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Mobile App SEO vs ASO: Does My App Need a Website?

17min read

Mobile App SEO vs ASO: Does My App Need a Website?

Anyone who has been involved in the development of an app knows that creating the application is just one part of the process. In order to put your app on the road to success, you will need to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy and begin to implement that strategy before your app is even launched. One of the first questions you will need to answer is whether your app needs a website and how to promote that site effectively. You want to make sure the mobile app SEO (Search Engine Optimization) implemented on your site will convert traffic to downloads. SEO for apps is a vital part of your marketing strategy, not to be confused with ASO (App Store Optimization).

In this article, we will be taking a closer look at what SEO for mobile apps consists of, and how it differs from ASO. We will see how you implement both of these marketing tactics, explore why your application needs both ASO and SEO, and how to use both to increase downloads of your app.

By the end of this article you should have a good grasp of what is SEO and ASO when it comes to mobile apps, how to do SEO for mobile apps, and an idea of the mobile SEO best practices to follow for both websites and app stores.

You Probably Need A Mobile App Website

Does your app need a website? In order to answer this question, let's turn to the statistics about how and where people search for apps.

  • App store search - This is the main source of organic traffic for mobile apps. “47% [of iOS users] said they found an app through the App Store’s search engine, while 53% of Android users did the same on Google Play.” (TechCrunch).
  • Search engines - 27% of people discover their apps through search engines. In other words, 1 in 4 users search for apps on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
  • Other channels - app directories, forums, Q&A sites, and others.

The study by Google and Ipsos also discovered that browsing the application store is not the only source of awareness for mobile apps. Only 40% of respondents answered that they first found out about the app in the application store, even if they did not install it afterwards. Other sources of awareness included friends, family and colleagues (52%), company website (24%), search engines (27%), and others.

What we can see from these statistics is that having a website / landing page for your mobile app is an important marketing tool that will help drive traffic to your application. Traffic from app stores is not enough on its own, and you need a strategy that finds potential users wherever they are. A mobile app website has advantages that will allow you to get ahead of your competitors who lack a website or landing page including:

  • The ability to publish thematic content on your mobile app website's blog. This is a mobile SEO optimization strategy that lets you craft content designed to rank high in search engine results for keywords that you want to use to market your application. You can use this method to both attract potential users who are looking directly for your app, but also those who might be searching for something that your application would be relevant to. The number of keywords you can use for app store SEO in the iOS App Store and Google Play are limited, but when writing on your own website there are no constraints. This means you can target all of the audiences and keywords you need to optimize your apps SEO.

  • The app description length on both the iOS App Store and Google Play is limited to only 4,000 characters. That is not a lot of space for you to explain what your application is, and how it works, to potential users. According to a study by StoreMaven, only 2% of users who visit a listing on an application store will actually click the “read more” button to read the full description. This ensures that users only get the most superficial understanding of your app and why they should choose it over your competition. This causes user reviews, average rating, high-quality screenshots, and an appealing icon will have a bigger impact on a user’s decision to install an app.

If you have a dedicated website for your app, you can make your best case for earning a customer’s business. Your website can highlight the information that is most important to your target audience. Separate pages for the paid and free versions of an app, pricing models, or just telling the story of the app and your company can all be ways to help build a bit of trust with your customer base while informing them. Blog posts, as we mentioned in the first section, are an important mobile app seo optimization tool; but they also allow you to give users important and useful information.

  • In the modern age, a website is a universal tool for marketing. The wide range of available app SEO techniques and digital marketing tools ensure the ability to reach target audiences with the content that is most likely to appeal to them.

Let's take a deeper dive into the differences of SEO vs ASO for apps, and how to do SEO for a mobile app.

What is ASO?

ASO (or App Store Optimization) is a series of optimizations that are used to increase the visibility of apps in the search results of app stores. In essence, it is a form of app store SEO. When your ASO is properly applied, your application will be ranked high in search results. This means views of your app store listing, which will in turn convert to more installs and a growing user base for your app.

