Top Tips to get your app indexed, ranked, and installed

In recent years, businesses and brands in all corners of the globe have recognised the significant advantages that come hand in hand with embracing the latest technology and innovations to promote their business in the digital world.

And, as technology continues to advance at an unprecedented rate, more people, than ever before are using online apps to promote their business, brand or product in the digital world. Many Apps now allow customers to enjoy a variety of different games and services!

However, in today’s often over crowded digital world, it is simply not enough to invest in an App. After all, there is no point in spending the time to design and create a high performance App if your target market is not able to find it, right?

With this in mind, you should ensure that you invest time in implementing a highly strategic SEO campaign for App optimisation. This is because there are distinct ranking factors that you must take into consideration when it comes to optimising exposure, ranking and conversion rates.

If you’re struggling to rank highly in mobile search engine results, you’re in the right place! We’ve created a helpful guide outlining how you can get your App indexed, ranked and installed – we hope you find it helpful!

What is an App?

An abbreviation for “application” an App is a piece of software that runs through a web browser, phone, computer or tablet.

The majority of Apps are mobile applications that people can download and install on their smart devices such as iPads, mobile phones and tablets. It’s highly likely that you will already have quite a collection on your smart device!

With many of us permanently attached to our smart phones and tablets, this modern software application has paved the way for a whole host of opportunities when it comes to connecting businesses with their target market and maximising brand awareness.

App optimisation

First and foremost, it’s important that you recognise that you will need to optimise your App if you stand any chance of achieving the best possible ranking results.

This is because, according to statistics taken from a recent Google report, data has indicated that 27 percent of users actually find Apps through using search engines such as Google!

And, with experts predicting that this number is set to increase, it’s certainly worthwhile investing in App optimisation as soon as possible. But why are experts stating that this trend is likely to continue?

At the moment, Google is focusing on emphasising App download results, meaning this well-known search engine has quickly become a powerful and effective tool when it comes to ranking apps. With this in mind, now is the perfect time to optimise your App so that your target market are not only able to find it using the App store but also using their preferred search engine too!

Be part of the App Pack!

Do you want to appear at the top of mobile search results? Make sure you are part of the App Pack!

Signalled by the growing popularity of Apps, Google now includes an “App Pack” function, which appears at the top of mobile search results. You will see this as soon as you open up the browser on your tablet or mobile device – it’s hard to miss!

Featuring between one to six apps, the App Pack features the most highly ranked applications based on your Google search. The search results will also allow you to view information about each App and will feature the App image, title, App rating and price. Users are then able to click on the App square that is most suitable for their requirements.

Users are then taken directly to the App store where they can download and install their chosen App.

Recognise the importance of key words

If you already have an online presence in some shape or form, it’s highly likely that you would have already heard of key words! But for those of you that are still unfamiliar with what key words are, they are basically the words and phrases that your target market types into the search box of a search engine to find what they are looking for.

Integral to any search engine optimisation process, the first thing you should do when it comes to optimising your App is spend some time identifying the right keywords.

Key words are extremely important as they not only drive targeted traffic to online application, but they also match your application to what your targeted viewers are looking for.

With this in mind, if you stand any chance of optimising the success of your App, you should carry out extensive keyword research before launching your App. There are a whole host of marketing and SEO experts that are equipped with the knowledge, skills and expertise to help you to pinpoint the keywords that you should be using.

As part of this process, you should begin by writing down what the key functions of your App are… so what does it do and what is its main purpose?

Now it’s time to optimise the title and description

There’s an awful lot to consider when it comes to optimising your App however, when it comes to maximising SEO, the title and description of your App is of the upmost important.

This is mainly because Google evaluates application descriptions as a text on a web page, which is why you will need to take the time to ensure the App title and descriptions are optimised.

To do this, you should include as many keywords as possible and integrate them throughout the description but most importantly, you should make sure that at least one key word is included in the title of the App.

You should also remember to incorporate the name of your brand within your title.  This can sometimes take a little time to get right as an App title is limited to only 50 characters for an app store and only 30 characters for Google Play. Nether-the-less, it certainly pays to get this right!

App specific keywords

We’ve already heard about the importance of key words but did you know that you should also ensure that you include as many App specific keywords as possible too!  Even if that means using the word “App” in your application’s title or description.

This will instantly put you ahead of the competition when it comes to pushing your App at the forefront of your customers’ minds in the digital world.

The importance of review

All SEO efforts require reviews, and this is one stage of the App optimisation process that you should not ignore or underestimate.

This is because Google actually pays attention to ratings too, meaning your star rating will have a significant impact on how your App ranks in the digital world! It also affects the click through rate too, so don’t let your ratings slip under the radar!

So are you read to boost your app and position it at the top of search results? By implementing these effective SEO focused tactics, you will be able to help your App to appear in Google’s “App Pack” in no time at all!