5 Common ASO Mistakes

This article summarizes how to avoid five mistakes that anyone can make in ASO. If you are currently doing ASO, check whether you have cleared each of the points below.

1. On iOS, Avoid Duplicated Keywords

Repeating keywords across different assets on the product page does not raise your ranking or increase user motivation (on Android, by contrast, increasing the keyword density of important keywords is key in ASO). Avoid unnecessary keyword duplication.

2. Don’t Include Low-Performing Keywords

A keyword’s popularity is measured by the volume of users searching for it, and generally the larger the volume, the more popular the keyword. You need to check keyword volume regularly. Before trying a keyword, run market research and competitor analysis to determine which keywords rank at the top.

3. Don’t Include Irrelevant Keywords

As mentioned above, including popular keywords is essential for your ASO ranking. However, the relevance of those keywords to your app matters too. The app store algorithm judges whether you have chosen keywords related to the service your app provides. If you include keywords unrelated to your app, the algorithm penalizes you and your organic ranking drops.

4. Don’t Neglect Localization

App publishers that offer their apps outside Japan should not focus only on keywords for a single region, but research the keywords users search for in other languages. By using localization, you can use keywords effectively in various markets and optimize your app for multiple languages and regions at the same time.

5. Make Use of Screenshots

Screenshots play an important role in instantly communicating your app’s features and benefits to users. They let you highlight the main features users are looking for and how easy the app is to use. If your screenshots are not fully utilized, you are wasting one of your conversion tools.

A One-Time ASO Effort Is Not Enough

In the fiercely competitive app store world, avoiding these ASO mistakes can significantly improve your app’s organic performance. To keep improving performance over time, however, you need to keep reading trends and run the PDCA cycle to continuously improve results. Events, seasonality, user behavior and competitor activity are always changing, and all of them affect organic results. So select your keywords, pay attention to seasonality and watch your competitors to keep your app in the best possible shape.

Our Track Record of Increasing Downloads Through ASO Support

We support ASO (App Store Optimization) for a wide range of app publishers. Through ASO, we have supported results such as going from outside the keyword search rankings to 2nd place within a year, and a 50% reduction in CPI.

We offer a free ASO diagnosis for app publishers. You are also welcome to consult us about ASO and other app marketing measures (such as Apple Ads), so please feel free to apply.