What a Story

It could be a big breakthrough if your sporadic app idea has turned into a revenue-generating business. However, for your app to be a success, it has to go through a pre-defined journey that starts at the app stores itself; that is, your app should be easily discovered by the users at the app stores ( Google play store & Apple store).  

However, it’s easier said than done, given that there is a pool of over 4 million mobile apps at the app stores. So, how to ensure that your app surfaces at the app stores, which, in turn, would lead to better traction and downloads.  

For sure, ASO is the answer to your app store optimization requirements, and thankfully most of the SEO experts get it right. However, there are good numbers of apps that fail because of poor ASO.  

ASO works on a basic principle, and Openxcell believes by implementing it in the right way could give you unexpected results. In case you are missing out on any of the ASO factors, it's a pleasure to connect the dots for you here.   

What is the mobile app store optimization?  

App store optimization (ASO) is a technique to optimize mobile apps in order to rank higher in an app store’s search results. One of the surveys says 65% of apps are downloaded directly after a search in the store.  

ASO is similar to the SEO that you conduct for your website, but this is done mainly for the App Store. The higher your app ranks in an app store’s search results, the more visible it is to target audience or customers.  

Objective of ASO= Traffic + Conversion  

Remember, just like SEO, the ASO process is continuous, and it requires constant monitoring. A/B testing is a great way to examine your app performance on the app store. Also, you may be required to make changes at a regular interval. Here is how ASO is different than SEO.  

( Image source: appradar.com)  

Key elements for App Store Optimization  

Both the app store Google, and Apple- have almost identical ASO elements to optimize. To give you a fair idea, here is the image that shows some common as well as distinct ASO components. (Google Play Store and the Apple App Store)  

( image source: Quora.com)  

Techniques to optimize app store   

• Keywords: Keywords are at the core of page optimization. Before you begin to optimize page elements, list down all the keywords that you would like to use for your app optimization. Make sure the keywords should be relevant to your app. Also, keep watch on keywords length when optimizing for the app store. Proper placement of keywords is crucial in ASO.  
• App Name/ Title: When a user runs the search query for the app, the search engine algorithm first scans the name/title of the app. Add more relevant keywords into the title, despite the complexity of the keywords. Do not use app titles that are commonly used. Follow the app title Character limit (Android: 50) ( Apple:30). Add emojis to your app title to grab attention. Translate your app title for each targeted language.  
• Use the keyword “in-app purchases”: The keyword “in-app purchases” are indexed by search engines. Try to use keyword “in-app purchases” in promotional images or descriptions.  
• App Short description: Keywords in short-description does have a value from ASO point. The character limit is 80 for the Google play store, while for Apple, this feature is not included. Instead, in the apple store, there is a feature called “subtitle” that has a character limit of 30. Try to include relevant keywords in (short description/ subtitle) that you want your app to rank. Do not forget to add emojis.  
• App Long description: Long description is used to describe what your app does, main features, and why it is valuable. For android apps, it plays a big role in app visibility. One must include the most important keywords in the first five sentences. The character limit for the long description is 4000 for an android app. Limit the keyword density to 2-3 percent. However, for the iOS app, the long description does not count as a rank factor; rather it could be used to highlight key features.  
• Use keywords in URL: Try to use 1-2 keywords in the URL of the app. It has shown positive results in improving the app search rankings. Use this space wisely as it can directly influence the app store search listings.  
• Developers Name (only Google playstore): The developer name can help your app rank in search results. Try to add some keywords in the developer’s name.  
• App Icon: Create an attractive icon that explains your app. It is the only graphic asset that shows in the search results of the app store.  
• “What’s New”: In “what’s new” section, give updates about your app or release of a new version to create curiosity. Keywords in the “What’s new” section has no direct relation in increasing the app rankings. However, it can be used to engage users. It applies to both Apple and Google play store.  
• Add app promo video: Promo videos are the first visual element the user sees on the app listing. Create a graphic-rich video to leave an impact on the user's mind. The promo-video should describe customers how it solves their problem or eases their daily tasks. Try to keep your promo videos around 30-40 seconds.  
• App reviews and ratings: App’s positive reviews and ratings are a deciding factor for visitors to download the app. The high number of downloads results in better positioning in the search results. Encourage users to write reviews and rate your mobile app. You can use a social media account to connect interested users.  
• Use Screenshot: In the Google play store, screenshots have less value with respect to page optimization. However, to get the user’s attention, you must use all 8 screenshot slots. For Apple apps, it is one of the prime elements influencing your app install rate. Apple allows upto 10 icon screenshot. While optimizing for Apple’s app, try using a landscape screenshot. Only landscape screenshot will appear in the app store search results. Also, add a short caption on the top of each image with large fonts.  
• Backlinks to your app: Backlinks are one of the common aspects of page optimization. A good app has chances to get listed in blogs or articles. It will bring backlinks naturally. From the point of the Google play store, it has more value.  
• App Category: App category is crucial; choose it wisely. It should be relevant to your app. In the Apple Store, you have a primary and a secondary category– the first is the most important for the app’s visibility in the store. While in Google Play Store, both categories and tags help users search and discover new apps.  

