ASO Agency: What It’s For & How to Choose the Right One
This post was originally published in June 2019 and updated in September 2023.
With over 70% of mobile users discovering new apps through app store browsing and 65% of downloads happening post-search, the importance of App Store Optimization (ASO) for long-term app growth cannot be overstated.
However, standing out among the staggering 7 million apps available across Google Play and the Apple App Store is no mean feat. This is where an ASO agency can make a world of difference.
Armed with an in-depth understanding of market trends, user behavior, and evolving app store algorithms, these experts hold the key to optimizing your app for higher search rankings and increased discoverability.
In this article, we will shed light on why every mobile app owner should consider collaborating with an ASO agency. We’ll also discuss how they can guide you through the competitive app market, paving the way for long-term success. Keep reading as we uncover the secret to propelling your app into the top charts.
What is an ASO Agency?
An App Store Optimization (ASO) agency is a specialized company that focuses on enhancing the organic growth of your app.
- In simpler terms, an ASO agency’s primary role is to optimize your app so that it ranks higher in app store search results. They employ various techniques and strategies, including creative optimization, keyword research, and maximizing user retention, to ensure your app stands out among millions of others.
Additionally, many ASO agencies, including Moburst, offer support for paid marketing strategies while maintaining a strong focus on organic growth. This dual approach can significantly boost your app’s visibility and user engagement.
Working with an ASO agency can offer a plethora of benefits. Aside from the obvious, which is improving your app’s rank and visibility, it can also help you understand your user base better, leading to improved user experience and increased retention rates.
ASO Agency Services & Solutions
From crafting an effective organic strategy to creating and testing captivating app assets to make the most out of your marketing efforts, an ASO agency can provide diverse solutions to enhance your app’s visibility, boost downloads, and foster user engagement.
By combining both organic and paid media strategies, the agency can create a holistic plan that aligns with your app’s goals and adjusts to shifting market trends. This integrated approach not only drives immediate results but lays the groundwork for long-term success as well.
An ASO agency’s services can typically be divided into the following categories:
- Mobile Marketing Strategy
- Product & Development
- Creative & Content
- Organic Services, including App Store Optimization Services
- Media Buying
- And more…
Now, let’s delve deeper into these solutions to understand their individual contributions and how they come together to form a comprehensive ASO strategy.
Mobile Marketing Strategy
The first step toward mobile success starts with an effective marketing strategy. An ASO agency will start by developing and custom-tailoring your mobile ASO strategy using data-driven insights and your specific KPIs.
This strategy will usually include a comprehensive competitor audit and keyword research to evaluate how your app is currently positioned compared to others in its category. It will also consider your target audience, customer journeys, benchmarks, and market data to ensure it is adapted to your app.
Then, the agency will recommend the appropriate channels for reaching your target audience, combined with actionable steps to achieve your KPIs. These channels could expand beyond the app stores and include social media, email marketing, SMS, in-app advertisements, and more – The choice largely depends on where your audience frequently engages.
- This approach is complemented by developing engaging content and app assets crafted by creative teams within the agency, who will produce captivating app icons, screenshots, videos, ad creatives, descriptions, and promotional texts (more on these later).
But as you may have already guessed, the process doesn’t end here. Mobile marketing strategies require constant optimization and testing. This means tweaking the app’s metadata for better discoverability, adjusting ad creatives for higher click-through rates, or refining the user onboarding process are all part of this ongoing endeavor.
This is another crucial aspect of working with an ASO agency, as it can help identify potential issues and provide continuous monitoring and reporting using advanced analytics tools, allowing you to make informed decisions.
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Product & Development
The effectiveness of ASO is directly linked to the quality and appeal of your app – AKA, the product.
The best ASO Agencies will not simply market your product; they will enhance it. Instead of merely promoting your app as it is, top-tier ASO agencies add substantial value by refining your app or even developing it from scratch.
They will implement small but impactful changes, ranging from modifying screenshot images on your app store page to adjusting your brand’s tone, look, and feel. This expert external perspective can significantly guide and elevate your app.
These agencies also leverage their expertise in mobile A/B testing and user behavior analysis to optimize your app. Their insights into user psychology facilitate the crafting of a seamless user experience. UI/UX designers play a crucial role here, designing intuitive interfaces that drive desired user actions. As a result, your app’s engagement and retention rates rise, leading to an increase in revenue.
