This is your app’s wishlist and you should check it twice! 🛍️📱📈

The holiday season, featuring Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas, is a golden opportunity for your app to shine. 🌟 It’s crucial to recognize the importance of App Store Optimization (ASO). In recent years, Black Friday has continued to be a major shopping event.

In 2022, Black Friday achieved record-breaking online sales of $9.12 billion according to Adobe Analytics, representing a significant increase in e-commerce shopping compared to previous years. The trend of consumers shifting towards online shopping has continued, and Black Friday remains a critical date for online and brick-and-mortar retailers.

While traditional advertising methods like in-store coupons still exist, many retailers have found success by gearing their mobile apps towards highlighting deals and products, enticing users to shop online and in-store. With the prospect of bigger holiday sales seasons ahead, retailers and app developers must prepare their marketing strategies for early-bird holiday shoppers.

Tips for boosting your app’s holiday performance

Prioritize App Store Optimization for visibility

To maximize the discoverability of your app, ensure it meets ASO criteria:

  • Does it have an app name that easily relates to its functionality?
  • Are relevant keywords incorporated?
  • Is there a clear and concise description?
  • Do screenshots and preview videos effectively showcase deals and products?

Retailers should focus on these elements to successfully convert users and increase revenue before the holiday shopping season.

Keyword and app creative optimization

Identify relevant keywords

Start by researching the keywords that are most relevant to your app and the holiday season. These may include terms like “Black Friday deals,” “Cyber Monday discounts,” and “Christmas gift ideas”. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on consumer behavior and retailer strategies during these year-end events. Notably, the traditional concept of Black Friday as a single-day event has evolved to extend for weeks before and past the original Friday date.

Retailers recognize that consumers are keen to find deals, not just on the day itself, but throughout the holiday season. This transformation has made these seasonal keywords highly competitive throughout the entire holiday period. Therefore, it is wise to commence your optimization efforts months in advance to secure a prominent position by year’s end.

Analyze search volume

Utilize keyword research tools like DATACUBE to gauge the search volume for these seasonal keywords. These seasonal keywords will shift from medium to high volume over the course of the last four months of the year.

According to research conducted by Gummicube, October keywords such as “Black Friday” and “Christmas” have reached 75% of their full potential in search volume indicating that users are seeking holiday-related content early in the season.

Recognized as the 2023 ASO Company of the Year – ConsultMyApp

Empowering apps for sustained growth since 2016: amplifying visibility, optimizing conversion, and building loyal advocates for your brand.

 

Claim free ASO audit

This underscores the benefits of optimizing your app well in advance, ensuring that it’s positioned to capture the attention of holiday shoppers right from the beginning of their search journey.

Competitor analysis

Study the keywords that your competitors are targeting. Tools like DATACUBE can provide more insights into competitor rankings, giving you a better idea of who performs best for which keywords. This can provide insight into which keywords are effective in your industry and help you differentiate your app.

Long-tail keywords

Don’t overlook long-tail keywords that are specific to your app’s offerings. For example, if your app allows users to create shopping lists or showcase holiday deals, consider keywords like “Black Friday ads & deals” or “Christmas shopping list”. While these may not have the highest search volumes, they can drive relevant and high-intent traffic to your app.

Aligning keywords with creatives

Once you’ve identified the keywords, it’s crucial to align them with your app’s creative elements. This cohesion between keywords and creatives can enhance your app’s visibility and conversion rates. Consider incorporating these terms in your creative copy.

App title and subtitle

Incorporate the most important seasonal keywords in your app’s title and subtitle. For instance, if your app offers Christmas gift ideas, ensure that this is evident in your app’s title.

Description

Craft a clear and concise app description that includes seasonal keywords while highlighting the benefits and unique selling points of your app for holiday shoppers.

Screenshots and preview video

Your screenshots and preview video should vividly showcase seasonal promotions, deals, and products. Use visuals to reinforce your keywords. For example, if you’re targeting “Black Friday deals,” have screenshots that feature Black Friday offers.

Icon and app logo

Ensure your app’s icon and logo reflect the holidays. For Black Friday, you might use a black and red color scheme, and for Christmas, incorporate festive elements like ornaments or snowflakes.

In-app graphics

If your app has in-app graphics or banners, use them to further emphasize the seasonal keywords and offers. This provides a cohesive user experience.

By aligning your chosen keywords with your app’s creatives, you create a consistent and compelling message that resonates with potential users. This not only enhances discoverability but also increases the likelihood of users choosing your app for their holiday shopping needs. Remember that your ASO strategy should be dynamic, and you can adjust it as the holiday season progresses to optimize performance based on real-time data and trends.

Study the competition

Analyzing your competition can provide inspiration for adjusting your marketing and ASO strategies. Retailers should differentiate themselves from their competitors by emphasizing unique products and promotions, ensuring that their app stands out. Additionally, a quality competitive analysis can also provide the foundation for testing new strategies that could potentially aid your own ASO efforts.

Engage in mobile A/B testing

A/B testing allows continuous optimization of acquisition performance. Changes should be made incrementally, and results should be monitored to identify what resonates with users. Stay attuned to changes in the market and consumer behavior, as they can influence performance.

