Elevate Your ASO Competitor Analysis in Just 60 Minutes

This is a guest post by Buse Kanal, a Marketing Specialist with a huge interest in mobile apps and user acquisition from ShyftUp. Buse was responsible for marketing in startups and contributed to many projects regarding branding and communication for well-known brands. She is thrilled by the technology and optimization.

App Store Optimization, or ASO, is the process of improving the visibility of your mobile app in an app store. To do this, ASO marketers use a variety of techniques to improve their rank in the store and generate more downloads. 

The first step to optimizing your ASO strategy is to conduct an app competitor analysis. This will help you understand what your competitors are doing and what they are not doing that you can capitalize on. Find out more massive benefits of conducting an ASO analysis. 

Why should you monitor your competitors? 

App Stores are competitive places, and it is challenging to stand out. There are many advantages to performing an ASO competitor analysis. 

Here are five reasons why you should conduct an app competitor analysis.

– Firstly, it is a great way to find out what your competitors are doing and how they are succeeding. 

– Secondly, it helps you understand how the app store algorithm works and what factors influence the ranking of your app. 

– Thirdly, it helps you identify new opportunities for growth by analyzing what your competitors are not doing. 

– Fourthly, it will help you make informed decisions about marketing strategies and tactics that can be used to improve your app’s visibility in the App Store. 

– Finally, an ASO analysis will help you get an idea of the level of competition from other apps in your niche or market space. As a result, you can take appropriate action to increase your chances of success. 

– Understanding your competitors will also help you to: 

• Grasp the marketing channels they use and see how they promote their apps in the store. 
• Find out how your competitors rank in different app stores to learn from their ranking strategy and apply it to your own app’s ASO strategy.
• Discover what keywords they use in their descriptions to enable you to see if there is an opportunity to optimize your own app’s description with the same keywords. 

How to perform competitor analysis for ASO? 

So far, we have explored the meaning of ASO and why it’s critical for your business to evaluate your rivals for ASO. Let’s dig deeper into practical tips on how you can do it. 

First things first, search for the keywords based on your ranking

For this step, your app must have been live for some time for the algorithms to rank it in a couple of keywords. The time doesn’t necessarily have to be that long. Even if it has been live for the last three days, you can start with this stage. But you can omit this part if your app is the new kid on the block in the app store.

Use a tool to find the keywords your app has been ranked in a few hours ago in the app store. The software will aggregate all the crucial keywords, allow you to use filters to successfully navigate the list, and identify opportunities for your app. You can also organize the keywords based on competitiveness. Examples of platforms to help you with this process include App Radar, Discover, and Shyftup.

Find out who your competitors are on Google Play or the iOS app store

You now know how well you compete for the primary words. Next, identify your key competitors in your niche under the following groups.

Direct rival apps: These are competitors on the Google Play and Apple stores who satisfy the same need as yours in your sector. Think of Spotify, Shazam, YouTube Music, and Deezer Music apps – they provide the same service for music lovers.

Indirect competitors: An indirect competitor is an app that has a similar target market as yours but its focus is not the same. And it may also have the same features as your app. An example is WhatsApp and Telegram, which let users connect in different ways. 

Keyword competitors: A keyword competitor in app store optimization describes an app that is competing to rank higher than your app in the search results of the app store. It can be any other app on the app store, but it’s typically a popular or well-marketed one. To rank higher than this rival, you’ll need to have a better product or marketing campaign. Doordash and Uber are good examples as they can slug it out for the word ‘driver.’

Track the competitor’s creative assets

By now, you have a comprehensive list of your app competitors. To fine-tune your ASO analysis, keep tabs on your rivals’ resources. They include descriptions, icons, videos, app titles, and screenshots. For example, a fitness app competitor could use body parts and toned muscles in its icons to demonstrate what the user will look like after performing the exercises. 

You can test the same icons to see if they fit the goals of your app. Also, it’s advisable to zero in on the application’s strengths and functions with screenshots. As you analyze these assets, note any weaknesses of your rival, such as font size, images, etc. 

Finally, consider the metadata, including descriptions, titles, and subtitles. Your goal is to increase app installations and conversions. You can pack your descriptions and titles with many keywords to double your app installs, for example. On the other hand, boost app conversions by ensuring that the app’s page contains descriptions or titles matching the user’s search query.

However, note that screenshots and icons that work perfectly in one country may be unsuitable in another place. You can use software to discover how your competitors promote their brands in other locations and different languages. It can reveal the type of creative assets they employ in those areas. 

Gain insider knowledge on messaging

You should also pay attention to your rival’s ads and messaging to determine the perfect copy for your app that resonates with your audience. This ad research can show you the following crucial matters:

• How to create enticing messages for your advertisements.
• The ideal screenshots and videos with high conversions.
• The rival’s volume of ads and marketing channels.

And this is where we can help you because we specialize in services like ASO, Apple Search Ads, and Google UAC. 

What to do with the findings of your competitors

You now have a huge bank of handy information regarding your app rivals. What do you do with it? Let’s dive into some essential things you can do after your ASO analysis.

Analyzing your competitor’s resources

Examine the creative assets of your rival to figure out how well you compete – what’s your competitive urge? How can you market your app’s nifty features and benefits by tweaking your screenshots, descriptions, videos, etc.?

Researching extensively on keywords

Conduct in-depth research to identify the keywords your competitor is using. Put the primary words to the test in your descriptions, titles, etc., to see their impact on installations and conversions.

Evaluating ad copy

Study the competitor’s messaging to gain insider knowledge on the right words, phrases, etc., to hook users. Focus on the unique functions and advantages of your application.

Wrapping up

An app competitor analysis is an excellent way to discover what your rivals are doing or not doing to lead the pack. You can extract plenty of ideas for app store optimization, growth opportunities, and outshining your competitors. 

To maximize your ASO analysis, concentrate on apps whose marketing strategy emphasizes store optimization. It’s ideal to select active and non-branded apps. 

Obtain your competitors by using search queries instead of charts. The latter include the best-performing apps that have been on the Google Play and Apple stores for a longer time. 

As you evaluate your rivals in the app stores, consider the keywords as your first step. That’s because you need to know how your app has been ranked. Next, identify your direct competitors. Also, find out their creative assets, such as descriptions, titles, screenshots, etc. Assess the ad copy to see how other players in your market segment communicate their app’s functions, features, and benefits.