ASO is a complex process, and every part of that process plays an important part in increasing the visibility of your app. The more your app is seen, the more potential downloads it will have. Below, we are going to give you a short ASO checklist that is universal to all applications. This should help to demystify the process of how to SEO apps a bit.

ComboApp has a team of marketing professionals with the ASO experience to audit your app listing, then develop and implement an optimization strategy that will lead to success.

1. Selection of Keywords

Selecting the right keywords is the most important piece of the ASO puzzle. The right keywords help potential users find your app in the search results of their application store of choice. The iOS App Store and Google Play have slightly different rules for using keywords. There is a separate field on the iOS App Store where you can add up to 100 characters of keywords. There is no such field on the Google Play store and your keywords should be used in the app description. The keywords you most want people to see should be used in the first paragraphs, as most people do not read the full description.

There are many tools that can help you find the most relevant keywords, among which are the Keyword Tool, App Store & Google Play Keyword Suggest Tool by AppTweak, and Keyword Suggest Tool by TheTool.

You can also use the suggestions generated by the app stores’ search engines to get keyword phrases that other users are looking for and that contain your main keyword’s auto fill or related keyword searches.

mobile app SEO optimization on Google Play

2. Optimized App Name and Description

When it comes to your app name, you need to strike a delicate balance. For starters, your application name should be interesting, unique, and easy to remember. Yes, you also need to make sure to use keywords in the app name as well. Keywords used in the ‘app name’ field have the most influence on your ranking in the application store, so you do not want to miss out on that opportunity. Of course, you also have to be sure to fit within the character restrictions for each store (30 characters on iOS and 50 characters on Google Play).

Equally important is crafting an interesting, informative, and engaging app description. Keep in mind that most people don't read the full description (they don't click “read more”), so the most important information about your application should be in the first four lines. In the Apple iOS Application Store, keywords do not play a significant role in the description text due to there being a separate field for them. In the Google Play Market, keywords should be used precisely in the description of the application and the most relevant and high-volume ones should be included in the first paragraph (visible above “Read more”).

3. App Icon, Screenshots, and Videos

Along with the name of your app, the App Icon is one of the first elements seen by a potential user. Make your icon simple, while also being original, eye-catching, and above all memorable!

Your icon should be easy to recognize and not contain any elements that are too small to see easily or text. The icon should reflect the essence of your application to a potential user. Test a few icon options out and then choose the one that has the highest potential conversion rate.

According to StoreMaven research, 60% of users won’t swipe past your first two screenshot images. Therefore, it is crucial that the first 2 screenshots are as informative as possible and contain your strongest messages. It is not recommended to display screenshots of the registration screen, login, welcome, and other screens that do not contain important information. Instead, be certain to showcase your most useful features and create messaging about your mobile product’s benefits and competitive advantages.

Adding videos is not obligatory on the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play Marketplace. However, the presence of high-quality app video previews significantly increases the conversion of views to installs. For example, creative agency Apptamin notes a 15–30% increase in conversion rate by adding a video to the app preview for its clients.

use app preview videos for better ASO

4. User Reviews and Ratings

Feedback from other users and the average rating of the app also play an integral role in a user's decision to download an application. If the average app rating is below 3, and the reviews are mostly negative, potential users are more likely to choose to install a higher rated product from your competitor. When this problem arises, the following steps are recommended:

  • Analyze negative reviews and take into account users’ concerns. If they talk about bugs in the product, fix them as quickly as possible. If users are missing a specific feature, consider developing it, etc.
  • Respond to user feedback. If you receive negative reviews mentioning similar problems, answer them and explain how and when the issues will be resolved. This kind of communication can help you avoid getting more negative reviews related to the same problem. Users will read the developer’s feedback and see that you are responding to the issue. Be sure to not respond to negative reviews negatively. Even if you feel the review is unfair or in bad faith, users will perceive that you might respond to their feedback in a negative way as well.
  • Attract new positive reviews and ratings to increase your average rating. For example, you can build-in a push notification asking a user to leave a review and rating on the application store. Think about the moment when exactly this notification should pop up to ensure that it will be seen by users who have used the product for a long time and are most likely satisfied with it.

