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Google Play search ranking algorithm revealed and ASO optimization suggestions
When a user searches for a keyword,Google PlayIt also uses a smart algorithm to determine the ranking of apps.Search rankingAlgorithms and continuous optimization are crucial for apps or games to gain more organic traffic.
Although Google has not announced the algorithm of Google Play, many domestic and foreignASO OptimizationAnalysts and ASO experts still found some clues to important ranking factors based on their years of experience and observation.
First, let’s acknowledge that Google Play’s search ranking algorithm is more complex than that of the App Store.
I will share with you the 12 important factors of the Google Play app store search ranking algorithm, hoping that it will be of some help to developers of apps and games that are exported overseas.
1. App Name
Your app name plays a key role in keyword ranking. To make full use of the limited characters in the app name, we usually write the app name in the following format:
Brand Name + Main Keywords
Including the main keyword in the app name can convey the main information of the app's functions to the searcher, and it is also beneficial to the ranking of the keyword, thereby increasing your organic volume. If more people download your app, your app's ranking in the charts will also increase significantly.
In the new Google Play guidelines, you should limit the length of the app title to 30 characters (previously 50 characters). In addition, keywords such as the ranking, price, or promotion of the app should not be implied in the app title, icon, and developer name.
Examples:
Since the app name plays an important role in keyword ranking, many developers have created “fake apps” that imitate well-known apps and use the names of other well-known apps in the app names to trick “unaware” users into downloading them.
For example, when I searched for TikTok, I saw many fake apps with high rankings in Google Play. To avoid trademark complaints, most of them just use names and icons similar to "TikTok".
2. Short Description
The second important position that affects keyword ranking is the brief description of the app.
The short description does not appear in Google Play search results, but on the product detail page, the short description appears just below the screenshot. It is a highly visible element that conveys important information to potential users.
You should use concise and clear language in the short description to convey the core function or purpose of your app or game to your potential users. From past experience, we firmly believe that Google Play indexes short descriptions and considers it as an important factor in the search algorithm. Therefore, we usually embed important keywords in short descriptions to optimize their ranking.
But in Google's latest policy, regarding brief descriptions, there is the following paragraph:
“Non-essential keywords added to improve search results; appending such keywords does not affect rankings and can negatively impact user experience.”
Other (strong) suggestions from Google for writing short descriptions include:
Summarize the core functionality or purpose of your app or game in concise language, highlighting what makes it unique.
Localize instructions appropriately for different markets and languages.
Avoid duplication and redundant information in short descriptions, screenshots, feature graphics, or developer videos. Note that these resources may appear in the same place.
Do not use text that is irrelevant to the functionality or purpose of your app, including:
Text that reflects or implies performance, ranking, honors, awards, user testimonials, or pricing and promotions on Google Play, such as "Best," "#1," "Top," "New," "Discount," "Sale," or "Millions of Downloads."
A call to action, such as "Download now," "Install now," "Play now," or "Try now."
Non-essential keywords added to improve search results; appending such keywords has no effect on ranking and can negatively impact user experience.
Do not add special characters, line breaks, emojis, emoticons, repeating punctuation (e.g., ?, !!, ?!, !?!,<>, \\, –, ***, +_+, …, ((, !!, $%^, ~&~, ~~~), or symbols (such as ★ or ☆).
3. Long Description
Google Play's long description can be filled with up to 4,000 characters, which can be seen as a continuation of the short description. Since it is not directly visible, according to statistics, only 2% of users read this part. However, the long description is still an important place for us to expand keyword coverage and improve rankings.
Google Play will "read" your entire description to understand what your app does. You can describe the main features and functions of your product. In addition, your long description should contain as many keywords and keyword combinations as possible. You can also put the main keywords at the beginning and end of the description, and repeat them several times throughout the description (expression must be natural, avoid keyword stuffing).
Additionally, you can edit the format of long descriptions and add emojis to make them more attractive and readable.
4. Localization of product details page
If your app doesn't have a store detail page in the language of your target users, Google will provide automatic machine translation.
To improve user experience and keyword search result ranking, I strongly recommend that you provide localized product detail pages.
5. Application package name
You might not expect it, but your app package name is one of the elements that counts in search rankings.
Typically, your application URL appears in this format:
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=package_name)
Some developers embed primary keywords in the app package name to improve the ranking of that keyword and further increase the number of app downloads.
Here are some examples of developers using app package names to get more traffic:
Embedding the primary keyword: The music app Spotify uses the keyword “music” in the package name.
（https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.music）
2. Embedding competitor names: AmongChat embeds the names of several well-known competitors or related applications in the package name.
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=walkie.talkie.among.us.friends)
3. Embedded developer name: Messenger embeds its developer name “facebook” in its package name.
(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.orca)
Important Tips
Once your app or game is released for the first time, you will not be able to change the package name. Therefore, before releasing your app, you need to carefully consider the package name and its corresponding keyword strategy.
