ASO (App Store Optimization) is the work that gets your app found and downloaded in App Store and Google Play searches. The basics, from title and screenshots to reviews and localization.
ASO in short
ASO is SEO for app stores: everything you do so that your app ranks high in App Store and Google Play searches, and so that people who visit its page go on to download it. It has two goals: being found (visibility) and being chosen (conversion).
Title and subtitle
The strongest signal in store search is the app’s name. On the App Store, the name and the subtitle are limited to 30 characters each; on Google Play, the title is limited to 30 characters. Place your brand and your most important keyword there naturally. That is why WaveTuner’s Turkish store name is “WaveTuner - Gitar Akort, Tuner”.
Keywords and description
The App Store has a separate 100-character keyword field used in search; the description is not used directly for search but does shape the download decision. Google Play also considers the 80-character short description and the full description alongside the title, so the Play description should naturally include the words people search for.
Screenshots and video
People often decide on a store page after looking at the first few screenshots. Use the first image to state the app’s strongest promise in one sentence, and show the key features in order after it. A short preview video can lift conversion too.
Reviews and ratings
Ratings affect both ranking and the decision to download. Ask for a review right after a positive moment in the app; both stores provide an official in-app review prompt for this. Replying to negative reviews quickly and politely builds trust with the next visitor.
Localization
A separate store page for each language is one of the most effective ways to show up in that country’s searches. WaveTuner itself supports 34 languages; the store page also needs to be prepared separately for each target language, around how people actually search in it.
Measure and iterate
App Store Connect and Google Play Console show impressions, page views and conversion separately. Use them to measure the effect of icon, screenshot or description changes; Google Play’s store listing experiments and the App Store’s product page optimization let you compare versions with real users.