You can work analyzing and responding to user reviews from within the developer console of both the Apple iOS App Store and Google Play. However, there are other tools that combine this feature along with a number of additional ones. For example, Appfigures specializes in financial analytics, but it also allows responding to reviews on various app stores from one convenient place.

use Appfigures to respond to user reviews

5. Localization

50% of the countries in the Top 10 for downloads and revenue in the iOS App Store, as well as 80% of the countries in the Top 5 for downloads and income in Google Play, are non-English speaking countries in Europe and East Asia (study by App Annie).

If your application is available for download worldwide, it is recommended to localize both the app store’s listing and the product’s interface into the languages of the main countries where you expect your target audience to be from. Nearly 75% of internet users prefer to read product information in their native language. If you haven’t conducted market research and target audience analysis, you can choose the most popular languages such as French, German, Spanish, and others.

However, keep in mind that localizing an application store listing is more than just doing a “1 to 1 translation”. If you translate keywords from English into other languages ​​verbatim, then this translation will be barely recognizable compared to the real search queries of users from non-English speaking countries. Therefore, it is recommended to search for local keywords for each language separately and then translate the app description on the stores using these phrases. Hiring native language speakers who speak both English and your target languages fluently will also help ensure that your app is properly localized.

What is SEO for Apps

Now let’s take a closer look at what SEO for apps is and how your product can appear in mobile search results.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of measures aimed at increasing the website rank in SERPs (search engine results pages) for specific user queries. This raises the question - how does an application appear in search results?

Since July 1, 2019, all new websites are indexed using Google’s mobile-first indexing. 3 out of every 5 searches happen on mobile, and mobile far outpaces desktop as the number one method of searching. This of course means that SEO for mobile is of the highest importance, and that is even more true when it comes to mobile app SEO. With a comprehensive mobile SEO strategy, your application can rank in mobile search results in App Preview or App Packs.

1. App Preview (single snippet)

The snippet of your application may appear when users search for your app's name on mobile devices. Depending on the platform, by clicking the “Install” button, the user can go directly to the app listing on the relevant mobile store. In addition to the direct download link, the snippet shows a short description of the product, its price, the number of reviews and the average rating of the application on the given store. For example, if we search for a TikTok app from an iOS device, the App Preview will look this way.

App preview single snippet for mobile app SEO

2. App Packs

App Pack is a group of applications offered by the mobile search engine depending on your app-specific query. For example, if you search for “video converter app” from a mobile device, Google’s search engine offers you a group of applications relevant to this search input right after the PPC ads results. The card for each product shows the name, icon, number of reviews, average rating, and price. You can select the product that you like and by clicking on it you immediately go to its listing on the store.

App Packs for apps SEO

Best SEO Strategies for A Mobile App Website

Now that we know what SEO for apps is, now you need to know how to SEO apps and their websites effectively. As we’ve mentioned before, the purpose of any mobile app website is to show your application in the best light, highlight its advantages over competitors, answer the most frequently asked questions, and most importantly - optimize your SEO for apps to ensure high rankings in search engines for relevant keywords.

SEO of any website is a continuous and time-consuming process that has been described in detail in our post about the new website SEO checklist. It can be divided into 2 parts: internal (on-page SEO) and external (off-page SEO) website optimization. Here are some mobile SEO tips along with a mobile SEO checklist to help you on your way to top search listings and lots of downloads. These will help you have a better idea of how to do SEO for mobile apps.

