Appy Holidays! As 2017 comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on all the exciting things that happened this year relevant to the world of App Store Optimization.

Apple

For the first time, Apple revamped their App Store which has a gorgeous UI and improved UX. The new App Store allows product pages to display up to 3 preview videos, now shows 3 screenshots in organic search and increased the visibility of user reviews in a highlighted carousel. Additionally, we saw the introduction of the 30 character subtitle, the 170 character Promo Text, and of course the shortened 30 character titles.

Apple’s Search Ads platform has exploded in popularity this year as well. We have seen huge success stories using this form of acquisition for our clients. We manage anywhere from $2,000 all the way up to $75,000 per month budgets for our clients. As we continue to expand our service, and our Search Ads API tools, we look forward to seeing how Apple expands on the product even further in 2018.

We are now in the age of iOS 11, which has set forth a lot of challenges for developers and “optimizers” alike. But with all those challenges has come the greatest new device, just in time for the holidays, The iPhone X. The “ten” delivers the most seamless user experience than any other iPhone to date. The opportunities for AR apps are now huge!

Android

Android Oreo debuted in 2017 along with Google’s Pixel 2.

Specific to ASO, the Play Store elongated their title from 30 to 50 characters. We capitalized on this new opportunity and saw huge returns for our clients after implementation. In 2017, Google also cracked down on spammy apps with new regulations set in place. Of course Google continually tweaks and modifies their algorithms, with one of the largest changes being the inclusion of retention, usage and overall “app quality” within the ranking algorithms. This change continues to push developers to create the best possible apps and integrate deeper analytics to understand user behavior. Additionally we’ve seen growing importance in the concept of Link Building for apps, and we’ve expanded our link building team to handle the higher demand from our clients.

What all of this has meant for The ASO Project

With all the exciting developments this year much has transpired. 2017 was an exciting year for The ASO Project and ASO as a whole.

Our staff has grown. Our client base has grown. Our successes have grown. We even opened a new office location. But most importantly, our knowledge has grown.

In an industry with ever-changing algorithms, needs and new areas of opportunity popping up almost daily, we’ve learned that a team that is able to think on its feet and responds with creativity and expertise is integral to the success of our clients. As our team grows physically and in knowledge, our passion for what we do grows every day.

Cheers to 2017 coming to a close and 2018 and all the potential that lies before us!