The Best Guide to Android App Store Optimisation (ASO) for Games in China 2021

21 Oct 2021 | Irene Geng & Janie Zhou | 12 min read

1. Introduction

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is like the optimisation of ordinary websites for search engines. ASO optimisation is the process of using App Store search and ranking rules to make an app easier to find and view by users. The keyword optimisation ranking in the App Store refers to an ASO. The emphasis is on optimising keyword search ranking. If you want to do well in App Store Optimisation (ASO) for games in China, you should understand what ASO is.

2. Introduction of App Store Optimisation

The process of improving your APP’s ranking in various APP electronic market rankings and search results is known as ASO (App Store Optimisation). The process of optimising a website for search engines is comparable to that of optimising a mobile app.

● What does ASO optimisation mainly do? (take app store as an example)

(1) Search optimisation:

①Display optimisation (application name, keywords, API, vendor)

②Sort optimisation (historical download and current download)

(2) Related search optimisation: first text optimisation

(3) Ranking list optimisation: based on cooperation impulse, limited impulse-free impulse, and scouring impulse mainly

(4) Conversion rate optimisation: icon, vendor name, description, evaluation optimisation

Through the study of mobile application metadata, the ASO optimisation tool may assist application developers to understand the most often searched keywords and recommend the most significant keywords for developers. At the same time, it will display an additional keyword library and ranking of the application.

Although the ASO introduced here is only the name of a tool, for mobile application developers, application store optimisation is not only a tool that can be done well. We can even think of ASO as a trend, a service necessary in the era of mobile applications, and the tool provided by ASO here is only one of the options.

As a developer, you may think it is not easy to use after using this tool, but you cannot ignore the role of ASO. For ordinary developers, App needs ASO like Web needs SEO.

Although the search systems of many app stores are still in their infancy, and the rules of each electronic market are unique, ASO will undoubtedly become a trend in the future. Recently, there have been rumors that Apple may implement a bidding ranking mechanism or directly affect third-party paid services like ASO.

ASO optimisation is like search engine optimisation in that it focuses on the three aspects of the title, keywords, and description.

You can experiment with different keyword density settings to see how the rankings change and to describe the regulations of various markets on your own.

3. Influencing Factors of App Store Optimisation in China

● First is the application name

The application name is composed of the main title and the subtitle, and the influence on the ranking of the application is like the influence of the “Title” tag on the website. Undoubtedly, this is one of the factors that have the greatest impact on app ranking, but it is not as easy to modify as the title tag of the website. In many cases, they determined the name long ago, and it is difficult to modify. But if there is a possibility of modification, consider that users search for the most used keywords for such apps in the App Store.

● The second is the applied keywords or tags

The keywords or tags filled in when uploading the application are like the “keywords” tags filled in when creating a web page. Although the “keywords” tag is no longer useful for SEO, it is undeniable that it was once important. And the development of App Store ranking rules is not mature enough to ignore keywords, so you must think about the keywords you want to set in your application.

● The third is the description of the application

Many app stores also need to distinguish between a brief and a detailed description. The brief description is often on the application list page, and the detailed description is the focus of the application. The description of the app is also vital for the promotion of the app because it attracts them to click on the details page. And this factor will also be directly related to the click-through rate of the search results of your application, which can affect the ranking of your application in the search results.

● The fourth is the applied icons

Icons for an app are like a person. If you want others to have a good first impression of your application, you must first design beautiful icons that bring other unexpected benefits.

● The fifth is the screenshots and videos of the app

The pictures and videos on the application information page will undoubtedly affect the application’s ranking performance, as a friend who works in a large third-party application market confirmed. The app market must also consider the user experience; first, check out the app’s experience on the App Store.

● The sixth is user evaluation

This is uncontroversial, and many App Stores allow users to rank apps based on user reviews. Although the paid posters now occupy most of the reviews, it is always awkward to user reviews in China.

● The seventh is the number of app installs

Last year, this was the most popular method for swiping the list. The application obtains a high ranking of downloads by swiping the list and then exploits the list effect to bring a huge number of downloads. Despite Apple’s rigorous inspection of the rankings, it is undeniable that the quantity of app installations remains a critical element in ASO.