On-Page Mobile App SEO Includes

use on-page SEO for apps

1. Technical Optimization

Technical optimization or technical mobile app SEO is any technical process aimed at improving the website’s visibility for search engines. First of all, we recommend checking the following:

  • Absence of technical errors: Errors such as 404 pages and duplicate content, forgetting to add the necessary meta tags on each web page, not adding the correct sitemap (sitemap.xml) and robots.txt files, etc. You can run a technical audit of your website with the help of SEO / mobile app SEO tools such as Screaming Frog SEO Spider, Site Audit tool by Ahrefs, Google Search Console, Majestic, and more. For example, Site Audit tool by Ahrefs shows the "health" of the website as a percentage. If it identifies technical errors, it gives detailed information on each error, as well as provides recommendations on how they can be fixed.
technical SEO audit in Ahrefs tool

All of the errors it finds are divided into categories” Performance, HTML Tags, Content Quality, Images, etc. The issues that are considered to be the most critical and important will be highlighted in red, letting you know that they need to be solved immediately. Less critical errors and fixes that are simply “recommended to be fixed”, will be highlighted in yellow and blue.

look for technical errors on your mobile app website
  • Fast website loading speed. “Site Speed” is one of the main factors that Google takes into account in its search engine ranking algorithm, making it of vital importance to your apps SEO. You can measure the speed of your website using the following tools: PageSpeed Insights from Google, GTmetrix, or Core Web Vitals ​​report in Google Search Console.

In June 2021, Google began rolling out an update to its Core Web Vitals which is important to SEO for apps and other websites. Core Vitals consists of 3 measurements of a website's speed.

  1. Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures loading performance. LCP should happen within 2.5 seconds of the start of loading to ensure the best app SEO rankings.
  2. First Input Delay (FID) measures how long before the website becomes interactive. For best app SEO this should be under 100 milliseconds.
  3. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) measures visual stability. For best app SEO pages should have a CLS of 0.1 or less.

You will be able to check these Core Web Vitals by using Pagespeed Insights.

Several other signals will be important to SEO for apps and websites in the June update.

  1. Mobile Friendly: The site must be mobile friendly. See the next section for more details.
  2. Safe-Browsing: The site cannot contain any malware or deceptive content. Safe-browsing issues can cause long lasting damage to app SEO.
  3. HTTPS: Having a site served over HTTPS is very important to SEO for apps and websites.
  4. No Intrusive Interstitials: The content must be accessible to the users. Full page advertisements or pop-ups will adversely affect SEO for apps and websites.
  • Mobile-first indexing. Previously, the content relevance was analyzed primarily based on the desktop version. Since July 1, 2019, Google has been indexing all new websites with a priority of mobile content; it means that crawling and indexing of pages is now performed primarily by the Googlebot for smartphones. By March 2021, Google aimed to have rolled out mobile-first indexing for every site. In other words, their index will be mobile-only.

You can check if your website pages are mobile-friendly with the Google Mobile-Friendly Test. Googlebot will analyze the following factors:

  1. Good user experience (UX) - website search and navigation should not cause any difficulties.
  2. Ease of interaction with the website on mobile devices.
  3. Adaptive design - the template, theme, or design of the site’s mobile version should be made in the same style for all devices.

It is crucial to your app SEO that the mobile version of the website loads fast and without errors. You can test it and identify speed issues using the PageSpeed Insights tool. Mobile first design is vital to your apps SEO.

  • Correct meta tags on each web page. Every page of your mobile app website should have meta tags for page title, meta description, H1, H2 / H3, etc. The recommended title length is up to 60 characters with spaces. To check how your title will look in Google search, you can use the title tag preview tool by Moz. The recommended length of meta description is up to 150 characters with spaces, you can also see a preview using the snippet optimization tool by SEOmofo.

It is very important to SEO for apps that the main meta tags of the webpage (title, meta description, and h1 / h2 / h3) contain the high-volume keywords relevant to the page’s content. For example, if you are writing an article about the “best video editing apps”, this keyword phrase should appear in all the main meta tags of this page.

SEO meta data for mobile app website
  • Correct navigation structure of the mobile app website with internal linking. The way your web pages link to each other gives the crawler an idea of ​​the website’s structure. With the help of internal linking, you can highlight the most important pages of your website by having other relevant pages link to them. Check out the best practices of internal linking from Yoast.

If you want to make sure that your mobile app website does not have any technical errors and is optimized for search engines as much as possible, the ComboApp mobile app SEO and Content Marketing team will have a mobile app seo expert conduct a technical audit of websites of varying complexity and provide detailed recommendations for solving any issues that are found, as well as improving website visibility for search engines.