Magento is an open-source ecommerce platform that offers a range of advanced features to build fully functional websites and portals that are user friendly.  It is one of the prime reasons why Magento is the first preference for most online retailers to build their online store.    

However, building a cost-effective online store is a different ball game than marketing them for gaining profits. To optimize your Magento store for search engines here are some top SEO factors, you need to consider.

It is always advisable to use the latest version of Magento for better SEO results.

SEO factors for the Magento Store

1) Home page title and Meta data

• Ensure that every product page has catchy meta titles and descriptions that include your keywords.
• For your homepage, ensure you optimize the meta-tag for the right set of keywords

2) Logo image Alt description

• Optimize the product Images In Magento 2.  For Magento 2, individuals can manually insert “Alt text’ for every image on their site, from product images to the store logo.
• Try to use a proper description and keywords in alt-tag
• Alt-tags need to be short, clear, and to the point.

3) Magento SEO friendly URLs

Every URL needs to be unique, static, and perfectly optimized according to SEO guidelines.

• Homepage: www. yourwebsite. com
• Product Page: www. yourwebsite. com/ product-name
• Category Page: www. yourwebsite. com / category-name
• Sub-category Page: www. yourwebsite. com / category- name/ sub-category-name

4) Product Metadata and URL key

• URL key determines the online address of the product. The URL key  is added to the base URL of the store and appears in the address bar of a browser
• The default URL key is based on the product name. You can use the default or change it as needed.
• Product meta-data should include high-value keywords. Although Google no longer has a value on meta keywords, other search engines continue to use it.

 5) Magento category page meta-data and URL

• The category URL key can help a product page be found by search engines by queries related to this category. Add keywords in the URL
• Write meta-data for your product category with relevant keywords and key-phrases

6) Canonical link for each category and products

• Make sure you write a unique description for each product. To avoid duplication issue use the canonical link for each category and products
• Enable canonical link Meta Tags for categories and products to “Yes.”
• Use canonical link meta tag for categories
• Use canonical link meta tag for products

7) Magento SEO sitemap configuration setting

• Sitemaps are critical for SEO purposes
• For Magento 1 SEO optimization, you can generate both XML and HTML sitemaps. Unfortunately, Magento 2 only has XML sitemap settings.
• It’s important to use prioritization for products, categories, and CMS pages. Put your most valuable content first.

8) SID removal from Magento URLs

We don’t want links to lead to improper URLs, and we don’t want SIDs to appear to those visitors.  

• SID or session ID in Magento frontend URL in some short is a content duplicate generator. It generates different URLs of the same page, which Google eventually interprets as a duplication of content.  It is better to remove SID from the URL

9) Permanent redirect features for the renaming of products and categories

• Auto redirect to Base URL
• Create Permanent Redirect for old URLs if Url key changed
• Generally, 301 redirects are recommended

10) Robot.txt directives

• The Robots.txt file helps search engine robots to identify which pages on the site should be crawled or which should not be crawled. Make sure you use “INDEX, FOLLOW” if you want the search engine to crawl your website/page.

11) Default settings of product URL suffix in every Magento SEO page

• The suffix is a part of the URL after the URL key. It is the .htm or .html part. In SEO, it is recommended that the suffix is excluded from the URL
• Change page URL suffixes for products and categories.

