5 App Store Optimization Tools to Drive More Momentum With

If there’s a new restaurant serving up delicious food, a groundbreaking cooking device, or even a life-changing cookbook, but no one knows about it, how impactful are they really? The same goes for the digital sphere, where there are so many great restaurant and c-store innovations competing for attention that even the best struggle to stand out.  

App store optimization (ASO) is a process by which apps become more visible by boosting their chances of appearing in an app store’s search results and ranking higher for specific search terms. Like search engine optimization (SEO), there are nuances to ASO, which appear complicated especially at first glance. Especially with a constantly changing algorithm, dealing with ASO alone feels particularly intimidating. 

App store optimization tools exist to guide marketers and app developers toward greater online visibility. With valuable features like performance metric analysis and keyword optimization, they provide a real-time, granular view of how apps are performing. As a hospitality or retail industry app owner you then create actionable steps based on these insights for better results. 

Given that digital competition rises in the business world every day, we decided to give you a rundown of five app store optimization tools and how to integrate them into your strategy.

The Role of ASO Tools 

ASO tools are any digital tool that serve to improve your app’s visibility in an app store, whether the Google Play store or Apple’s App Store. While some tools focus specifically on keyword optimization or sharpening your app store listing, others are comprehensive platforms with dozens of features. 

Some people distinguish app store optimization software from app store optimization tools, with software being a more complete solution, while tools focus on one or two specific functions. The point of any type of solution is to track and optimize all aspects of your app store listings with the data to back up your decisions. 

But what specifically can ASO tools do? Here are four such features: 

1. Provide analytics: An analytics dashboard that tracks all the metrics you need —like number of downloads, ratings, and user engagement— gives you an understanding of app performance. 
2. Track keywords: They can help both find and predict high-performing, relevant keywords for your listing so you don’t miss phrases that improve app store visibility. 
3. ​​​Streamline optimization: ​ASO tools, such as optimization checklists and performance metrics, give you a practical idea of what to do next, helping you stay proactive and take intentional steps to improve your app.​​     ​ 
4. Offer competitive insights: These tools let you analyze how competitors are doing so you can spot areas for improvement and avoid any strategies that might be unprofitable. 

Top ASO Tools Overview 

The best ASO tools focus on some or all these areas: keyword research and analysis, performance monitoring, and visual optimization. 

• Keyword Research and Analysis Tools: App Tweak and App Radar both identify and analyze the best keywords for app optimization. Whether it’s AI-powered features or more strategically connecting keywords with intent, their capabilities go beyond simple keyword rankings and suggestions. 
• Performance Monitoring Tools: SplitMetrics and AppFollow detail app analytics in an attractively packaged format, helping you track all aspects of app performance, including rankings, ratings, and reviews. 
• Visual Optimization Tools: Store Mockups is all about perfecting your app visuals like icons, screenshots, and preview videos through high-converting templates. 

In-Depth Reviews of Popular ASO Tools 

Curious to know more about each tool and what they do? Here’s a detailed review of each one: 

• App Tweak: With App Tweak, you no longer must do all the tedious keyword research yourself. The app uncovers the top search terms driving downloads for your app or your competitor’s, trending keywords based on your app category and uses AI tools to generate high-opportunity keyword lists. What’s more, you can localize your app listing by automatically translating keywords into multiple other languages. Want to see how your listing would perform if certain keywords were added or removed? The Live Search feature lets you visualize real-time search results for any keyword in a variety of countries and languages. 
• App Radar: App Radar lets you monitor your keyword rankings and discover new keyword opportunities based on the results you’re looking to achieve. Keywords are listed in a table and include information on their rank, change in rank, search volume, difficulty, and how many apps are using the word currently. It gives you a deeper look into keywords and how they fare in the marketplace, so you can improve your organic app visibility. 
• SplitMetrics: SplitMetrics focuses on Apple Search Ads optimization using A/B testing and analytics. This comprehensive platform gives you a full-funnel view of your ads so you can stay profitable and avoid wasteful spend. With their optimize and test feature, you can split test effectively, validating concepts and testing hypothesis before you choose your winning variation. It’ll give you real metrics that prove which is more successful than the other. 
• AppFollow: The reputation of your app is important as it’ll either encourage or deter users from downloading it. AppFollow is an app reputation automation platform that helps you become more productive with optimization. You can automate replies to app reviews, track KPIs, get an overview of semantic analysis. AppFollow will save you time and streamline your workflow, transforming a poor response strategy into a great one. 
• Store Mockups: Using built-in templates or a 3D mockup editor, you can create high-quality screenshots for your app store listing in minutes. Store Mockups focuses on improving how you portray your app, giving users a better understanding of what it does and the features it has. Rather than hire a designer or do the designing yourself, you can use the app and instantly click through different backgrounds, frames, and more.

Integrating ASO Tools into Your Marketing Strategy 

Most ASO tools are multifunctional, which means it’s harder to choose one given their wide range of features. The rule of thumb is to identify what your app needs the most when it comes to marketing. 

Is it discovering new keyword opportunities? Analyzing what your competitors are doing better? Or conducting A/B testing to see what elements of your listing could change? Your app’s primary area of focus guides your decision-making, ensuring the tool you choose performs that function well. 

These platforms should seamlessly integrate into your existing toolkit so regular marketing processes like restaurant digital marketing are complemented rather than disrupted. This requires diligent thinking and planning, so write down your current processes, timelines involved in project completion, and budgets to avoid disruptive integrations or costly oversights. 

As we’ve seen in the table, some of these tools can come at a cost, which means you’ll want to get the most out of them. To do so, be sure to stay updated on the app store landscape and keep an eye on your metrics so changes can be made instantly. 

Cronometer, a health and nutrition tracking app, managed to stand out in the competitive fitness app market by using App Radar. Its many ASO features and team of app marketing experts came together to expand localization, optimize for keywords, create multiple A/B tests, and aggressively monitor analytics, and managed to gain a 41% ranking improvement, appearing in the top 100 apps. 

Advanced Features and Considerations 

Beyond the basics, ASO tools often include advanced functionality, including AI and automation. With automation, routine tasks no longer consume the bulk of your effort, while AI offers advanced insights into which actions drive the most engagement. These advanced features save time and improve effectiveness, making room for human functions like creative thinking. 

While most of these tools are trustworthy and come with stringent data security and privacy standards, cloud-based ASO tools still require you to exercise caution. Because you need to provide access to sensitive data, you should always check for compliance with data protection regulations and review the permissions you’re allowing. 

Choosing the Right ASO Tool 

When it comes down to it, the right ASO tool aligns with not only your needs but your budget and your app’s propensity to scale. Ask yourself how much you’ll be able to invest each month, what your priorities are, and the specific sector you’re in. 

For example, a food delivery app needs advice on localized keywords more so than an eCommerce store. A retail shop may want to analyze trends in reviews instead of monitoring real-time issues like restaurant delivery apps. 

Bringing It All Together 

If you’re not using them already, ASO tools can deliver the results you dream of for your business. Goals, algorithms, and market trends change, which mean it’s worth evaluating your suite of platforms every so often. Optimizing your app means more than simply adding a new keyword or changing the format of your description—it’s about going deeper into your analytics and discovering new opportunities whenever possible. 

If you run a convenience store, you can exemplify the true meaning of “convenience store” by downloading our eBook on How to Maximize Digital Ordering for Convenience Stores. 

Want to further complement your app store optimization efforts? Book a demo now to learn more about our marketing automation and online ordering tools.