2. Semantic Mobile App SEO

Semantic mobile app SEO is the process of selecting keywords and phrases that most accurately describe your app and website, and then using these keywords when creating website content as part of your mobile app SEO strategy.

For searching keywords you can use such tools as Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, SEMRush, and Ahrefs Keywords Explorer. Let's take a look at how one of these tools, the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, works.

For example, if you are developing a website for your video editing app, identifying keywords will work like this: First of all, you need to highlight the main keyword that most clearly describes the essence of your application. We can assume that this term is going to be: “video editing app”. We enter this keyword in the Ahrefs Keywords Explorer.

use Ahrefs Keywords Explorer for apps SEO

With Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, we will get the information that the selected keyword is high-volume and is searched for in Google by about 6800 users in the US per month. Moreover, the global search for this keyword is 20k queries per month.

global search numbers in Ahrefs Keywords Explorer

Accordingly, your main keyword should be used in the title, meta description, H1, H2 / H3, and the content of your mobile app website’s home page, because you want Google to rank your website on the first page in SERPs for this particular search query.

Also, Ahrefs Keywords Explorer will offer you:

  • Keywords having the same term - the list of keyword ideas shows you all keywords that contain all of the terms of a target keyword in them (in any order).
  • Questions - The list of keyword ideas that show you search queries that are phrased as a question.
  • Also rank for - the list of keyword ideas shows you all keywords that the top 10 ranking pages for your target keyword also rank for.
Keyword ideas by search volume in Ahrefs

Moreover, a single web page should not contain only one keyword in its text. Your task is to collect a group of keyword phrases containing the main keyword or being very close to it. In our case, these can be phrases:

  • best video editing app (3800 monthly search queries)
  • best free video editing app (1900 monthly search queries)
  • video editing software (202k monthly search queries), etc.

At the same time, it is very important that your text looks natural and is written for people, and not for just search engines only. You will not be able to include all possible keywords on your mobile app website’s home page. For the main page, use only the most relevant and high-volume keywords that describe your application as much as possible.

In order to use other groups of keywords that are relevant to your topic, it is recommended to make a blog section on the site and devote a separate blog post to each separate group of keywords. For example, with the help of Ahrefs Keywords Explorer you can choose topics for your blog such as “Free video editing software for Mac”, “How to add music to a video”, “Best editing software for YouTube”, etc. Think about the search engine queries you want your website to rank high for on SERPs and that you expect will bring you the most potential customers and leads.

3. Structured Data Markup

Google explains structured data as a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content. Most Search structured data uses schema.org vocabulary. For example, if you want to post an article on your blog, take a look at the Schema Article markup elements, or use Google's Article markup guide. Google also provides guidelines on structured data markup for data types such as Book, How-to, Local Business Listing, Product, Q&A, Recipe, Software App, FAQ, etc. Structured data is an important part of SEO for apps, so be sure to follow those guidelines diligently.

To check the correctness of integrating the structured data markup, you can use Google's Rich Results Test. Paste your code into the tool and click the validate button. This tool will show errors and warnings, if there are any in your markup.

Using structured data markup will greatly increase the chances that your mobile app website pages will get used for Featured Snippets and Voice Search Queries (because voice search results are pulled from featured snippets). However, make sure the structured data markup of your pages complies with Google's guidelines and policies to avoid a penalty for structured markup spam which might hurt your apps SEO rankings.

4. Content Development and Management

Content and SEO for apps go hand-in-hand. In order to increase the chances that your mobile app website will rank higher in search engines, it is recommended to create as much quality, useful, and keyword-optimized content as possible.

Explore the keyword groups found in the section on semantic app SEO for apps and choose the most interesting and high traffic topics for blog posts. The recommended blog post length is over 1500 words. Pay attention to these statistics:

  • Longer, in-depth blog posts generate 9x more leads than short ones (Source: Curata).
  • Marketers who prioritize blogging efforts are 13x more likely to see a positive ROI (Source: HubSpot).
  • Companies that publish 16+ blog posts per month get nearly 3.5x more traffic than those that publish 0-4 monthly (Source: HubSpot).