Creative & Content
When it comes to trying to stand out from millions of apps, a “DIY” job simply isn’t going to cut it. A great ASO agency will provide cutting-edge creative and content forces for your app and ensure users take note.
Their creative work combines a unique combination of strategic storytelling and creative flair, which results in powerful, influential stories for the right audience. Everything from your copy to your app store screenshots can be taken from dull and forgettable to memorable and awesome. The best app store optimization services will provide all of this and more.
The best ASO agencies will also offer video production and social media management services to enhance their creative and content offerings. Videos, like app store preview videos, are one of the best ways to grab users’ attention. You can no longer rely simply on static creatives. As for social media, it’s at the forefront of how the world currently functions in almost every area. It’s essential to build your brand on social media for any hopes of success.
Both the Google Play Store and the App Store provide the opportunity to show an app preview video to highlight your app’s best features and USPs. The chance to showcase your app in video form is super beneficial when considering the power video has to convert users compared to any other marketing format.
Another marketing tool for apps is an explainer video whereby you explain how your app or service works using video to make it as clear as possible.
Leading ASO agencies will walk you through the best options for your business and how to utilize them for maximum app growth.
Organic Services – ASO, CRO & SEO
ASO services is where the magic truly happens. Users invariably go through the app stores to access apps. This is the final launching pad to app store success – or failure. It’s all about discovery, being found among the other apps out there, and ensuring that your app will be the first to be seen by prospective users.
Your app store presence is critical to your success, as has been proven time and time again. An ASO agency will ensure that your app store presence is on point. Including both the major ASO requirements, as well as the little tricks only the true experts are aware of. It will have in-depth knowledge of both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, with their differing requirements and user habits.
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) will also be a service offered by leading ASO agencies to ensure you’re optimizing the chance of users converting at every step of their journey through the app store funnel. When a user organically “finds” your app, you have to work hard to convert them. When a user is searching for an app like yours, with high intent, your conversion rates will be much higher.
Top ASO agencies will also offer SEO services as part of their organic offering. Websites need optimizing alongside apps, so SEO is equally as important. Find out more about the differences between ASO and SEO here.
If you want to boost discoverability, increase conversions, minimize media spend, and increase organic downloads, an ASO agency is the partner to turn to.
Holistic ASO success is when everything works together seamlessly. Once all elements come together, you have a powerful engine running smoothly on all cylinders that will drive you to mobile app success.
To learn more about ASO, check out our ultimate App Store Optimization guide.
Media Buying
Generally speaking, not all downloads are going to come about organically, which is why media buying is important. Paid media has a massive part to play in app success. In order to ensure that you aren’t wasting your precious budget, an ASO agency will be able to assist in getting the most out of every dollar spent.
A well-run paid campaign will shoot your app to the top of the app store charts and result in many more organic downloads – essentially multiplying the power of your media budgets! Mobile ads and burst campaigns will send your app a long way – the paid downloads they increase will, in turn, generate more organic downloads due to a more visible app store presence.
Influencer Marketing & UGC
Influencer marketing and User-Generated content have also become integral to mobile success in the last few years. The benefits this strategy can bring to your app are not to be ignored. Great ASO agencies will offer this service as part of a holistic approach to mobile marketing, where influencers and creators can be used to bring increased brand awareness and conversions to your app.
Building an influencer marketing campaign and choosing the right UGC creators for your brand requires an intense understanding of the industry, from how to reach out to influencers to what to include in their briefs. Getting professional help with this process can maximize your chances of success.
The best ASO agencies will have Media Buying, Influencer Marketing, and ASO teams that work together as part of a wider strategy to lead to app store success.
How to Choose the Right ASO Agency
With so many ASO agencies out there, how do you choose the right one for you? Here are some key elements to consider:
- Clients & Reviews
- Awards
- Results
- Expertise
Clients & Reviews
The first step is to look at the agency’s client portfolio. Who are their customers? Do you recognize any big names? Does the agency feature their clients’ testimonials and reviews? A diverse range of clients indicates the agency’s ability to cater to different needs and markets.
At Moburst, we’ve seen firsthand how much value an ASO agency with expertise can offer. It’s one of the reasons the biggest names in the world, such as Samsung, Uber and Google have trusted us as their ASO agency.
Samsung, for example, chose Moburst to help grow its app store in the US, known as ‘Galaxy Apps’. With over 70.2 million Samsung devices in the US, the goal was to increase downloads, retention, and revenue from the Galaxy App Store. Additionally, a heavy focus was set out on promoting the personalization features of the Galaxy device, such as Fonts and Themes stores.
