Leverage Search to grow your community by optimizing your App's Name and Description.
By optimizing your Apple & Android app's app store presence, it's possible to grow your community by hundreds or even thousands of users per month, for free!Brush up on the basics
Both Apple and Google have similar but unique app store pages and options that you can optimize. Check out the resources below from Apple and Google to learn more about their app pages:
Apple's Guide to App Product Pages
Google Play's Get Discovered on Search guide
Market Keyword Research
To start, research competitor apps or other communities that are in your space. Take notes of the words they use in their app name, sub-title/short description, and their description text. Do you notice some common words? Does anything stand out? Take notes!
App Store Research
To step things up even further, we can use online tools to suggest keywords for your community's topic. Many of these tools, like Data.Ai (formerly App Annie) have some free features that you can access in addition to paid features. The free tools can often give you some interesting and helpful information. Make sure to search your community's name, your competitor's app names, and some keywords that you think your target users/customers may be searching online.
App Name / App Title
You can always add extra words to your app's name. For example "Colony - Honeycommb Customers". You will notice most apps have extra words in the title, for example "Uber - Request a ride", "Uber Eats: Food Delivery", etc. Think of the words that your audience will most likely be searching, perhaps there are ways to include those in your app name or sub-title?
Sub-Title / Short Description
Both Apple and Google Play provide you space for additional text that is displayed below your app's title. Apple's 'sub-title' gives you 30 characters, while Google Play's short description has an 80 character limit. Try to highlight the best things about your app or your community, while also including some of the top keyword(s) you're targeting.
Description
Your app's description is your opportunity to sell potential users on why they should download your app and join your community. It's also a huge opportunity to leverage search, as your description impacts your search relevance. Make sure your description is easy to read and scan through, using bullet points and short paragraphs. Include keywords in your description - this is your chance to go after many of the less common keywords, these can still lead to results!
Apple - Keywords
Apple provides you an additional 100 characters that you can use to add specific keywords to help improve your search results.
Apple's product page guide has a full section on keywords, this excerpt is a great introduction:
"Keywords help determine where your app displays in search results, so choose them carefully to ensure your app is easily discoverable. Choose keywords based on words you think your audience will use to find an app like yours. Be specific when describing your app’s features and functionality to help the search algorithm surface your app in relevant searches."
When are my app store listings updated?
App Store Listings are updated when Honeycommb submits a new update for the Apple or Android apps, with the new information displayed after the updates have been approved by Apple/Google. Honeycommb updates the apps multiple times per month, with typical updates coming out every 1-2 weeks.