12) Add a blog page and practise internal linking for your Magento store 

• A blog still works if you have relevant keywords. Also, you can have numerous unique URLs and pages of content with targeted keywords you usually would not use when promoting or selling items. While working on blogs avoid duplicate content and practice internal linking

 13) Reduce page loading speed

• Page loading speed should be less than 3 seconds. You should reduce it as much as possible.
• Enable all caching features and flush Magento cache
• Enable flat categories and products
• Merge your CSS and JavaScript files

There are multiple eCommerce store creation platforms available. The following are some of the leading eCommerce store creation platforms.

• Magento
• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• WooCommerce
• Wix Stores
• OpenCart

All of these platforms have their own merits and demerits. But apart from all of them, the one platform that shines is Shopify. It offers the most useful functionalities and facilities to operate the store. The Shopify store comes with so many perks and functionalities for store owners. Without the zero knowledge of coding or soft skills, one can easily create a complete eCommerce store with Shopify. Let's discuss a few of the benefits of Shopify for the creation of an eCommerce store.

Easy setup

The store creation with Shopify is fairly easy. The domain and hosting for the website can also be bought directly from Shopify. Without spending a bomb on hosting service, the hosting charges are already included in the subscription plan of Shopify. And the simple admin interface is also perfect to manage eCommerce store.

Stunning store designs

The Shopify theme store has hundreds of appealing themes and templates. They have got you covered for the all different niches of eCommerce. As a new store owner, you can go through all different themes and get the best ones that suit your business. Even several Shopify experts can also deliver great results with Shopify eCommerce design.

Customer support

By choosing the Shopify, you will be eligible to get the best customer service offered by Shopify experts. They offer 24/7 customer support. You can contact them with email, phone calls, and live chat.

SEO friendliness

Shopify is also one of the most SEO friendly eCommerce store creation platforms out there. There are hell lot of functionalities available related to SEO of the website. The custom title & meta tags are also supported.

And apart from all these features, the benefits such as mobile-friendliness, easy payments, Shopify app store, security, blazingly fast websites, and several marketing tools make Shopify the best eCommerce store creation platforms.

And above all, there is a large community of Shopify Experts available around the globe. They help the store owners to get the best results out of their Shopify store. At Softpulse Infotech, our team can also deliver excellent services for Shopify. We deliver the ones stop solution to all things related to Shopify.

For eCommerce store owners out there, the Shopify can deliver the great functionalities. The flexibility and simplicity offered by it are just impeccable. 

Markets are getting wider despite current pandemic as people are mostly relying on online stores even when the shopping malls and stores are temporarily shut down. Many countries are now gradually opening up their markets and transport facilities and therefore, more and more businesses tend to launch their ecommerce stores as a measure to their business expansion. So, if you are also among them, then it is the best time to start architecting your own e-commerce store to expand your business.

There are a variety of website and mobile app development platforms available on the internet, but for building your own store, you have to choose the ones that are specifically designed for this cause.

The best suggestion I can give in this regard is to either choose WordPress if you want to build an e-commerce store with a wide range of products and services, or use Shopify if you are looking for a product only store.

Check out a few of the answers already available on the same topic: Which is the best eCommerce platform to build my online store? | Question - Goodfirms

Also check Which is better platform for online eCommerce store, Shopify or Woocommerce? | Question - Goodfirms for a deep discussion about what is better - eCommerce store, Shopify or Woocommerce.

Shopify is indeed a most promising e-commerce platform for online stores and retail shops all across the world. It offers everything that you need to sell online, on social media, or in person.

So if you feel that your Shopify store needs increased number of customers, you should follow specific essential tactics to grow your traffic as well as revenue.

Every online store indeed seeks increased traffic and conversions. Hence, implementing some effective marketing tactics and using ecommerce tools can bring straightforward acquisitions and repeate purchases from your store. Let us explore what these marketing strategies are that could help grow your Shopify store further:

Start up-selling your product i.e., sell a bit premium product than what your customer initially expects. It will help you to get an increased number of new customers. But never forget that

· Your up-sells are always related to the original product.

· You are aware of the price range anticipated by your customers.

Embrace Personalization to drive sales online. It includes using personalized experiences, behavioral data to serve the visitors as per their previous actions and preferences. Personalization tactics, indeed, can increase your business’s sales from 10% to 15%.

