(This post about App Store Optimization originally appeared on ClickAttack blog.)

The most popular method by which people find and download an app is through app store browsing. Consequently, if your app store ranking is not good, your app will not be downloaded.

When searching for an app, users check first 20-25 results max. If your app doesn’t rank among the first 20, chances are, users won’t even see it, let alone download it. Currently, there are 1.5 million apps in Play Store and 1.4 million in App Store. These impressive numbers may scare away any new idea you have about creating and promoting a mobile app. Luckily, there are some tips on how you can improve search engine ranking using App Store Optimization (ASO).

What is App Store Optimization?

As the name suggests, App Store Optimization is SEO for apps. The idea is to make your app more visible to potential users. The first important step in ASO is discovering the terms people use when searching for apps like yours. After you have identified these, you will need to write a description of the app and select keywords. It’s also important to choose your icon and name wisely. We recently started collecting tips that we think could help you with app promotion and posted them on social media – you can follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

(Check out some of them, but keep in mind that there will be more so, stay tuned.)

ASO tip #1 Add keywords

Use Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords for your app. You can choose to include the keyword in the name of the app. If you are lucky enough, you will come up with a creative name that hasn’t yet been taken.

Adding keyword to your title can improve your app’s search ranking for that keyword by an average of 10.3% (Source: Kissmetrics). If you have included the keyword in the name, you don’t have to repeat it in the description.

ASO tip #2 Compelling description

Your description should include keywords, but also sound compelling in the first five lines, since that’s the space people read first. Right from the get-go, you should give people a good reason why they should download your app, so be creative and persuasive.

ASO tip #3 Choose your app name wisely

When we say you should choose “URL-safe” characters, we mean that you should use classic Latin alphabet. Any characters that are not Latin will turn out as weird code in the URL of your app, and many people like to check their URL before clicking it. Additionally, it will be easier to remember it. When coming up with an app name, keep in mind that the first characters of your title will be visible to users.

ASO tip #4 Singular and plural are the same

Plural, or singular forms of words don’t change much. Unless you have extra characters to fill in the keywords, you can use both words.

ASO tip #5 Choose the right category

There are users who know exactly what they want, but there are also users who search broadly by category. Choosing the right category for your app can bring you more downloads.

Getting your app discovered in app stores is quite a daunting task and ASO is an essential technique in User Acquisition that should not be underestimated.