● The eighth is the number of active users, the proportion of active users, short-term user retention, etc.

With the improvement of application ranking algorithms in major application markets, it will ultimately attribute to the goal of “getting the best rankings for applications with the best user experience”. Therefore, for any application developer, maintaining product quality, increasing the number of active users, the proportion of active users, and short-term user retention are the most important.

● The ninth is social sharing of data

This is how powerful the social network is. In the face of the coming era of online society, the ranking algorithm of the APP Store will inevitably include the influence of social media sharing data, which is also beyond doubt.

4. App Store Optimisation Suggestion on Games

4.1 Matching Degree

Words that have high relevance to the product are the matching degree that has the following 4 points.

● Words related to the name of the app

● Words related to the target audience of the app

● Words related to APP business level

● Competitive product words and keywords

We all know that well-matched words convert better, and these five areas can provide us with more “spare tires” for further word screening as well as broaden our ideas.

4.2 Competitiveness

The level of competitive incentives for a given keyword is mostly determined by two factors.

● There must be several APPs in a field so that everyone uses a specific word, and these APPs will make that word extremely popular, resulting in rivalry.

● Your APP and other people’s APPs battle for first place in the ranking of a specific word, and they all want to rate this word high. This is also a competitive situation.

4.3 Heat

The most searched words in the search are the most popular. You need to pay attention to the following points:

● Have a strong connection with your app

● Your app ranks in front of the hot word

● When checking the popularity of analytical words, it is best to evaluate the present with the ASO index and use the Baidu index to estimate the future to avoid the loss outweighing the gains of the hyped-up words for a while!

● Hot word ranking, App Store will display the keywords with the highest user search index every day, but you can only view the hot searches of the day. ASO operators can query the historical hot word list through ASO.

5. App Store Optimisation (ASO) Strategy on Games

Android features five of China’s most well-known application markets. They are Yingyongbao, OPPO, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei. The next section will go through how to optimise your game application to rank at the top of those app stores.

5.1 App Store Optimisation of Game on Huawei App Gallery

Optimisation Strategy: Free + Pay CPD.

Huawei app gallery is freely optimised, but after payment promotion, in the third-party keyword testing website, such as bird brother ASO, showing a significant data change before contrast, it is strongly recommended to go to China payment CPD.

● Strategy: Free: Title + Payment (Main Recommended)

● Title

The optimisation strategy of the Huawei app gallery is the same as other app stores, but the title requirements of the Huawei app gallery are consistent with the maintenance of the software copyright; otherwise, it will refuse to give it to you.

So, you must pay attention to avoiding time waste due to such small things.

● Keywords

This part is also 100 characters, but the 100 characters in the background of the Huawei app gallery have been hidden recently. However, if you write the keyword, it will still have an effect.

Huawei’s CPD delivery is the same as other app stores and is in two parts.

One is a list of recommendations. Another is a list of searches, that is, the rankings of the app displayed when searching for some specific keywords; you need to spend money to rank.

This bid has a formula, which is generally ranked = the mass * bid of the APP.

That is, the higher the quality of the APP, the corresponding acquisition is ranked, the bid is relatively low. On the contrary, if your product is popular, it is necessary to get a higher price to get the front rankings.

In addition, with Huawei’s payment promotion support, increased keywords, and single keyword bids, and the function of shielding a negative keyword, you can have targeted choices based on the actual function of promoting products.

5.2 App Store Optimisation of Games on Yingyongbao

The optimisation idea of the Yingyongbao is also conventional: title + keywords + description, and then cooperate with some paid CPD promotion to increase the weight of the overall package to obtain more natural volume.

Then it will introduce some basic introductory knowledge, such as how to change the name, how to apply for a discount for the APP, how to design a beautiful APP display page, and so on.

