App Store Optimization Ain’t kicking the Bucket

Recently, Mobile Dev Memo’s Eric Seufert published a piece asserting that the death of SEO should sow fear in the hearts of ASO devotees. While it’s an interesting assertion, Jonathan Fishman has some thoughts of his own.To get more news about App Store Optimization, you can visit aso700.com official website.

The death of SEO does not foretell the death of ASO for one simple, simple reason. We have long moved on from thinking ASO is simply SEO for the app stores. Thank god we did or the outlook would be dire.

The original argument goes that “benefiting from dynamics that are not under a company’s control is not strategy; it’s chance.” And he’s right but unfortunately there’s one small inconvenient truth, the only place you can sell an app is on the app stores. Good luck selling an app at Best Buy. It just won’t work. We’re not all Fortnite. There is only one (type of) market place and it’s run by two supposedly benevolent emperors. If you want to play the game, you gotta get on the field.
Now Seufert is not suggesting we abscond from the app stores, merely the practice of ASO, that of trying to beat the algorithms and game the system. And he’s right. Hacks are chance. You’re chancing the system. But hacks are not ASO.

Just because you don’t control the ecosystem (and that you’re at the whims of those emperors, benevolent or otherwise), doesn’t mean you can’t strategize about how best to conduct your diplomacy. And it definitely doesn’t mean that that diplomacy — whether through relationship-building (read: schmoozing the bigwigs for featuring), keyword fiddling or creative optimizing — is not measurable in its effect. And consistent in its positive outcomes. That consistency is key. If it didn’t work, no one would do it. And as long as it works, it makes sense to understand why and learn how to make it work for you.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. ASO is not supposed to be a once-off task anyways and at the very least, these changes remind us to go back to the basics and learn as much as we can.

The wind changing is inevitable. And instead of getting capsized, we change course, tack right, tack left, tack right again. We adapt to the changing environment using all the knowledge we have at hand. And that is not chance. That’s a multi-pronged, agile strategy.It seems no matter how deep into February we get, some people are still on their 2020 predictions high horse. And we’re still happily riding because accepting that we’re not still at the (very) start of the year means that we can keep procrastinating with goals and planning and strategy instead of actually doing any work.
Speaking of strategy, let’s focus on this top-grossing genre of mobile gaming, according to Deconstructor of Fun. Yup, Strategy beat out second-place Puzzles by a cool one billion dollars with a 25% year over year growth.

And the child bringing home the biggest bucks in the strategy house? 4X by far. The other siblings aren’t doing too bad a job either but see those red circles above? They’re indicative of some major muscle as the red represents a sub-genre where only one or two big-name players eat all (well, at least 75% of) the pie. Hint hint: there’s room for more at the top.

Strategy RPG and MOBA both impressed with triple-digit growth. And on the moolah side of things, 4X is pulling no punches. Or should I say kung fu kick as the sub-genre is dominated by Chinese developers securing their spot in Western markets. Last year Chinese publishers took home 76% of all the 4X revenues.