Leverage user-generated content. It is an excellent way of generating social proof as people trust online reviews and recommendations. So, when people would see that others are liking your products and recommending as well, they will incline to purchase them for sure. Pictures of customers actually handling the product can also work.

Optimize your product pages. You can optimize your Shopify website for increased sales and on-site conversions practicing Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). It will not just help you in identifying the problem areas on your website, but also bring a holistic and unbiased view of how conversion-oriented your site is.

Reduce abandoned carts. It is quite common that visitors add items in their cart and leave their carts during the checkout process. Every time a visitor abandons your cart, you lose money, and this ratio goes up to 69.23%, as per Baymard Institute. An email recovery campaign can reduce the frequency of abandoned carts.

Optimize for mobile. By 2020, more than half of online shopping is done using smartphones. Responsive design, a more prominent cart button, and easy & fast loading of product photos & descriptions will add to your business’s growth and sales using mobile marketing.

Utilize live chat to engage your online visitors. Outside the email, a live chat feature can be used to engage with shoppers on your site. It helps to address them well and answer their concerns right while they are planning to buy.

Set a Facebook store. Facebook is a viable platform for social media and ecommerce marketing. Your Facebook store integrates directly to your Shopify store and saves you from the trouble of managing inventory separately.

Integrate Instagram. Instagram is the fastest to connect consumers, brands, and influencers. Just try using compelling photos, strategic hashtags, and post the things at the right time to get an increased number of followers to influence your customers.

Capture an increased number of email subscribers. Email marketing helps a lot in making sales and generating repeat customers. In fact, a study by Forrester Research suggests that approximately 17% of the digital marketing accomplishes through emails and contributes to 24% of the revenue.

Reward your loyal customers. Customer-retention is a cost-effective way to increase your sales online. Start a customer loyalty program and reward your loyal customers.

The scope of marketing and selling in endless and it never finishes off with whatever effort you do. However, it pays well when you give all the importance to your customers by addressing their needs and serving the best products. So, just grow your Shopify store and add a lot more stars to your marketing and sales efforts to improve your business’s sales and conversions.

BusinessWire reported that over 83% of consumers trust the opinions and recommendations from their friends and family, whereas 66% of consumers check for online reviews from other consumers they found online. This highlights the importance of advocacy that affects the buying decisions to a greater extent. 

All business owners want their marketing strategy to be simple, affordable, and effective, and one approach that hits on all these three elements is advocacy marketing. 

Since 80% of buyers research online before making a buying decision, the ‘brand-advocates’ ensure that the shoppers get positive reviews about the brand. Sharing reviews do not accumulate any cost but make your previous customers viral their experience of excellent purchasing from your business. 

I would like to share one of the real advocate marketing stories in this answer to make the readers know that efforts like this real payback for the betterment of a brand in the long run. 

OpenXcell is among the top-rated web and app development company that is also known best for its outstanding customer support. 

Recently, a client was looking at the company’s portfolio and checking if he can get a musical app build on one of the exact kind of templates. After a thorough conversation, Openxcell agreed, and he paid some amount as an advance. 

After three days, he received the app details but was totally disappointed with the app template used, and some insertions are done without his permission. He made a note to customer care and reported directly to project managers associated with the project, and his concerns were addressed without delay. Within just two days, all the issues were resolved with the app and the client was also offered additional support as a gesture for consideration. Along with it, a hand-written note was also sent by our CSE in good faith. 

The product did a fantastic job on all play stores, and the customer is happily advocating others about the brilliant work and exceptional customer relationship support he received at Openxcell Technolabs. 

A sensible approach towards effective client management paved the way for a successful advocate marketing strategy for a business.

Shopify and WooCoommerce are two prime platforms for the development of any online eCommerce store. 

Shopify: Shopify is an eCommerce platform that helps the users in the creation, payment acceptance, and inventory management of an online store from a single platform. When working with Shopify, the users get the benefits of working with the technical aspects of handling a website such as web hosting, security, caching, and much more. 

WooCommerce: WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce plugin platform created for WordPress that can be customized according to the user’s business requirements and develop custom extensions. This platform also enables users to leverage one of the most powerful content management systems to run an online store. 

It is necessary to understand the primary differences between them both the platforms and understand the unique features offered by each of them. 