● Yingyongbao developer background address:

http://open.qq.com/login?from=http%3A%2F%2Fop.open.qq.com%2F

● Detailed tutorial:

http://wiki.open.qq.com/wiki/%E6%B3%A8%E5%86%8C%E5%BC%80%E5%8F%91%E8%80%85

Registration requires a QQ number. After the QQ is registered, log in to select the enterprise developer, submit the business license and certification. After they pass the certification, you can submit the APP for review and listing.

It should be noted here that the APP must-have software copyright, which means that the APP belongs to your company; otherwise, it will be rejected.

App Store Optimisation of Yingyongbao

● Title

The name of the goods must match the name on the soft copy, according to Yingyongbao. It will reject it during the review if it is inconsistent.

If your name is inconsistent with the software, you can submit a work order to modify the name in the Yingyongbao developer system and have related copyright certificates. The software works and trademark certificates generally will be repaired successfully within two to three working days.

ASO of Yingyongbao Title

● Icon

Yingyongbao is different from other channels. You need to upload two icons, one size is 16*16, PNG format, and controlled within 20K, and the other size is 512*512, PNG or JPG format, and controlled within 200k.

The icon is the most significant approach to show users your product. As a result, whether the APP’s content contains preferential information or coincides with big holidays, it must be updated to reflect the product’s humanisation and a focus on user experience.

● The Size of Preview Page

Recommend 480*800, so the size does not exceed 1M, upload 2 to 5 photos to describe.

The Yingyongbao has a 500-character description. In general, some keywords in the description have a probability of being in the product’s keywords. As a result, you should repeat the crucial keywords once or twice in the description.

● Keywords

You can develop and fill one out on your own. The requirements are related to the APP’s qualities, but the app system will review it and reject it if it does not match the requirements; nevertheless, the effect will not be apparent after the test.

● Promotions

You can apply this directly in the background, and the displayed address is the daily discount in Yingyongbao.

The specific rules are as follows:

http://wiki.open.qq.com/wiki/%E4%BC%98%E6%83%A0%E6%B4%BB%E5%8A%A8%E5%8F%8A%E8%90%A5 %E9%94%80%E6%8A%80%E5%B7%A7

● Micro-download Page Production

The entrance is: App treasure developer background micro-download apply for the custom functions-custom download details page.

This page is primarily to stimulate the WeChat APP. It displays a page relevant to increasing the popularity of the brand and the user’s favourability. To apply in the background, you will need this. In most cases, when you submit the application, you will receive an email response the next day.

● Channel Package Related

The definition of a channel package is that different channels correspond to distinct installation packages with different marks, allowing us to control the quality of each channel more easily. Yingyongbao’s channel package is identical. On the technical side, you must first download and install certain installation programs. Upload directly in the background.

● Conclusion:

Since WeChat sponsors Yingyongbao, the traffic must be substantial. However, if many products want to stand out, they must be meticulous in some elements and then collaborate with paid promotion to increase traffic and exposure.

5.3 App Store Optimisation of Games on OPPO App Store

OPPO application store optimisation strategy: free title + paid CPD

● The URL of the OPPO developer:

https://id.oppo.com/login?callback=https%3A%2F%2Fopen.oppomobile.com#/resource/update/index?app_id=3736714

To log in for the first time, you need to register and then submit the company’s information (usually business license, the legal person holding ID card, account opening permit, mobile phone number, etc.) for authentication.

● Title

Title official document address:

https://open.oppomobile.com/wiki/doc#id=10004

Since there is no place to fill in keywords in the OPPO app store, the only thing you can modify is the title.

The official requirement is that the APP name is consistent with the parsing package, and if occupied, you can add a subtitle. The length of the subtitle should not exceed 10 characters. It is recommended to fill in the company abbreviation, brand, and do not use irrelevant fields or other hotness fields.

The platform will be reviewed and has the right to delete and modify. After the listing, the subtitle will be behind the name, such as a browser (OPPO), and it will also read the title of the installation package. This requires you to update the version every time you change the title.

Therefore, before uploading the optimised version, be sure to communicate the description of the title of this version with the technical staff so they can edit according to our optimised title when packaging. Communicate well in advance to avoid the cost of repeated communication back and forth.

ASO of OPPO Title

● Icon

It is required to be consistent with the icon in the installation package. Size: 512*512px, picture format: PNG, less than 1M.