6. Application categories and tags
Categories and tags help users search and discover the apps they're most interested in on the Play Store. You can select a category and add tags to your app or game in the Play Console.
If your app can easily fit into multiple categories, I recommend choosing a category with less competition. This way, your app has a greater chance of ranking higher in the category charts, gaining more exposure and more users.
In addition to categories, you can select up to 5 tags. Google will automatically show you suggested tags. But if you think your app or game is better suited for another tag, you can search the list of tags and select the one that best describes your app.
Tags will affect your app's visibility on Google Play, so it is important to choose tags that are most relevant to your app.
7. Ratings and Reviews
When faced with an unfamiliar app or game, many users will decide whether to download it based on ratings and reviews. Therefore, getting more positive reviews is an important part of promoting user growth.
In Google Play, the importance of ratings is even more obvious. In addition to displaying ratings and reviews on the store details page, Google Play has also added a rating "filter" in the search. Users can use this filter to easily search and find high-rated apps. For example, users can choose to only display apps with a rating of 4.0 or 4.5 stars during the search process.
This prompts and urges us to at least raise the rating of apps or games to 4.0 or above. Otherwise, they will lose a lot of exposure opportunities.
So, how can we improve the rating of our app? Here are some effective suggestions:
First, you should make sure that your app is good enough to provide unique or important value to users. For example, although TikTok has many shortcomings, it brings joy to billions of users around the world and provides a platform for many creators to showcase themselves. This is its unique value. However, the fake apps that imitate TikTok mentioned above only want to take advantage of the popularity, and their actual value is not seen at all, so they are destined to be difficult to gain unanimous praise from users.
Developers can guide ratings when users have positive emotions, such as when they have just achieved a new achievement within the app.
Report fake reviews and spam reviews to Google Play promptly. Sometimes competitors maliciously create fake reviews or spam reviews, which we can report promptly.
Provide easy ways to resolve issues within the app, and try to resolve them before users post negative reviews on the Play Store. Remember, it takes 6 5-star ratings to offset one 1-star rating.
Respond to user feedback proactively. If you can quickly address the issues users report after they leave a negative review, some users will revise their ratings.
8. Download volume and download growth rate
Downloads affect the ranking of the list, but in fact it also affects the ranking of search results. We usually find that apps with high downloads can cover more keywords (even if their ASO optimization is a mess). Some well-known apps don’t care about embedding keywords in the title and description, but they can still rank for many keywords. This is the credit of downloads!
9.Android Vitals
Android Vitals is a program from Google that aims to improve the stability and performance of Android devices. When users who have opted in to the program run your app, their Android devices record various metrics, including data on app stability, app startup time, battery usage, render time, and permission denials. The Google Play Console aggregates this data and displays it in the Android Vitals dashboard.
The dashboard highlights the following metrics, which are the core Android vitals metrics that developers must pay attention to: crash rate, ANR rate, excessive wakeups, and stuck wake locks.
If your app shows bad behavior in Android vitals, it may negatively impact the user experience and potentially result in a lower rating in the Play Store and less discoverability for users.
10. App Updates
If you don’t update your app or game for a long time, you are likely to lose existing users. And those who would have downloaded your app may choose a competitor because your app has not been updated for a long time.
Generally, you should update your app at least once a month. This will help fix bugs and release new features, and improve user experience.
A good user experience will lead to higher ratings, positive reviews and more downloads.
11. Images
Excellent app icons, featured images, and screenshots can help your app stand out in search results, app collections, and charts, thereby increasing conversion rates and bringing in more downloads.
When users search for a certain keyword, if your app has more conversion rates, this usually helps improve your app's ranking for that keyword, because Google will think that a high conversion rate implies that your app is more in line with user needs.
12. External links
Yes, you read that right. Backlinks are not only an important factor in SEO rankings, but they may also play a role in Google Play ASO.
But unlike SEO, backlinks are only a very small factor in the Google Play search ranking algorithm. I have done some tests and found that backlinks may slightly boost the ranking of some keywords, but it is difficult to push the ranking of the main keyword to the top 5 purely by relying on backlinks.
Regardless, having lots of high-quality backlinks is a good thing. They bring more potential users to your Google Play Store page.
Conclusion
ASO optimization is not something that can be done overnight. If you expect to bring hundreds of thousands or even millions of organic traffic to your app through simple ASO optimization, you will probably be disappointed.
Ensuring that your app and store listing are complete and optimized as appropriate is an important part of helping users discover your app on Google Play.
Google Play Search measures the overall app experience based on user behavior and feedback. Apps are ranked in search results based on factors such as ratings, reviews, and downloads. Although the details of these weights and values are part of Google Search's proprietary algorithms, you can improve your app's visibility by:
Create lasting and meaningful experiences for your users.
Maintain and improve the app by releasing updates regularly.
Users are encouraged to provide feedback in the form of ratings and reviews.
Provide excellent customer service by responding to user feedback and resolving issues.
