for details.
2. Gummicube
Gummicube is a leader in providing App Store Optimization and app store intelligence software and services to growth marketers and app developers. Gummicube provides a complete ASO solution including an ASO service, DATACUBE software, live focus groups, and app reviews.
We like this tool because of their iterative, hands-on approach. They address every aspect of ASO, from search to conversion, paid acquisition, and more. If you’re looking for experts who can not only lead your ASO strategy but also execute the plan for you, Gummicube is worth checking out.
Key Products
- App Store Optimization service: It does what it says on the tin. This is a full ASO service which allows users to focus on their app, while Gummicube “handles the ASO.”
- DATACUBE software: This tool provides app store intelligence software that gives actionable intelligence to maximize app visibility and downloads.
- Live focus groups: Allows you to encourage thousands of users to provide immediate feedback for A/B multivariate testing of icons, screenshots, and more.
- Splitcube: This ASO tool allows you to A/B test your creative assets without making any changes in the App Store or Google Play.
Pricing
There’s no published pricing available on the Gummicube website, but the tool is paid.
3. StoreMaven
At StoreMaven, the goal is to make App Store Testing accurate, quick, and more affordable. Since testing multiple store pages involves sending dedicated traffic to your tests, it’s crucial to minimize the sample required as much as possible, without harming the accuracy of the results.
We like this tool because it offers a holistic approach to the testing process. Rather than leaving app publishers to assume what their customers want and need, their entire platform is built around analyzing customer behaviors that allows publishers to listen to inferred feedback. Plus their StoreIQ testing algorithm requires significantly less traffic to determine sound conclusions than alternative solutions, while still maintaining accurate results.
Key Products
- App Store Testing Platform: Split testing (A/B testing) of your app page to see how different design and placement of your creatives impact on downloads of your app. With Store Maven, you are able to test:
- Icon
- Title
- Rating and Votes
- Screenshots
- Video
- Poster Frame (iOS)
- Feature Graphic (Google Play)
- Description
- Uber Page (iOS)
- ASO Tool Box: This feature helps you conduct competitive research by comparing views, descriptions, download data, and more.
Additionally, Store Maven gives you access to a dedicated design studio, making it easier for you to design different app store pages.
Pricing
Start with a free 30-day trial, then payment is required to use either StoreMaven or StoreMaven Lite. Extra costs include the cost of sending traffic to your test pages via Facebook mobile ads, etc.