# ASO Monthly #15 July: Algorithm Changes & More iOS 11 News

- Link: https://phiture.com/asostack/aso-monthly-15-july-algorithm-changes-and-more-ios-11-news-a2156d7a7fbd/
- Published: 2017-08-01T11:43:11+01:00
- Author: Pablo Penny

#### .. And Phiture are hiring ASO experts 🙂

![ASO Monthly #15 July- Algorithm Changes & More iOS 11 News -min](https://phiture.
com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ASO-Monthly-15-July-Algorithm-Changes-More-iOS-11-
News-min-1024x561.jpeg)

In the [ASO Monthly-series](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/) 
we reflect on the previous month and shed a light on trends in app store optimization,
algorithm changes, insights in conversion rate optimization and tool updates.

### **App Store Optimization News from July 2017**

_We’re currently _[_looking for people_](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uKYqGTjAuj5LCfYfGFEuxx3_5nGlC3O_diMMxl_m_9g/edit)_
with _**_ASO expertise_**_ to _**_join the awesome Phiture_**_ team in Berlin. If
you’re interested, email me at _**_jobs@phiture.com_**

#### **1 July**

Apple introduced category cards in the beta of the “All-New App Store” end of June
with some placeholder images. End of July it seems to move more to what the developer
cards also look like: **a grid with app icon tiles**, which will likely include 
the top apps of the category.

⌊health and fitness category card on the left and removed on the right -min⌉⌊health
and fitness category card on the left and removed on the right -min⌉

_New iOS 11 category card on the left (early July), removed on the right (late July)_

#### **4 July**

Apple now seems to show a double exclamation mark for the special “!!” symbol in
app titles. On iOS 10.3 the normal exclamation marks still display, but on iOS 11
it has been replaced for an emoji. Including other types of emojis is still not 
possible. Probably one should **not** read into this that **emoji titles** will 
be accepted in iOS 11 (which is the case on Google Play), but rather that this one
has slipped through the cracks.

⌊emojis in countdown app-min⌉⌊emojis in countdown app-min⌉

_Emojis in Countdown app_

#### **6 July**

An algorithm update caused a **big shift in App Store keyword rankings** as reported
first by [Osman F. Kucukerdem](https://twitter.com/osmanfaruk). Both branded and
non-branded keywords moved massively in rankings. According to mobile app agency
[Incipia](http://incipia.co/post/mobile-app-marketing-industry-updates/potential-app-store-keyword-algorithm-update-7-6-17/)
Apple likely changed its algorithmic understanding of keyword relevance. This update
is most likely related to the upcoming iOS 11 update.

⌊keywords⌉⌊keywords⌉

#### **11 July**

As shown by [Guillardo](https://twitter.com/Apps_and_downs), you can now find and
install apps straight from a Google search using **generic keywords**. Another tiny
step moving towards improving the UX flow of discovering apps outside of the Play
Store, making it more important to also take SEO factors into account when drafting
your Play Store metadata.

⌊you can now find and install apps straight from a google search using generic keywords-
min⌉⌊you can now find and install apps straight from a google search using generic
keywords-min⌉

#### **15 July**

Gabe Kwakyi from [Incipia](http://incipia.co/) showed on the [ASO Stack Slack](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f)
channel that some featured apps will get a **feature-specific videos** which differ
from the regular iOS 11 video previews and will autoplay on mute in the new Today,
Games and Apps sections.

⌊Video of a featured game app-min⌉⌊Video of a featured game app-min⌉

_Video of a featured game app (via [Gabe Kwakyi](http://incipia.co/))_

#### **18 July**

**In-App Purchases now show up in the iOS11** App Store search as cards on the keywords
that the IAP has in their name. Apps can include up to 20 IAPs, each with an individual
name, description and icon. Keyword ranking improvements have already been reported
for IAP names by [Ido Schoonen](https://twitter.com/ASOptimization) on the [ASO Stack](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f)
Slack channel. Considering relevant keywords for IAP titles is now essential for
showing up in the search as well as making sure the icons resonate with users and
and the brands.

⌊IAPs in the app store search -min⌉⌊IAPs in the app store search -min⌉

_IAPs in the App Store search (via [Thomasbcn](https://twitter.com/Thomasbcn))_

#### **19 July**

Google has redesigned its [Editor’s Choice page](https://www.blog.google/products/google-play/find-great-apps-and-games-google-play-editors-choice-update/).
The page now makes it easier for users to find apps by as they are provided recommendations
and curated lists. The lists will allow exploring game genres such as top racing
games and app categories with themes such and best fitness apps. The pages are currently
live on mobile and desktop in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea,
and the U.S.with more countries to come soon.

⌊Google becoming more editorial in their new editors choice lists -min⌉⌊Google becoming
more editorial in their new editors choice lists -min⌉

_Google becoming more editorial in their new editors choice lists_

#### **20 July**

It’s been buzzing for a while that Play Store metadata from Google Play **Store 
Listing Experiments** are indexed. July 20 this hack has been published in the ASO
slack by [Lukas Ballé](https://medium.com/u/a884ed9c7e13?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------)(
confirmed by [Thomas Petit](https://twitter.com/Thomasbcn)) who mentioned that while
testing short descriptions he noticed his app started ranking for the keywords in
the variants in the Play Store A/B test.

