We’re sharing the ASO measures (app store optimization) that will be required in the future, while touching on the concept of ASO 3.0.
Today we’re sharing the ASO measures (app store optimization) that will be required in the future, while touching on the concept of ASO 3.0.
ASO 3.0 is an advanced version of ASO measures, so if you have not read our previous articles on ASO and ASO 2.0, please give them a look! We also summarize these methods in the beginning of this article.
First, look at the diagram below.
This diagram is a slide used in a conversation between Storemaven, an A/B testing tool company, and Jam City, a game development developer, at an event called Mobile Growth Summit (MGS) held in 2020. (Storemaven is a company that originated in Israel and has now been acquired by a company called Zinga)
In the diagram, three stages are described as the development of ASO measures.
ASO 1.0 keyword optimization is all about increasing search rankings. In the narrow sense of ASO, it's about whether search terms have gone up or down. By taking ASO measures such as those mentioned, you can not only increase search rankings, but also increase awareness of the app in the entire store.
Next, ASO 2.0 talks about improving the store's creatives, that is, icons and screenshots. This will be explained later, but it includes using CPPs (custom product pages) and other methods to increase CVR with app screenshots and more.
Finally, ASO 3.0, based on the diagram above, means "promoting growth by understanding the app store comprehensively." In other words, ASO is not just about keywords or creativity, but about understanding the app store itself as the core of app marketing, leading to the growth of the app. Our way of thinking is very similar to this, and we believe it could become the shape of future ASO measures. In the second half of this article, we would like to touch on the concept of ASO 3.0.
ASO 1.0 is a concept close to the so-called commonly interpreted ASO measures, so we will omit the explanation here for now. Still, few people may have heard of ASO 2.0, so we’ll review.
At App Promotion Summit, app marketers gathered to discuss all things app marketing, and a very important talk was shared in 2023. We also participated in this event as speakers touching on ASO and Search Ads synergy.
This speaker is in charge of ASO for Amazon's Audible app. This theme starts with the catchy title "ASO IS DEAD," but what is dead refers to the previous ASO 1.0. In other words, instead of just thinking about the concept of ASO for the rise of keywords, we will expand ASO to ASO 2.0: store creative optimization.
As shown below, CPP (Custom Product Page) and CSL (Custom Store Listing) are presented as specific contents.
(For understanding ASO 2.0, please also refer to our previous articles)
From here, we would like to review ASO 3.0 - the future of app store optimization. Please see the diagram below.
This diagram shows that the following elements surround the app store.
In other words, what they are saying here is that all marketing channels interact with each other, with app store strategies at the core. In this sense, it is important to think about app store positioning and organics in a more comprehensive and holistic way, rather than just increasing keywords.
The previous diagram is a conceptual diagram, so the following example is also presented to increase the resolution.
This diagram is a business question that is necessary for ASO 3.0.
As you can see above, most of the questions are about "which channel has an impact on organics and conversions". You can see that this is not the traditional way of thinking, such as how much return you get for the cost and effort of attracting customers and marketing.
The idea is that ASO should exist while understanding how each channel affects organic acquisition. In other words, the key words are the "influence" or "impact" of each customer acquisition channel on the store.
Also, ASO 3.0 is not a completely different concept from the previous ones, like the so-called WEB 3.0 that is all the rage. In other words, ASO 3.0 is not independent and ignores ASO 1.0 and ASO 2.0, but is developing as a series of flows as shown in the diagram below. ASO 3.0 includes the methods of ASO 1.0 and 2.0.
So why is ASO 3.0 necessary? It was not explicitly mentioned in the Mobile Growth Summit, but it may be easiest to understand it as a response to rising advertising costs.
After the IDFA regulation, advertising costs have risen and app marketing has become more complicated. Furthermore, it is said that Google will expand its privacy sandbox in the future and a similar trend to the IDFA regulation will occur.
As advertising costs rise, the app marketing methods required are becoming difficult to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of advertising investments in a 1:1 manner as in the past. For example, spending $10,000 on Facebook advertising to acquire 1,000 app installs. In other words, it is a method of calculating only the direct value, ignoring the indirect value of advertising costs. If you evaluate cost-effectiveness using this traditional method, you will quickly reach your limits in marketing when advertising costs rise. Therefore, it is very important to consider the "impact" of using advertising expenses, as in the concept of ASO 3.0. For example, how advertising affects organic users.
Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to focus on the "impact" and "relevance" mentioned above and improve the marketing itself.
We believe that it’s necessary to have collaboration between departments within a company, such as between the store and advertising, and between the store and offline measures. This is because it is difficult to grasp cross-sectional relevance if independent departments are pursuing independent KPIs. This attempt is naturally not easy, but this support is one of the things we are doing.
Finally, as an example of ASO 3.0, we would like to present the following diagram that we published the other day. This diagram is a model that we created ourselves, focusing on the "impact" and "relationship" between "Search Ads" and the app store mentioned above.
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For more details, please see more of our articles. The above is just one example, but the services we provide are designed to support concepts such as ASO 3.0, and we plan to expand various functions and services in the future.
✅The recent development of ASO measures is thought to have three stages (ASO 1.0, ASO 2.0, ASO 3.0).
✅ASO 1.0 shows an increase in search rankings through keyword optimization, and ASO 2.0 shows improving CVR through store creative optimization.
✅ASO 3.0 means that all marketing channels interact with each other, with app store measures at the center, and shows a worldview that comprehensively and holistically captures the entire app store and organics.
✅By correctly understanding the concept of ASO 3.0, you can create an ideal app marketing strategy and respond to rising advertising costs.
In addition, this article goes beyond the concept of ASO measures and is written with the intention of helping app developers leap to the next marketing stage. For this reason, we hope to play a part in helping many developers and marketers globally raise the level of their marketing.
We’re sharing the ASO measures (app store optimization) that will be required in the future, while touching on the concept of ASO 3.0.
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