As Samsung’s Galaxy Apps Store Manager, Audrey Park, put it:
“It was fascinating to see how fast our brand awareness grew among users, which translated to an increase in engagement, downloads, retention, and, of course, revenue. This was made possible thanks to clear and positive communication, as well as the on-the-spot response from Moburst throughout the entire work process.”
Awards
It comes as no surprise that recognition and awards serve as a true testament to the quality of work carried out by an agency. When perusing the website of an ASO agency, consider asking yourself the following questions: Has this agency won any awards? Is it widely acknowledged as one of the best in the field of ASO?
Moburst is honored to have been noticed and praised by the marketing industry countless times. We’re incredibly proud to have won 18 Telly Awards in 2022, selected as “Top 3 Mobile Agencies Worldwide” by Clutch, and earned a total of 32 international awards in 2022 alone. A glance through our blogs will show the expertise we have gathered after launching so many apps to massive success.
Results
Numbers speak louder than words, so make sure to check the agency’s track record of delivering tangible results. Look for solid numbers, such as “We increased conversions by X%”. But, be aware of vague claims.
To let the results truly speak for themselves, let’s take one of Moburst’s satisfied clients, Abide, as an example. After working with them to overcome the attribution issues caused by iOS 14, we’ve achieved remarkable results – increasing their ROI while decreasing the cost per subscription by over 75%!
Expertise
Lastly, evaluate the agency’s expertise across different aspects of ASO, from strategy and creative development to analytics and reporting. If the agency offers a comprehensive suite of services, including CRO, app development, and more, it typically means it can develop a comprehensive plan for your app’s success.
A pro tip here is to check their blogs or look out for any guest articles they’ve written. By reviewing these, you can see if they have an in-depth understanding of the industry.
Key Takeaways
In conclusion, the role of an ASO agency is pivotal in steering your app’s organic growth trajectory. They are the architects behind enhancing your app’s visibility in the crowded app stores and magnetizing potential users.
Choosing an ASO agency isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. It involves assessing their client portfolio, industry recognition, demonstrated results, and breadth of expertise. When it comes to your app, get an ASO agency with expertise onboard. Only a top-notch agency can provide you with the top-notch results you deserve. If you want to benefit from the $70 billion being generated by the top apps in the App Stores, there’s no better time than the present.
By aligning with a proficient ASO agency such as Moburst, you’re setting your app on a path toward success in the dynamic mobile market, paving the way for increased user engagement and revenue.
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FAQs
An ASO agency can be responsible for your entire ASO campaign. In layman’s terms, that means they’re responsible for your app’s organic growth. This requires expert knowledge of how each app store’s algorithm works to know precisely which features need optimizing for ultimate success. They generally conduct keyword research to optimize app titles, subtitles and descriptions, A/B test creatives, conduct a competitor analysis and product analysis among many other things. All of these are done with the aim of increasing your app’s conversions and lowering its CPI.
This differs depending on the agency, the scope of work and many other factors. ASO can range from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. It also depends on if you’re hiring an agency or doing it alone. ASO tools cost upwards of $10,000 for a yearly subscription, and if you want any chance of beating your competition, you need access to these. That’s why an agency with access already is often the best choice, but of course while boosting your results, the cost will boost too.
ASO is one of the most crucial parts of the mobile marketing funnel. Bringing users to your app organically can be the most cost-effective way to achieve app growth because you’re not paying for each one, meaning your CPI will decrease. What’s more, there are over seven million apps in the app stores. You need to optimize every possible factor to stand out from the crowd in such a competitive marketplace. ASO is what helps you rank highly in the app stores, therefore increasing your visibility, meaning people will be far more likely to download yours than a lower-ranking competitor.
App optimization refers to the optimization of an app and its app store listing to increase its ranking and visibility in the app stores. Following an increased ranking and higher visibility, your app will start to see more installs and a lower CPI. App optimization also requires the app to be optimized so that users don’t quickly abandon it and boost the churn rate (a negative). App optimization can include creatives optimization, keyword optimization, user experience optimization, and much more.
As with any organic campaign, time is required to monitor the results. As such, there’s no set time for how long it takes for ASO to work. ASO requires continuous updates to be successful, smaller updates more often is a good strategy to begin with. There’s no end date with ASO because the industry and algorithms are constantly evolving. If you stop working on your ASO, your organic results will likely begin to decline. We recommend keeping ASO going as part of your campaign maintenance.
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