There are two more peculiarities about this:

 1. It seems that you can get away with competitor keywords that would normally get
    caught by Google algorithmically if inserted in the default metadata
 2. You can distribute the test to only 0.1% of your audience.

![new experiment ](https://phiture.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/new-experiment-
min.png)

We’re hoping that Google will soon start cracking down on this to make it a level
playing field. It’s a mystery as to why that metadata should be taken into account
in the first place, but if it does, the same rules as for the main store listing
should apply.

#### **27 July**

ASO tool [AppTweak](http://apptweak.com/) has been busy releasing interesting and
useful features for keyword optimization. Earlier in the month a [Search Ads Intelligence feature](https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/search-ads-intelligence-top-bidding-keywords-and-top-bidding-apps)
was added displaying the top keywords that competitors paid for through search ads.
An overview of which apps are bidding on specific keywords was also been provided.
Another new feature includes a summary of “top growth” keywords as well as changes
in trends.

⌊New paid keywords and top growth tabs-min⌉⌊New paid keywords and top growth tabs-
min⌉

_New paid keywords and top growth tabs ([AppTweak](https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/search-ads-intelligence-top-bidding-keywords-and-top-bidding-apps))_

[End of July](https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/app-description-keyword-density)
AppTweak added a new app description keyword density feature that provides a list
of most repeated keywords in the app description, along with a new keyword picking
tool that now includes shared keywords that competitors also rank for.

⌊Keyword density feature on AppTweak-min⌉⌊Keyword density feature on AppTweak-min⌉

_Keyword density feature on [AppTweak](https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/app-description-keyword-density)_

#### **Further interesting blog posts on ASO that appeared last month:**

 * [The massive impact of iOS11 on App Store featuring](http://sumo.ly/Dzmq) ([Peter Fodor](https://medium.com/u/bfa77e4a4d3b?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 * [How to do research for your App Store A/B tests?](http://incipia.co/post/app-marketing/how-to-do-research-for-your-app-store-optimization-ab-tests/)(
   [Gabe Kwakyi](https://medium.com/u/6827ce31c75c?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 * [7 Lessons from Top 100 Apps: What Does an ASO Optimized App Look Like?](https://thetool.io/2017/aso-lessons-from-top-apps)(
   Ashley Sefferman from [Apptentive](https://medium.com/u/f68e43b48308?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 * [KPIs for App Store Optimization: What Mobile App Metrics to Track?](https://splitmetrics.com/blog/mobile-app-metrics-aso/)(
   [Ekaterina Zolotareva](https://medium.com/u/ed58110bb8b6?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))

#### **Thanks, that’s it from us for July!**

**If you like the ASO Monthly series, please click the 💚 button below. **Also make
sure to follow the [**ASO Monthly**-series](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/)
or sign up to the left so that you’re the first to hear when the next edition comes
out.

By the way, have you signed up for our upcoming [**ASO eBook**](https://asostack.com/aso-ebook-7650c6323ceb)?

#### **Other ASO Monthly editions:**

 1.  [**June 2017:**](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-wwdc-ios11-june-2017-e400957ac81)
     A whole new game: renewed iOS 11 App Store… (by [Luca](https://medium.com/u/e43f973d7f55?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 2.  [**May 2017:**](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-13-may-2017-671547554d01) App
     Store metrics, Google I/O Instant Apps and more…
 3.  [**April 2017:**](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-12-april-2017-4f8ed256cf36)
     Apple search ads, botnet attacks and more…
 4.  [**March 2017:**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-11-march-2017-c3c0a7611877)
     Replying to reviews in iOS 10.3 and more…
 5.  [**February 2017**](https://medium.com/p/a6b695b8e374/edit)**: **Play Store starts
     using retention for keyword rankings
 6.  [**January 2017**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-9-january-2017-56a5f7e197ac#.ldwo829rl):
     In-App ratings in iOS 10.3 and more
 7.  [**December 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-8-december-2016-91bd70d4f696#.p62w40giu):
     Priori Data launches Keyword Tool …
 8.  [**November 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-7-november-2016-a16cf91d4ac6#.u1zfsdkpq):
     Google Play adds conversion rate benchmarks…
 9.  [**October 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-6-october-2016-86c51c536f3c#.cpiint2f6)**:**
     Apple launches Search Ads… (by [Maximilian](https://medium.com/u/d6241b879daa?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 10. [**September 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-5-september-2016-32e45947eac9#.6ey54n2fy)**:**
     50 character title-rule… (by [Gabe](https://medium.com/u/6827ce31c75c?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 11. [**August 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-4-august-2016-505a4f53523#.arqtgnkth)**:**
     Simplified screenshot submission… (by [Peter](https://medium.com/u/ae0050886f84?source=post_page-----a2156d7a7fbd----------------------))
 12. [**July 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-3-july-2016-171539d0abee#.46k8iu40h)**:**
     Google Play Store testing with 2nd ad…
 13. [**June 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-2-june-2016-99b191f11256#.1eob99dpb)**:**
     Announcement search ads…
 14. [**May 2016**](https://medium.com/app-store-optimization-monthly/aso-monthly-1-may-2016-kick-off-edition-81ab00984a96#.xmhrhfadq)**:**
     App Store broken + 5 localized store listing experiments…