# ASO Monthly #22 February 2018: New Play Store Beta Search Interface, Keyword Dances Happening…

- Link: https://phiture.com/asostack/aso-monthly-22-february-2018-new-play-store-beta-search-interface-keyword-dances-happening-11846e4acf3e/
- Published: 2018-03-01T16:06:45+01:00
- Author: Oksana Iarosevych

#### … and Apple restricts emoji use

### ⌊ASO Monthly #22 February 2018- New Play Store Beta Search Interface, Keyword Dances Happening… -min⌉⌊ASO Monthly #22 February 2018- New Play Store Beta Search Interface, Keyword Dances Happening… -min⌉

### **February 2 — Search Ads Basic go global this fall**

Good news! Apple Search Ads Basic will be expanded globally, as informed by Apple.
Those running their campaigns in the Search Ads Basic console can expand their target
markets.

The ASO industry could benefit if Search Ads Advanced also extends the geo and language
ranges and keywords’ search popularity score is provided in more languages.

⌊E-mail from Apple via Ilya Kukharev (via ASO Stack Slack)⌉⌊E-mail from Apple via
Ilya Kukharev (via ASO Stack Slack)⌉

_E-mail from Apple via Ilya Kukharev (via [ASO Stack Slack](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f))_

### **February 2 — App Store: Emojis use restricted**

Multiple cases of apps being rejected by Apple have been reported recently. The 
Apple review team now rejects apps using emojis in their app or marketing materials,
anywhere other than while used with the keyboard. App developers face the choice
of using custom illustrations instead of Apples’s emojis or remove them completely
from the app _and_ store assets.

⌊tweet by Sam Eckert⌉⌊tweet by Sam Eckert⌉

_tweet by [Sam Eckert](https://twitter.com/Sam0711er/status/958793819495059460)_

When rejecting the apps, Apple review team refers to the Point 5.2.5 from App Store
Review Guidelines:

_Apple Products: Don’t create an app that appears confusingly similar to…apps and
extensions, including third party keyboards and Sticker packs, may not include Apple
emoji._

### **February 6 — Search Ads Basic e-mail mess**

⌊via Steve Troughton-Smith‏⌉⌊via Steve Troughton-Smith‏⌉

_via [Steve Troughton-Smith‏](https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/960828930939813888)_

On February 6, Search Ads users received an email from Apple with other developers’
campaigns results for January. The information provided included app name, number
of installs, average CPI and spend. There is no information on how many emails were
sent out in error and on how many apps.

### **February 20 — App Store: Increased number of screenshots on Product Page**

Apple [increased](https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=02212018a) the number of 
screenshots on the product page to 10 images. This change should not have a crucial
impact for most app developers, as only about 4% of users currently scroll through
all 5 screenshots in the gallery as [reported](https://www.storemaven.com/app-store-increased-screenshot-limit-mean-aso-strategy/)
by StoreMaven. This means that only a fraction of these actually scroll through 
the 10th screenshot. However, according to StoreMaven, visitors do tend to swipe
through the gallery more when they are checking out a recently launched or updated
app.

⌊screenshot of the updated guidelines (iTunes Console)⌉⌊screenshot of the updated
guidelines (iTunes Console)⌉

_screenshot of the updated guidelines (iTunes Console)_

In the meantime, Google Play continues rolling out a new search result interface
to more Play Store visitors. Having searched for a search term, a user will see 
a list of app cards, each including a short description and up to 6 screenshots,
along with the total number of downloads and reviews (screen left). Each of the 
elements newly shown in the search will be gaining more weight in terms of its impact
on conversion. Also the prominent install button, might increase the number of installs
while driving a lower number of Store Listing Visitors to your page.

⌊via Simon Oboler (ASO Stack Slack channel)⌉⌊via Simon Oboler (ASO Stack Slack channel)⌉

_via Simon Oboler ([ASO Stack Slack channel](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f))_

On the second screen an upsetting trend for acquiring the organic users can be spotted,
as now organic content is one scroll away, leaving the entire first Search result
screen to keyword suggestions, ad tile and app recommendation icons.

### **February 23 — Google Play Developer Console news**

Google Plays makes recently released introductory pricing periods flexible. The 
introductory price period is now not bound to the general applications billing cycle
and can be set separately.

### **February 23 — Stories show up in search in extended geos**

⌊classifieds⌉⌊classifieds⌉Apple recently started showing featuring stories in the
search in the US. Similar search results have been spotted by ASO Slack members 
in other locales too (George Natsvlishvili, [ASO Stack Slack channel](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f)).

If an app is featured as App of the Day, the story will appear in the search for
your brand keyword and for search terms related to any other apps in story.

This continues the trend of content curated by Apple getting more exposure in the
store.

