#15 - It's Not Really About the Downloads
Have you ever looked at search results in the App Store and wondered why they're ranked the way they are? In this series of Keyword Teardowns we analyze how the algorithm works and highlight tips and tricks to help you rank higher.
There's a common misconception among developers who are new to ASO that more downloads mean higher rank. In this teardown we're going to see that's not the case and what's more important.
Apple's and Google's search algorithms are black boxes and completely undocumented, but when you look at enough data, patterns start to emerge. I actively analyze search results to reverse engineer how the stores decide which apps to rank and how to rank them, and share what I find, including tips, tricks, and secrets, here for you to learn from.
Keyword: Recipes
Moving on to a slightly less popular yet more competitive keyword—"recipes." With a competitiveness score of 96, we know that ranking here will take some cleverness (or lots of downloads).
At first glance, it looks like something's confused. The #3 result, Tasty by BuzzFeed, has more downloads than first and second places (almost) combined. So, why isn't Tasty the #1 result for this super competitive keyword?
Another easy answer: Keyword placement.
Some companies have a thing against keywords in the app's name. I'm not entirely sure why, but I see it far too often. Including keywords in the app's name doesn't only help with App Store Optimization but also gives users who stumble across it a clue about what it does. So, not including any is kind of a lose-lose in my opinion.
But let's take a look at why the algorithm is placing Yummly (which I did a teardown of recently) and Food Network Kitchen above Tasty.
Yummly beats Tasty by including the keyword in the app's name. Remember, the name has the most impact, and the subtitle and keyword list are next.
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Food Network Kitchen doesn't have the keyword in its name but does in the subtitle. But so does Tasty. Well, in addition to distributing weight differently between the name and subtitle, the algorithm also places weight differently by where in the string the keyword is.
The closer to the beginning it is, the more weight it'll get. And that's why we see Tasty at #3, with a mention of "recipes" all the way at the end of its subtitle.
If you're in Tasty's position, you have two options: the first is to include the keyword in the app's name and get to #1. The second is to move it up in the subtitle and get to #2.
The Important Takeaways
The common misconception that the App Store algorithm only looks at downloads to determine where to place your app in search results is, well, just a misconception. And thinking about it, if it did, the results wouldn't necessarily be useful to users.
Instead, it looks at the keywords, their placement, and the ratings of apps to determine the order. Focusing on those is how you get ahead.
Are You Putting My Tips to Good Use?
App Store Optimization is part art and part science. I say it a lot, and I mean it. The art part is what I've been talking about in this Keyword Teardown and in my App Teardowns. The science part is where our simple and intuitive ASO tools come into play. See where your apps are ranked, track trends, snoop on competitors, get suggestions, here.
