Free ASO audit

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the work of making an app easier to find and more convincing once found, on the App Store and on Google Play. Most installs still come from people who search the store or browse it, and every one of them lands on the same place before deciding: your store page.

That page does two jobs at once. Its text tells the store's search engine which queries the app should rank for. Its visuals and ratings then decide whether the person who sees it taps Get or scrolls past. A good page wins on both: it shows up for the right searches, and it converts the visits it gets.

The catch is that a page is rarely reviewed once it ships. A name with ten free characters, a subtitle that repeats the name, four screenshots out of ten slots: small gaps that cost installs every day, and that nobody sees because nothing flags them. This audit flags them.

The audit reads the public page of the app on the storefront you pick, then runs the same rules as the ASO audit inside appwin. Each rule is a precise criterion with a number of points: how much of the name's 30 characters is used, how many useful words the subtitle holds, how many screenshot slots are filled, how the rating holds up once adjusted for the number of votes.

A field's score is the share of points it earns on the points that could be measured. A criterion that can't be read on the public page (the iOS keyword field, replies to reviews) or that needs a closer reading of the content is left out of the calculation: it never counts as zero. The score therefore reflects what is really measurable, and nothing else.

Three pillars make up the overall score, each with its own weight. The total is out of 100, with a verdict for the page, each pillar and each check:

• 85 and above: excellent, the page is well optimized.
• 65 to 84: good, a few gains left to grab.
• 45 to 64: room to improve, several fields hold the page back.
• Below 45: needs rework, start with the lowest checks.

Text counts for 45% of the score. On the App Store, that is the name, the subtitle, the description, plus the keyword field and the promotional text when they are readable. On Google Play, the title, the short description and the full description. The name and subtitle weigh the most: they are indexed and they are what people read first.

Screenshots count for 35%. The first three are the ones shown in search results, so they carry most of the decision. Using every available slot gives each feature its chance to convince.

Ratings and reviews count for 20%. The average is adjusted for volume, since a 5.0 on twelve ratings reassures less than a 4.6 on ten thousand. Recent momentum matters too: a page without a recent review looks abandoned.

Most pages lose their points in the same places. The good news is that the fixes are quick, and most of them can ship with your next update.

• Fill the name: aim for at least 27 of the 30 characters, adding after the brand the two or three words people search for most.
• Don't repeat yourself: on iOS, words already in the name are wasted in the subtitle, since Apple counts them only once.
• Write a subtitle of at least four useful words that say what the app does, not a slogan.
• On Google Play, use the 80 characters of the short description, and write a full description of 2,500 characters or more that answers the searches you target.
• Publish every screenshot slot, and put your strongest promise in the first three.
• Ask for ratings at the right moment, right after a success in the app, to lift both the average and the volume.

The two stores don't index the same fields. The App Store reads the name, the subtitle (30 characters) and a hidden keyword field of 100 characters; it does not index the description. Google Play has no keyword field, but reads the title, the 80-character short description and the full description: there, the long text works for search.

That's why the audit adapts its checks to each store. On iOS, the keyword field and the promotional text are only visible in App Store Connect: the free audit leaves them out of the score instead of penalizing you. Connect your account in appwin to have them scored too.

Screenshots differ as well: up to 10 per device on the App Store, 8 on Google Play, and a video counts on both sides. Ratings, finally, are per country on the App Store and broader on Google Play, so pick the storefront where your users are.

A free audit is a snapshot. appwin's ASO module keeps watching: it reruns the audit when your listing changes, scores the criteria that need a reading (how clear your name is, what your first screenshots say, the themes of your negative reviews), and writes the rewrites to try.

It also tracks your keyword rankings every day, follows your competitors' pages, and alerts you when a rating drops or a page looks abandoned. All of it sits next to your support, push and analytics, in the same workspace, with a free plan to start.