Create useful and unique content, share your expertise, and tell about real case studies. This will increase the chances of getting backlinks to your articles organically when the independent journalists are willing to link back to your research and quote your original content.

One important tip for how to do SEO for mobile apps is to update your content regularly. Google ranks content that is constantly updated and kept relevant higher in SERPs.

Off-Page SEO For Apps Includes

use off-page SEO for apps

1. Link-building

Link-building is the process of creating external backlinks to your website to improve its rankings in SERPs. It is very important to SEO for apps that all pages of your website receive backlinks from authoritative resources, not just the Home page. As we said above, it is recommended to devote each blog post to a separate group of keywords, and external backlinks from trustworthy and established domains will also help your posts rank high in SERPs.

There are a number of mobile app SEO tools that can help you evaluate the “quality” of the website you are trying to get a backlink from. For example, the Ahrefs SEO tool assigns a Domain Rating (DR) to all websites. Ahrefs notes that “Domain Rating shows the relative" backlink popularity "... of the target website compared to all other websites in our database on a 100-point logarithmic scale (higher = stronger). We calculate DR based on the number of websites linking to the domain's URLs and their backlink profile strength. " For example, Facebook has the highest DR.

domain overview in Ahrefs SEO tool

Your task for optimizing your mobile app SEO, is to get as many backlinks to your website as possible from resources with DR higher than 40. These can be local business directories, app catalogs, relevant forums, Q&A websites, and other sites where it is possible to make a profile of your company or product and include a link to your website.

Guest posting is one of the most effective and high-quality ways to get backlinks to your content. A large number of websites allow the writing of guest posts on topics relevant to their focus. Select websites that have a high DR and strong backlink profile and reach out to them about publishing your article. By creating high-quality and interesting content, while meeting the site’s requirements for guest posts, you will get an opportunity to include links to your website’s relevant pages.

2. Reach Out To Journalists

Also, one of the ways to get a high-quality backlink to your website is pitching journalists who may be potentially interested in writing about your product (check out how the blogger outreach affects SEO). First, you need to compile a list of journalists and app reviewers who have already written reviews of your competitors or general articles on your topic. If your app is available for Android or iOS devices only, select the review websites that specialize in your specific mobile app platform. You should especially highlight journalists who have reviewed mobile products in your category.

After choosing relevant reviewers, create a pitch about your product. Make sure to note the competitive advantages and what users’ needs it solves, as well as why you’ve decided to write to this particular journalist. Make your pitch as personal as possible, as the response rate to template mailings is much lower. Show that you follow the journalist's publications and explain why they might be interested in your product.

3. Analyse Your Competitor’s Backlink Profile

Another way to find resources for getting backlinks, is to analyze the backlink profile of your direct competitors. You can also use the Ahrefs SEO tool that we’ve mentioned above for this purpose. Enter your competitor's website and go to “Referring domains” in the left bar menu.

Reffering domains in Ahrefs mobile app SEO tool

You will see a list of resources that linked to your competitor’s website, and which of those links were dofollow. Dofollow links should be a priority for you as they convey the referring domain’s “link juice”.

Then classify the referring domains into groups and analyze each of them. If these are application directories or catalogs, you need to register your product on these websites as well. If these are thematic forums, create a profile there, and participate in relevant discussions. You can post a link to your application in the threads where your competitor was discussed as an alternative to what was suggested.

Select your competitors’ reviews in a separate group. Find the authors’ contact details and send them a pitch about your app. Since they wrote about your competitor, the chances that they will be interested in your application will be much higher than when pitching other journalists.

4. Social Signals

Social signals are any activities that users perform on social networks. These signals or factors include:

  • the number of clicks to your website from social media platforms,
  • the number of shares, likes, and comments of your articles,
  • the number of subscribers to your app's social media accounts, their active use, and other factors.

