The Basics of ASO and Apple Search Ads

ASO (App Store Optimization) and Apple Search Ads play an important role in app marketing. Understanding the basic concepts of each service and their mutual impact will lead to successful app marketing, so this page is a must-read! ASO is an optimization technique to maximize the number of installs in the app store. By optimizing the app title, description, keywords, icons, and screenshots, you can increase exposure and improve CR on the app store. ASO can be performed for free and is a highly important measure that can yield continuous effects. On the other hand, Apple Search Ads is a paid advertisement that allows apps to be displayed at the top of App Store search results. Advertisers can submit ads by specifying keywords and have their ads displayed when users search for those keywords. Since the ads appear at the top of the search results, users are more likely to access the app and an increase in the number of installs can be expected.

Synergy between ASO and Apple Search Ads

Did you know that ASO and Apple Search Ads actually influence each other? Understanding the basics of both ASO and Apple Search Ads, and implementing an optimized and appropriate advertising strategy will lead to the success of your app.

Let's look at each of the mutual benefits of ASA and ASO in the next section!

ASO Benefits of Implementing Apple Search Ads

By leveraging Apple Search Ads, there are two benefits that can be brought to ASO. The first benefit is that Apple Search Ads can provide you with CR (conversion rate) for each keyword, which is a percentage measure of how many users actually install an app for every click on an ad. By understanding the CR for each keyword, it is possible to clearly determine which keyword measures should be taken. Rather than implementing ASO measures based on a number of uncertain factors, it is most effective to grasp the accurate CR for each keyword from ASA's distribution data and implement countermeasures.

The second advantage is that by distributing Apple Search Ads, you can increase the search rankings of targeted keywords. Search rankings for each keyword in the App Store are determined by an algorithm that multiplies various factors, and one of those factors is the "inflow from that keyword". This metric takes into account not only the inflow from organic sources but also from advertisements. Therefore, with Apple Search Ads, if you increase the inflow from a specific keyword, there is a tendency for the search ranking to improve. As a result, it becomes possible to enhance the effectiveness of ASO.

In order to take full advantage of these benefits, it is necessary to be creative in how you operate Apple Search Ads. By reviewing budget allocation, bidding strategies, and optimizing ad creatives, it becomes possible to generate even greater synergistic effects!

Benefits of Apple Search Ads from implementing ASO

There are also benefits that implementing ASO (App Store Optimization) can bring to Apple Search Ads.

First, implementing ASO will improve the relevance of your keywords to your app. Higher relevance increases the likelihood that your app will appear higher when users search for your keywords. Apple Search Ads ad placement is determined by an auction, which is a combination of [bid price x click-through rate x quality score].

In this context, the "quality score" refers to the relationship between the keywords being advertised and the app. However, this quality score can also be improved through ASO measures. In other words, if you can enhance the quality score through ASO measures, it can have a positive impact on the ad auction when distributing ads for those relevant keywords!

Improving screenshots with Apple Search Ads can also improve ASO

In Apple Search Ads, the screenshots set on the product page in the store are utilized as ad creatives. Therefore, improving the creatives used for both ASO and Apple Search Ads optimization purposes will directly impact the performance of each respective strategy. In creative improvement, A/B testing is commonly used as a method to measure the effectiveness of created screenshots. However, in A/B testing, the metrics that can be compared are limited, and it may be unclear whether the created screenshots as improvement options are truly effective. (Metrics that can be measured in A/B testing: Number of Unique Impressions, Conversion Rate (CR), Improvement Rate, Confidence Level)

In that case, utilizing Apple Search Ads for creative improvement may be effective. By leveraging Apple Search Ads' custom product page, you can set screenshots at the ad group level and compare the improvement in CTR and CR. To accurately execute the PDCA cycle for screenshot optimization, it is most effective to optimize from both ASO and Apple Search Ads perspectives. We have a separate article that provides detailed information on how to utilize Apple Search Ads' custom product page, so please refer to it for more information.

Summary

What do you think? In this article, we explained the relationship between ASO and Apple Search Ads. ASO and Apple Search Ads mutually influence each other and can lead to the success of the app when effectively utilized. In app operation, let's understand the relationship between ASO and Apple Search Ads and create effective strategies. Reach out to us or check our website for a deep dive into your own app. Our tool, V.O.X, can help you optimize this process so you can focus on building the best app possible!