App Store SEO – Comparing Google Play Store with the Apple App Store
Thanks to the folks at Searchman, we have some updates on how things are panning out for those looking to utilize the methods of App Store Optimization (ASO) or App Store SEO. While some of the information presented should be common knowledge to any serious developer, it’s worth mentioning that ‘App Store Searches’ account for the majority of where traffic is coming from. 63% to be exact. In a not too distant 2nd we have, personal referral through a family friend at 53% for Android, and 61% for iOS.
One thing to keep in mind: (as always) when analyzing this type of information is that the platform users are migrating to, (and using more and more) is very much like the same search we’ve had online for over 2 decades. It would most certainly be advisable to any serious developer to take a look at the over-all process of the Customer Behavior Cycle. With the iOS 6 update moving to a more ‘chomp-like’ UI, it’s apparent that only 1 app per page is shown, whereas on Google Play it still has the old search, where – 7-8 Apps Per page are shown.
This means that it will take 25 swipes to get to App #25 in iOS, and just 1 on Google play.
As for accessibility, Google Play appears to be leading the way, with more results for less effort. Google Play also leads in delivering far more search results than iOS (near 2x as much in most cases). But one thing to keep in mind is that, the way iOS and Google Play rank things according to search is very different.
In a nutshell..
iOS will keep your rankings, and history of your app fresh (within the past week or so) whereas Google (much like how they operate the management of all the sites online) retains the information from THE DAY the app was launched/ put on the market, to the present day to determine rankings. What this essentially means is: it will initially be harder to get ranked through ASO on Google Play than it will on iOS.
Surprisingly, Google Play also appears to have a better spell-checker, which on average shows 100x more results when searching for keywords. When we look at competition, iOS Leads in # of new apps per day over Google Play , the same is true for ‘App Updates’ per day. Which tends to be near 3k/day (iOS) compared to under 1k/day (Google Play).
Looking at monetization, Apple has credit card info, whereas Google has implemented carrier billing. In Japan, it’s been observed that carrier billing accelerated monetization.
Finally, when talking App Store SEO, or ASO (App Store Optimization).
For Google Play:
- There is now review process, you can update your keywords as often as you’d like.
- There is no need for Tags or ‘Secret’ iTunes keywords in Google Play
- Descriptions count and are important.
At the end of the day, given the aforementioned information as well as the Slideshow Below – you can conclude that Google Play Store SEO is a good investment for a variety of reasons:
- Users See more results per page
- Easier for users to access lower ranked results
- Synonyms and Spelling Correction works better = allows for more app discovery
- Fewer developers updating apps = less competition
- Carrier billing may improve google play monetization
- Search Engine Optimization for Google Play is easier
For more information, you can take a look at Searchman’s website.
Kevin is an Online and Mobile Marketing Strategist who has worked with companies of all sizes over the last 6 years. You can follow Kevin on any of the social platforms below.
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