Elements in which major shopping apps test include:

  • Quantifying deals & discounts
  • Seasonal products (apparel, TV deals)
  • Wishlist
  • Package Tracking
  • Emphasizing top-selling products

A/B testing tools like Splitcube can help make this easier. By A/B testing, you unlock an understanding of user preferences. Leverage these learnings to build out the best converting set of creatives for an exceptionally high-traffic time period.

Read more about how the right ASO tools can help you adapt your ASO strategy in time for the holiday season here.

Leveraging new app store features for holiday promotion

Incorporating the latest features within the App Store and Play Store can enhance your app’s presence and impact during the holiday season. One such powerful feature is in-app events, which serves as an excellent tool to highlight promotions and generate excitement for upcoming sales. These features provide valuable opportunities for seasonal publicity as mobile shopping continues to surge in popularity.

Why in-app events matter

Apple’s in-app events, in particular, are an indispensable resource for developers seeking to draw attention to their holiday promotions. It should be harnessed to keep existing users informed about special promotions within your app and to highlight major updates related to the holiday season.

Consider this scenario: Users are actively searching for this year’s top holiday shopping apps, and they come across your app in search results. However, some of these users may have previously installed your app. To engage these users effectively, it’s crucial to utilize in-app events.

The power of in-app events

In-app events offer a dynamic way to highlight time-sensitive changes and updates to your app that can capture user interest in a fresh and compelling manner. They enable you to deliver pertinent information to your users regarding holiday-specific offers, discounts, and highlights.

While A/B testing creatives, using a Product Page Optimization (PPO) approach is instrumental in attracting new users who have never installed your app, in-app events serve a distinct purpose for apps with a history of several holiday seasons. These events become the key to engaging users who are already familiar with your app and have it installed.

Unlocking new engagement opportunities

By implementing in-app events, you open up novel avenues for engaging users during the holiday season. However, the true potential of in-app events lies in their seamless integration with your overall App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy. By aligning these events with the core elements of your ASO approach, you elevate the prospects of success.

A well-executed in-app event campaign caters to users at every stage of their engagement journey. Whether they are new users discovering your app for the first time, loyal customers, or those who engaged with your app during previous holiday seasons, in-app events provide a versatile mechanism to enhance your app’s visibility, drive user engagement, and boost conversions.

Utilizing paid campaigns

As the holiday season approaches, the competitive landscape in the app stores becomes more intense than ever. This is where paid campaigns play a pivotal role in helping your app stand out and shine brightly among competitors.

The holiday season is a prime time for both online and offline retailers. With countless apps vying for user attention and dollars, it’s crucial to employ strategies that outshine your competitors. Paid campaigns provide you with the means to do just that. By bidding on high-volume, relevant keywords specific to the shopping season, you ensure that your app remains visible and prominently placed in search results. This enhanced visibility is not just about driving installs but also reinforcing your brand’s presence in the minds of potential shoppers.

Paid campaigns come in various forms, offering flexibility and choice based on your app’s unique characteristics and target audience. For iOS apps, Apple Search Ads offers a direct way to feature your app at the top of search results on the App Store, incorporating your app’s existing metadata. Similarly, for Android apps, Google App Install Campaigns offer a similar approach within the Google Play Store.

Paid campaigns, when executed strategically, can significantly influence your App Store Optimization efforts on both platforms by sending positive conversion signals to the stores which can boost your keyword rankings.

Overall, paid campaigns are not just about short-term gains but also about long-term benefits. When executed strategically and in synergy with your ASO strategy, they can create a powerful and lasting impact.

Learn more about how you can leverage Apple’s in-app events here.

Harnessing in-app notifications for holiday success

In the competitive realm of holiday shopping, in-app notifications are a potent tool for engaging users and driving them towards promotions and deals within your app. These notifications are not just about delivering information; they play a pivotal role in enhancing the user experience and expediting purchasing decisions.

Enhancing user engagement

In-app notifications offer a direct line of communication with your app’s user base. During the holiday season, consumers are seeking the best deals and offers. Well-crafted notifications that highlight promotions, discounts, and seasonal products serve as a compelling call to action. They not only inform users but also engage them, piquing their interest and curiosity.

Precision in targeting

To maximize the impact of in-app notifications, precision in targeting is essential. Understanding your user segments and their preferences is crucial. Solutions like Airship’s App Experience platform provide the capability to send notifications to your entire user base or specific segments. This segmentation allows you to tailor notifications to different user groups, ensuring that the content is highly relevant to each segment.

A/B Testing for optimization

A/B testing is a valuable practice to fine-tune your in-app notification strategy. By testing different messaging, positions, or timing of notifications, you can gain insights into what triggers user engagement most effectively. During the holiday season, user behavior and preferences shift rapidly, and A/B testing allows you to adapt to these changes in real time. It’s a dynamic strategy that helps capture users’ attention precisely when they are most receptive.

Seasonal app marketing: Get started

Remember, the App Store and Google Play are not just vending machines for apps – they are a channel where 4-5 Billion people discover new apps and content every month. This is the most important place for marketers to put their best foot forward, particularly for the holiday season. Failure to consider these factors is like building a house with no foundation, which during the holiday season can get extremely expensive given the competitive advertising landscape.

Learn more about how you can harness the power of seasonal app store marketing with the ASO experts at Gummicube today!