As a digital marketer with over 10 years of SEO experience, I’ve worked with many app developers to optimize their online visibility and increase downloads.
In 2023, SEO remains one of the most effective strategies for driving discovery and installs of your mobile apps.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll share my proven playbook for ranking your app website higher in search results and leveraging organic traffic to boost conversions.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Why SEO is critical for app marketers
- Technical optimizations for app sites
- Optimizing app store pages
- Building links and local citations
- Analyzing keyword and competitor data
- Tracking rankings and traffic for apps
Let’s dive in and see how Mansoor Bhanpurawala uses SEO to generate more app downloads this year!
Why You Need an SEO Strategy
Here are the key reasons SEO needs to be central to your app marketing efforts:
- Organic reach: SEO allows you to reach high-intent users searching for app-related keywords in your niche.
- Higher intent: Searchers have much higher intent to download vs. casual social media or display ad audiences.
- Lower cost: SEO provides results without ongoing advertising costs associated with paid channels.
- Brand building: Ranking for your brand name builds awareness and trust in search.
- Market research: Analyzing keyword and competitor data informs product development and marketing.
- Sustainable growth: SEO delivers compounding results over time as your rankings improve.
With over 50% of app installs originating from organic search, SEO must be a core part of your app marketing strategy.
Technical SEO for App Websites
The foundation of ranking well is having a technically optimized app website.
Here are key technical SEO best practices to implement:
- Fast page speeds: Optimize images, enable caching, and minify JS. Target under 2-second load times.
- Mobile optimization: Use a responsive design with Tap Targets spaced properly. Avoid too much pinch zooming.
- App schema markup: Mark up app name, price, ratings, and description. Helps search engines index and display app data.
- SSL enabled: Install an SSL certificate and redirect to the HTTPS version. Essential for security.
- Sitemap and robots.txt: Create a sitemap.xml and submit in the Search Console to aid crawling. Use robots.txt to manage bot access.
- Semantic HTML: Use header tags, image alt text, and semantic HTML for better on-page SEO.
- Progressive web app: Make the website installable as a PWA to allow users to “try” the app before downloading.
With a technically optimized site, you can focus on user-focused content and off-page optimizations next.
Optimizing App Store Pages for SEO
Beyond your website, optimizing the app store pages themselves for SEO is equally important.
These pages directly link to the download button people need to install your app.
Tips for App Store optimization pages:
- Target keywords in title: Research popular search queries related to your app niche and category. Include the most relevant keywords in the title and description.
- Compelling descriptions: Write benefit-focused descriptions highlighting your app’s value proposition and use cases. Include keywords where possible.
- Screenshots: Use annotated screenshots to visually showcase the main app features and UI.
- Ratings and reviews: Encourage users to leave positive ratings and reviews as social proof.
- ASO best practices: Follow app store SEO best practices for optimizing icons, screenshots, and descriptions.
- Link internally: Ensure your website and app store pages link to each other to pass authority.
App store optimization is a must for earning direct installs from search engines.
Link Building for App SEO
Now that we’ve covered the technical and on-page optimization foundations let’s discuss off-page SEO through link building.
Here are powerful ways to earn high-quality backlinks for app SEO:
- Content marketing: Publish detailed blog content and tools around your app niche and brand. Promote this through outreach.
- Influencer marketing: Reach out to macro and micro-influencers in your industry to try your app and share it.
- Cross-promotion: Partner with complementary apps/sites to share install links and exchange backlinks.
- Guest posting: Write and distribute guest articles for publication on highly relevant sites.
- Roundup lists: Create comprehensive “best apps” style roundup posts with your app and link out to competitors.
- App directories: Submit your app to targeted app directories like GetApp and AppStorm, which will link back to your site.
Focus on earning contextualized links from reputable sources closely related to your app niche. Avoid low-quality paid links.
Local SEO for Driving Local App Installs
Optimizing for local SEO is crucial if your app caters to local audiences. This allows you to rank in map packs for location-based searches.
Key local SEO tactics for apps include:
- Optimized Google My Business page: Make sure your GMB listing for any physical business locations is complete and consistent.
- Local keywords: Use city names, ZIP codes, and keywords like “near me” on your site.
- Location mentions: Prominently mention the areas your app serves across your website, profiles, and app store pages.
- Citations: Build citations on 50+ directories like Yelp, Facebook Places, and Apple Maps to strengthen local signals.
- Reviews: Generate five-star reviews on platforms that aggregate local listings, like Google My Business.
Ranking locally leads to higher-quality users seeking apps in their city.
Keyword Research for App Store Optimization
Thorough keyword research is crucial for targeting high-volume, low-competition app keywords.
Make sure to analyze keywords from both the search intent and ASO (App Store Optimization) perspective:
- SEO keywords: Research terms users search on Google when looking for apps like yours. Use tools like SEMrush and Google Keyword Planner.
- ASO keywords: Discover keywords people use to find apps in the app store search. Use tools like App Annie, Sensor Tower, and Mobile Action.
- Competitor keywords: See which keywords similar apps rank for. Use this for keyword ideas.
- Long tail keywords: My long tail variants around core keywords for easier targeting.
Knowing the most popular keywords lets you fine-tune your app’s SEO targeting.
Analyze Competitors for Optimization Opportunities
Analyzing competitors who currently rank well delivers powerful SEO insights you can implement.
Use tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs to understand:
- What keywords do competitors rank for related to your app?
- Where they are earning high-quality backlinks from.
- Their technical SEO implementation is on-site.
- The anchor text they optimize for.
- Their content marketing strategies are based on top-performing pages.
Learn from their SEO success and ethically apply the best tactics to your own app promotion strategy.
Tracking App SEO Results
Like any digital marketing effort, you must closely monitor and track your SEO results.
Key metrics to follow for apps include:
- Keyword rankings: Are target keywords gaining visibility in SERPs? What’s your competitor’s position?
- Organic traffic: Analyze overall organic user trends and conversions per source/campaign in Google Analytics.
- Backlinks gained: Are you acquiring new links at a steady clip? What are the anchor text ratios?
- App downloads: Connect website traffic to conversions via app tracking links or analytics platforms like Appsflyer.
- Reviews and ratings: How are your app’s reputation and social proof growing on app stores?
Regularly reviewing these metrics ensures your efforts are paying off through greater visibility, lower CPIs, and, ultimately, more installs and revenues.
Take Your App SEO to the Next Level
I hope this overview gives you a model for capitalizing on SEO in 2023 to drive exponential growth of your app through increased organic visibility, lower paid acquisition costs, and more installs from high-intent users.
If you need any assistance formulating an app SEO strategy tailored to your business, don’t hesitate to reach out! I’d be happy to provide an audit of your current app’s presence and opportunities.
What specific SEO tactics have you found most effective for increasing app downloads? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences in the comments!