If you want to get more social signals, it is recommended to:

  • actively post your app’s social media accounts, share high-quality images, share news about new features, app updates, and discount offers.
  • engage your app users to subscribe to your product’s social media accounts, make posts / tweets with a link to your website. For such actions, they may be offered various bonuses or a longer free trial.
  • organize contests, actively participate in discussions in relevant groups, share your expertise, etc.

App SEO for Single Page Apps

App SEO for single page apps has its own unique challenges compared to other forms of mobile app SEO. A single page app differs from a website by the fact that all of the HTML that creates the page is created by JavaScript code. The JavaScript loads new content as users navigate to different areas of a single page app, with each load of single page content being referred to as a “view”.

The problem with this, as any mobile app SEO expert or web designer will tell you, is that JavaScript and search engines do not get along great even in the smaller amounts used in regular web pages. When the entire site is being rendered by JavaScript, this challenge becomes even more pronounced. Here are some app SEO solutions for single page apps that should help you overcome these challenges.

  • Cover All Possible Code Paths - What this basically means, is to make sure that your code takes into account what happens if a command cannot be executed. An example would be if the app is asked for information from a user’s machine that is not available.
  • Views Should Be Treated As URLs - Make sure that every time you navigate around your single page app, the URL in the address bar changes on every new “view”. If there are no separate URLs for each “view” then Google will only see the homepage and nothing else. Your app SEO will suffer if these views are not tracked properly.
  • Titles and Descriptions - We have already stressed how important both of these things are to SEO for apps, and that is still true for a single page app. Each “view” should have a different title and description, just like with the URLs mentioned above.
  • Error Codes - By default, a single page app will return a HTTP 200 status code for errors such as an invalid URL. This can cause problems with Google and the way it handles error codes. The most effective fix is to change the default status code for an error by creating “views” that serve as a 404 code or other possible errors, and then edit your JavaScript to direct errors to those views. Being error free is important to SEO for apps.

These tips should help you fix any problems you have when it comes to app SEO for single page apps.

Conclusion

By now you know the uses of app SEO vs ASO and have an idea of how to SEO apps and mobile websites effectively. Beyond that mobile SEO checklist, we have given you some specific mobile SEO tips to help you overcome some tougher situations. After those mobile SEO tips, you should be a pro at mobile app SEO optimization now right? While you know more than when you started, you have probably also learned along the way that you need the experience of a mobile app SEO expert to help you execute these strategies properly.

ComboApp knows just how to craft an app SEO to get those downloads rolling in. They know the ins and outs of mobile SEO & ASO for apps, as well as teams that will help you with the development of the app itself, marketing, and content creation. If you are ready to take the next step with an app SEO expert, contact ComboApp today!

Frequently Asked Questions about Mobile App SEO

Does my mobile app need a website or a landing page?

You need a mobile app website in order to increase your app’s chances of being found by potential users. Some mobile app websites will only need a landing page and others benefit from a full mobile app website along with landing pages. Landing pages are great for mobile app SEO as they let you target specific audiences and needs.

What is the main difference between mobile SEO & ASO for apps?

Mobile app SEO involves having a mobile app website and using traditional SEO methods to increase its search engine rankings and drive traffic to your app. ASO, on the other hand, involves using the tools available in the app stores to increase your rankings in the store.

What are the benefits of doing SEO for an app?

Only 40% of people find apps through an app store. This means that mobile app SEO allows you to reach a larger audience. SEO for apps lets you target audiences that might be interested in your app, and direct them to your mobile app website to learn more.

Is app SEO a substitute for a regular ASO?

Mobile app SEO is not a substitute for ASO, it is a complimentary form of marketing. Knowing how to SEO apps, as well as doing proper ASO, will maximize your opportunities to find an audience for your app. ASO is as important as an apps SEO to success.

Is it worth hiring an app SEO expert agency like ComboApp?

Learning the ins and outs of mobile app SEO and ASO is a complicated process. Hiring an app SEO expert such as ComboApp means you do not have to spend time learning how to SEO apps, and can instead focus on running your business. Contact us and put an app SEO expert to work for you!