● App Store Preview

Upload 3-5 screenshots, support JPG, PNG format. Screenshot size requirements: 1080*1920, a single picture cannot exceed 1M.

You should cancel the notification icon in the top status bar in the screenshot and not use other brands of mobile phones as borders or promotional images in the picture. This is the same as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Vivo.

● Description

There are no special requirements for OPPO’s description. The number of words cannot exceed 1500, and the minimum is not less than 20.

Simply follow the description of other app stores. The principle is to write discount information and product features in the first three lines. The general description should include the official website, customer service contact number, WeChat official account, etc.

● Obtaining the user’s authority

Since the release of the latest version of Android, more attention is on the performance of user privacy, and developers like Huawei and OPPO in the Android app store need to fill in the purpose of the product to obtain the user’s permission.

The official gave an example:

ASO of OPPO Obtain user’s authority example

● Official audit rules address:

https://open.oppomobile.com/wiki/doc#id=10004

The official review document introduces the title, icon, and things you should pay attention to in the description of the modification.

● Promotion address:

https://open.oppomobile.com/wiki/doc#id=10008

The preferential activity is a bit like Yingyongbao’s preferential activity. The specific rules are as follows, and the CP itself is required to provide preferential information, and then the OPPO developer will give a preferential entrance in the store as exposure to traffic display.

● Official introduction of paid CPD:

https://open.oppomobile.com/wiki/doc#id=10065

The promotion of paid products in the OPPO app store also requires an agent to open an account. The core agents of different products are different, so you need to open an account according to the industry your product belongs to. Only after you open the account can you continue to launch it.

● The URLs of OPPO agents in various industries:

https://e.oppomobile.com/marketing/contact.html

There are many things involved in CPD paid promotion. The logic of new product launches is to collect the volume at a higher price and then wait until the traffic goes up to control the cost. For the specific bid amount, the agency company will give a range of bids and slowly debug according to the cost that they can bear.

In short, the higher the weight of your product, the more traffic you can get even if your bid is not high. On the contrary, if your product does not have any weight, then you need to pay a higher price to get more traffic.

5.4 App Store Optimisation of Game on Vivo App Store

The basic idea of optimisation of the Vivo application store: free title optimization + paid CPD.

The website of the Vivo developer backstage is:

https://id.vivo.com.cn/?_201904121200#!/access/login

Currently, the Vivo developers are only open to registration for corporate users, and individual developers are temporarily not open to the outside world. If you are not registered, you need to submit qualification certification, the enterprise developer needs a business license, and the legal person holds an ID card.

● Title and subtitle

Since a big source of keywords included in the Vivo app store is the title, the title is vital.

In addition to being consistent with the name of the product in the soft book, you also need to add a subtitle to increase the inclusion of product keywords.

Vivo’s title is not to read the name in the apk installation package. You can change it yourself after uploading the apk installation package. However, Vivo has issued a new policy rule. For details, please refer to the following URL:

https://dev.vivo.com.cn/documentCenter/doc/12

You can only modify the main application name four times a year.

Therefore, every time you modify the product name, you need to be cautious. Unless the product has a major revision or is in conjunction with important event promotions, do not change the title.

● Icon

Support jpg/png format, the size requirement is that the length is equal to the width, not less than 256*256, not more than 512*512, and the size is less than 50k. Only right-angle icons are supported. Detailed specification URL:

https://dev.vivo.com.cn/documentCenter/doc/101

● App description and app updates

The application introduction is at least 50 characters, and there are no other specific requirements. You should fill in according to your actual needs. The version description is also filled in according to actual needs, as long as no less than 5 characters are required.

● App screenshot

Upload 3-5 clear screenshots. The size is a vertical image 480*800, the format is jpg/png/jpeg, the size of each picture is the same, and a single picture does not exceed 2MB.

● Promotions

Vivo’s app store also has discounts, but participation in the discounts is currently only eligible for products that participate in paid CPD.