Difference between Shopify and WooCommerce: 

Shopify and WooCoommerce both provide unique features that can be beneficial for the growth of an eCommerce store. Before selecting one amongst them, let’s have an idea about the pros and cons of both of these platforms. 

You can select the software that best fulfills your brand’s requirement focusing on these pros and cons of Shopify and WooCommerce. 

When selecting the perfect ecommerce platform for your business, you need to understand the technical skill, your budget, and your business plans. 

Once you’ve got the skills, budget, and plans set in your mind, you need to seek out the suitable qualities in your ecommerce platform. 

Try to vigil features that are crucial for your business, such as abandoned cart recovery, shipping, and inventory management. Calculate costs and select one that has plans that match your budget. 

Design is the next significant part of your business as it can attract a lot of visitors and customers on your page. Figure out whether you want to base your storefront on a professionally made template, or build it yourself from scratch, and then decide the platform you want to associate. 

Eventually, make sure there are various quality support options available to help you out if you ever get stuck in the process. Whether you are choosing phone support or reading help articles, assure that there are proper help resources available that best suit your business requirements. 

Assimilating WooCommerce vs Shopify isn’t about deciding the best platform but deciding the best platform for your business. 

When WooCommerce offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, on the other hand, Shopify offers a free trial. Make the most of these periods to test the platforms and experiment with the features, themes, payment options, and SEO to find the perfect platform to use. 

Everything that you need to decide on selecting the best platform for your eCommerce business has been listed above. You can even have a glance at the alternatives of WooCommerce and Shopify if you are still not satisfied with them. BigCommerce, Wix eCommerce, Volusion, Squarespace, Magento, and a few more are some other leading ecommerce builders to find your perfect match.

Thousands of iOS, Android, and Windows apps are published every day on different app stores. The only engrossed issue an app publisher faces is to get his app discovered by his target audience.

What visitors feel important will be downloaded to their smart devices and whatnot will be deleted for sure. App installation on a device depends upon the need of a user or the capacity of the app in solving a user’s problem.

Hence, the cause of app building should be authentic and the app should be useful for the users. But many times, the useful apps even fall short to come to the reach of the users due to lack of proper marketing. This ultimately leads the app developers and publishers to get unsatisfactory responses from the expected user base for their apps. Hence, app store optimization seems an important technique to be undertaken.

What actually App Store Optimization is?

ASO or App Store Optimization process helps in optimizing your mobile apps to rank at a higher position in the app store’s search results. Higher the rank of your app is in the search results; higher will be its visibility to the potential customers.

The objective of ASO is to drive an increased amount of traffic to your app’s page in the app store so that it should be downloaded by the searchers.

The app store optimization process also requires you to understand your target customer base, including the relevant keywords that your potential clients are using to find similar types of apps.

Why is App Store Optimization important?

Forrester's report suggests that 63% of the apps are discovered through app store searches. In fact, Google also affirmed that searches actually bring up the major installations for an app. This proves that if you are using the app store optimization technique to increase the search ranking of your app, you will be able to gather a maximum amount of visitors online. Now let us discuss some of the mechanics of App Store Optimization, as per one of the leading SEO expert – Neil Patel:

· Title: Title should have the keyword with the heaviest search traffic. Avoid changing the title frequently to retain its popularity and effectiveness for long.

· Keywords: Relevant keywords should be used in your marketing strategy as well as a website that can attract your target audience. It helps in improving your search rankings.

· Total number of downloads: Number of downloads are important for app store optimization, but you cannot have strict control over them.

· Ratings & Reviews: Ratings & reviews are also among the uncontrollable factors. However, you can surely incentivize satisfactory users to rate and review your app.

Organic App Optimization:

· Optimization of the app name, title, and URL

· ASO-based keyword research

· App rating & reviews generation and handling

· Indexation of apps in Google SERPs

· Deep linking within a mobile app

· Click-through-rate optimization

· Referral visits to app stores

App Updates to Enhance Downloads

Apps that are constantly updated with their latest versions and are ever-evolving like apps that reflect user feedback, technology changes, feature improvements, and additions.

Most frequently updated apps derive more positive and frequent reviews. They add relevance to your products and enable your brand to react to the changing needs of the audience.

App updates also add up to app refinement and improvement due to competition changes.

Both, Google Play Store and Apple App Store take into account all the above-discussed factors including app updates as a part of their ranking algorithm.