What Is App Store Optimisation (ASO) and Does Your App Actually Need It?
Treva Team
Published by Treva Digital Agency
Roughly 80% of apps are never found through app store search at all, they rely entirely on external marketing to drive installs. App Store Optimisation (ASO) is the equivalent of SEO for mobile apps: optimising your app's listing so it appears in relevant searches within the Play Store and App Store. Unlike paid ads, ASO compounds over time without ongoing spend. This guide explains how Treva builds ASO into every app from day one. Quick answer: ASO improves your app's visibility in Play Store and App Store search, essential if app downloads are a core growth metric.
What ASO Actually Covers
ASO includes optimising your app's title and subtitle (which carry significant search weight), the description (which affects both search matching and conversion), keyword fields (on platforms that support them), screenshots and preview videos (which heavily influence whether someone who finds your listing actually installs), and your app's category and icon design.
Why It's Often Ignored Until It's Too Late
App development projects often focus heavily on functionality and design, with the app store listing treated as an afterthought, written quickly just before launch. By the time a team realises the app isn't being found organically, retrofitting ASO requires redoing assets (screenshots, descriptions) that were built around launch messaging rather than search-optimised messaging.
Keyword Research for Apps Works Differently Than for Websites
App store search behaviour tends to be more direct and functional than web search, people search for what the app does ("expense tracker," "food delivery [city]") rather than informational questions. Keyword research for ASO involves identifying these functional search terms, checking how competitor apps rank for them, and incorporating relevant terms naturally into the title, subtitle, and description without resorting to keyword stuffing, which app store algorithms also penalise.
Visual Assets Drive Conversion, Not Just Discovery
Once someone finds your app in search results, your icon, screenshots, and preview video determine whether they tap 'install.' Screenshots that clearly communicate what the app does and its key benefits, ideally within the first two or three images, before a user has to scroll, significantly affect conversion rates. This is a design and messaging exercise as much as a technical one.
How ASO Compounds Over Time
Unlike paid user acquisition, where installs stop the moment ad spend stops, ASO improvements to your listing continue generating organic installs indefinitely once implemented, and well-performing apps tend to rank better over time as install velocity and ratings improve, creating a positive feedback loop. This makes ASO one of the highest long-term-value investments in an app's growth strategy.
Treva's Approach: ASO From Day One
Rather than treating the app store listing as a launch-week task, Treva's App Development process includes ASO considerations from the early planning stages, informing naming, category selection, and even some feature messaging decisions. Screenshots and descriptions are planned alongside the app's UI/UX design, not bolted on afterward, so the listing and the product tell a consistent, search-optimised story from launch.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is ASO a one-time task or ongoing work?
Both. There is meaningful work to get the initial listing right, but ASO benefits from ongoing attention: testing different screenshots or descriptions, responding to reviews (which affects rankings and conversion), and adjusting as competitor listings and search trends evolve.
Does ASO help with both the Play Store and the App Store?
Yes, though the two platforms have different mechanics. The Play Store places more weight on the description text for keyword matching, while the App Store has a dedicated keyword field separate from the visible description. A complete ASO approach addresses both platforms according to their specific systems.
How does ASO relate to paid app install campaigns?
ASO and paid campaigns reinforce each other. A well-optimised listing improves the conversion rate of traffic driven by paid ads (so your ad spend goes further), and paid campaigns that drive install volume can positively influence organic search rankings on some platforms.
Can ASO be added to an app that already exists?
Yes, existing apps can have their ASO improved, though it may require updating screenshots, descriptions, and potentially the app's name or subtitle to better reflect search-friendly terms, while maintaining brand consistency. It is more efficient to plan for ASO from the start, but improvement at any stage typically yields measurable gains.
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