Optimize Your Google Play Store App Details Page

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Optimize Your Google Play Store App Details Page

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We’ve been talking a lot about App Store Optimization on the blog. While some posts had some advices for both the App Store and the Google Play Store, the focus has been mainly made on the iOS app details page so far. Since Android apps are definitely not something to ignore (in fact, there are some good arguments about why you should start developing on Android first) here is a wrap-up of the tips to optimize a Google Play Store app details page and be found more often by potential users.

Search is important (duh!)

First, here is why optimizing your app details page for search is critical on the Google Play Store: search represents 80% of high quality organic downloads. I’ll admit that “high quality organic download” is a pretty vague criteria, but still.

Search Importance in Google Play Store – source: Fiksu

How to optimize your app page

The good news is, there are several things you can do so that more users find your app:

• Putting your main keyword in your app title. According to Fiksu, this could dramatically improve your position (80-100 spots). They even recommend to put your app name on the app icon and use the app name for your keyword. I have mixed feelings about that, because I believe it’s not such a good thing to have words on an app icon and because it poses a branding problem. I’d rather think about an app name that contains the main keyword.
• Using your keywords 5 times in your app description. Unlike on the App Store where the app description is not searchable, on the Google Play Store you want to make sure to repeat with a good frequency your main keywords.

Search algorithm and recommendations – source: Fiksu

• Having a beautiful design and screenshots. Just like on the App Store, you want to have the best screenshots possible to convince potential users to download your app.
• Having a demo/promo video. That’s an awesome thing on the Google Play Store: you can add a youtube video to promote your app. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to really show what your app is worth. When looking at an app’s page on an Android Smartphone,  the video is in the first screenshot slot.
• Getting (good) reviews. Since ratings are part of the rank and search algorithm (see below), you want to do everything you can to get positive reviews.
• Increase usage frequency: have an awesome app that users will be addicted to and use on a regular basis.

A little more about the Google Play Store rank algorithm

Just like Apple’s, no one knows it. But people do try to understand it better. Here are the main criterias:

• Number of ratings: how many people have rated and reviewed your app.
• Ratings: how high (or low) they are
• Amount of downloads: how many app downloads
• Downloads growth: the growth of downloads over the last 30 days
• Uninstalls: how many people uninstall the app
• Usage: frequency with which your app is used (reported by some developers)
• Update 2/9/12: Links to Play Store page: “Getting people to write about your app improves your search rankings in the Play Store” (Google I/O June 2012)

Some advices about ASO (App Store Optimization) are valid for both the App Store and the Play Store, but there are some specifities to the Google Play Store like a searchable description and the fact that you can display an app demo video. Don’t miss out on these improvement opportunities!

Anything to add on how to optimize an app page on the Google Play Store? We’d be glad to hear it in the comments!

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Tags: Android, app, description, Google Play, optimization, title, video

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Related Posts

• App Store Optimization (ASO): App Name And Keywords
• App Store Optimization (ASO): Improve Your App Description
• An Analysis of iOS 6 and its Impacts on App Store Optimization

About The Author

Sylvain Gauchet

Hi there, I'm Sylvain and I've been working for several years on marketing mobile apps. With Apptamin we believe that we can help developers better promote their apps by creating cool app videos and sharing what we've learned...While learning some more ! 
I'm French and English is not my primary language, so you're welcome to correct me if I make a mistake.

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March 28 2014 ChangesApr 2, 2014

It looks like a big change was made in Google Play search logic on March 28, 2014.  Know anything about that?

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apptamin  moderator10 days ago

@March 28 2014 Changes  There was indeed some changes in the policy to avoid spammy and sexually explicit apps: http://phandroid.com/2014/03/28/google-play-store-developer-policies-update/

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Sean MannMar 9, 2014

Thanks for the article, Sylvain.

I agree with you about not wanting to mix keywords in with the title for branding purposes. Our app is called Wordspionage and we'd likely get more search hits if it was Wordspionage Word Game, but that sounds and looks awful. 

We're hoping that having "word game" in the description a few times will be enough, but I think we'll need to optimize it for 5 occurrences.

My question is this: When you search for the app in a normal Google search the paragraph of the description it chooses to display seems to be the first paragraph with "Wordspionage" in it. Our old description didn't have the app's name until the second paragraph and we have now moved it to the top. Do you know if my assumption is correct? Was moving it to the top of the description appropriate?

Thanks for your advice!

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apptamin  moderator10 days ago

@Sean Mann  Hi Sean. Sorry for the late answer. I have no data to back that up, but it seems like a good idea to have moved the name of your app to the top. That way a Google search show the sentence you decided to display. 

I don't know if you've updated the Play Store description since, but it seems you have enough occurrences of "Word game"

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shreyagoyal786Mar 2, 2014

Your post is simply valuable. I am going to try all these steps. I'm sure it will be beneficial. 

Is there any thing important to consider while searching for keywords to promote an app?

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apptamin  moderator10 days ago

@shreyagoyal786  You can take a look at the advices we gave in this post: http://www.apptamin.com/blog/app-store-optimization-aso-app-name-and-keywords/