### **February 23 — Google Play and App Store keyword dances**

February was an unstable month for Google Play and App Store keyword rankings. Numerous
cases of apps massively dropping in category positions and in targeted keywords 
have been reported recently in [ASO Slack group](https://asostack.com/aso-stack-slack-group-3757fc2aff0f).
First concerns were raised starting from February 14. Keyword dances keep happening,
however, no official change of Store algorithms has been announced.

 

⌊keyword changes via Peter Fodor⌉⌊keyword changes via Peter Fodor⌉

_keyword changes via [Peter Fodor](https://twitter.com/petrfodor)_

### **February 27 — Mobile Benchmarks Report by Adjust**

Adjust released their report with mobile benchmarks for 2018, showing retention 
efficiency breakdown via OS, network country etc along with industry trends. A few
highlights from the Adjust report:

_Retention per OS_: According to Adjust data, per device, iOS consistently retained
more users than Android in 2017 with a slight difference of 1–2%.

⌊User retention per OS (Adjust 2018 benchmark report)⌉⌊User retention per OS (Adjust
2018 benchmark report)⌉

_User retention per OS ([Adjust 2018 benchmark report](https://www.adjust.com/resources/insights/mobile-benchmarks-report-2018/))_

_Retention per country_: While Japanese users retain best at 30% retention at the
beginning, China sees the lowest retention rates, with only 7% of users staying 
with an app by day seven.

_Retention per network_: Google leads, Twitter sits in the middle, with slightly
more engagement than Facebook.

The full report can be downloaded [here](https://www.adjust.com/resources/insights/mobile-benchmarks-report-2018/).

#### **TheTool releases downloads via keywords**

Google Play’s beta feature of tracking app downloads via keywords has been a real
[earthquake](https://asostack.com/aso-earthquake-google-play-update-reveals-keyword-installs-to-developers-f5cf2e384eb3)
for the ASO world last month, being available for a number of developers with beta
access. Now, ASO intelligence tool TheTool were able to make this [feature](https://thetool.io/2018/google-play-installs-keyword)
available. Direct keyword insight from Google Play can be a game changer when defining
an app’s keyword strategy.

#### **Interesting blog posts:**

 1. iOS 11 — Subtitle and Promotional Text Fields Usage Breakdown: [https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/infographic-ios-11-subtitle-and-promotional-text-fields-usage-breakdown](https://www.apptweak.com/aso-blog/infographic-ios-11-subtitle-and-promotional-text-fields-usage-breakdown)
 2. Tips on video A/B testing by Apptamin: [https://www.apptamin.com/blog/google-experiments-impact-video/](https://www.apptamin.com/blog/google-experiments-impact-video/)
 3. How users search for apps in the App Store — analyzing search queries from autocomplete:
    
    [https://asostack.com/how-do-users-search-for-apps-5a0d3257803f](https://asostack.com/how-do-users-search-for-apps-5a0d3257803f)
 4. The state of subscriptions on the App Store [https://blog.chartmogul.com/state-of-subscriptions-app-store/](https://blog.chartmogul.com/state-of-subscriptions-app-store/)
 5. How Much Your App Ratings & Reviews Affect Your Conversion Rate[: https://blog.usejournal.com/how-much-your-app-ratings-reviews-affect-your-conversion-rate-4dfa458c1c2e](https://blog.usejournal.com/how-much-your-app-ratings-reviews-affect-your-conversion-rate-4dfa458c1c2e)
 6. The Ultimate Guide To Mobile In-App Purchases Optimization by InstaBug: [https://blog.instabug.com/2018/01/mobile-in-app-purchases/](https://blog.instabug.com/2018/01/mobile-in-app-purchases/)
 7. Conferences for Mobile Marketers in 2018: , See you there!

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

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#### **Previous ASO Monthly editions:**

 * [January 2018](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-21-january-2017-installs-via-keywords-on-google-play-new-design-of-app-store-web-6c8acb081059):
   Installs via Keywords on Google Play, new design of App Store web.
 * [December 2017](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-20-december-2017-search-ads-basic-introductory-pricing-and-pre-orders-on-app-store-4081941ab0ff):
   Search Ads Basic, Introductory pricing and pre-orders on App Store etc.
 * [November 2017](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-19-november-2017-black-friday-in-the-stores-apk-size-vs-d17cb53dcd29):
   Black Friday in the Stores, APK size vs. Play Store conversion rate
 * [October 2017](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-18-october-2017-646f651afad8):
   New Search Ads countries, Play Store installs per search term coming (?)
 * [September 2017](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-17-september-2017-6b1c8a8e1f21):
   The launch of the ASO book, the launch of iOS 11…
 * [August 2017](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-16-august-2017-f123461eb6): UACs,
   video previews, subtitle rankings…
 * [July 2017:](https://asostack.com/aso-monthly-15-july-algorithm-changes-and-more-ios-11-news-a2156d7a7fbd)
   Algorithm changes and more iOS 11 news…