● Paid CPD

What I want to say here is that Vivo’s paid delivery and OPPO need to find an agent to open an account. Other optimisation strategies are not specifically expanded here. For details, please refer to the optimisation of the OPPO app store I wrote.

Account opening URL:

https://dev.vivo.com.cn/documentCenter/doc/16

● Conclusion

In the Vivo application store, there is only one title in the place where you can manually increase the keyword coverage of the product, and other auxiliary measures are required, such as:

1) Paid CPD placement increases the weight of the product.

2) Appropriately optimise some downloads and comments (currently, all major application stores have checked strictly and need to be careful).

3) Find a channel for intermodal cooperation.

5.5 App Store Optimization of Game on Xiaomi App Store

The background operation of the Xiaomi App Store is like that of Apple. It can fill in 100-character keywords and allows multiple languages (except for simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and English).

● Title

The default is to read the title in the apk. It is allowed to be different from the installation package and does not need to be the same as the package name. It has only 8 characters, so you need to be careful when deciding.

The keywords in the title have the greatest weight to be included in the app store. Personal suggestion is the main title—XXXX but cannot exceed 8 characters.

● Fill in keywords

These 100 characters are like the App Store. Apple, which is different, allows the entry of competing product words, but Xiaomi does not allow it at all.

The filling rule is to make full use of these 100 characters. Try not to repeat it, unless it is a word you want to emphasise repeatedly 2 or 3 times. In addition, these words should be as far forward as possible, separated by English “;”.

● Picture material

Icon: read the apk installation package directly

● Mobile phone preview

App store brand display image: the size is not less than 720*1280

● Brand display diagram

Unlike other app stores, Xiaomi’s app store has a brand display image at the top after clicking on the details page, which is not available in other app stores.

Personally suggest filling in if conditions permit; after all, this is a conversion rate that can increase your products.

● Other

For the first issue, please refer to the official document for the application for preferential activities.

Points to note after reviewing other Xiaomi App Stores

1) The guarantee for special industries needs to be uploaded with the official seal of the company. In many cases, the Xiaomi app store and Huawei app galleries will attach great importance to this area.

2) If you encounter an unreviewed application submission after 72 hours, you can go to the official Xiaomi developer exchange QQ group: apply. Then report the APPID and package name of your product.

6. Introduction of Successful Case on Games

In the highly competitive mobile game market, exposure has become one of the largest headaches of all game companies, plus the soaring cost of buying and ASO becomes an increasingly important marketing strategy. It not only helps your product to raise the location in the search results but also increases the clicking conversion, driving naturally adding load.

To address rapidly changing applications and algorithms, the overseas ASO website The Tool wrote a complete ASO optimisation guide for marketers in the mobile game industry:

● Three Steps of Mobile Game ASO in 2019

We must first have a clear understanding of the concept of ASO, usually including the following three processes: keyword search, list optimisation, and A / B test and test results and optimisation.

6.1 Keyword Search

Keyword search is the first step in the ASO policy, but there is a big difference in search algorithm between the Apple App Store and Google Play, so different stores should consider different factors when searching results.

How to choose the right keyword?

To improve your product in the APP Store search (result), the first thing to do is list all search words that can find your product; these are ASO keywords.

Then list the keywords related to your project, which includes vocabulary with application performance, primary functions, purchasing types, and some game characters.

6.2 Product Page Optimisation and A / B Test

The second important step of ASO is to directly optimise your APP Store page list, which means that ON-Metadata (developer can fully control and optimise factors that can easily change) and OFF-METADATA (uncontrollable, but it can affect the factors).

Off-metadata factors include downloads and growth, user participation, score, and evaluation.

6.3 Monitoring Results

After adjusting the above factors, you can track and monitor optimisation results, measure key indicators such as keyword rankings, list positions, conversion, natural additions, evaluations, and scores. Or you can also monitor it through tools.

Overall, the following figure can show all the app store list elements:

7. Conclusion

In the past few years, the China App Store has experienced multiple changes. However, if you understand most of the elements of Android and know how to optimise, you can start considering your App promotional strategies. Contact our Enlybee team about your App promotion in China.

---

Don’t forget to share this post!