In the ASO Monthly-series by ASO Consultancy Phiture, 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.
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This update was prepared by Mathew Parry, an ASO Consultant at Phiture.
2nd January — iOS Algorithm bug fixed
Flagged by Herman Jakobi and multiple other members of the ASO Stack Slack, a drastic change in ranking affected all apps in multiple locales from the 31st December — 8th January.
The impact caused positive/negative keyword rankings for apps, once this had been reverted it took some days to see keyword rankings climb back to normal. The issue was noticed using AppTweaks algorithm change detector.
Screenshot provided by Mithun Jhawar displaying algorithm changes.
3rd January — iOS Screenshot Requirements from March onward
ASO Stack Slack member, Michael Mroz reminded us that we need to all be prepared for the new compulsory requirements that Apple app submissions will have once February is over.
“Starting March 2019, all app submissions for iPhone or iPad, including universal apps, will require screenshots for iPhone XS Max or the 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation).”
iOS Developer Submissions Page
4th January — English Australia being indexed for other App Store territories
Reported as being fixed by Ilia K. on Jan 5th, however throughout the month we also see this being impacted multiple times. As it stands, English Australia is not indexed for other App Store territories.
8th January — New animation A/B test spotted in the iOS Today tab
As spotted by Aude Boscher — The cards on the Today tab animate as you scroll. In the screenshots below you can see that as you scroll past half of the card, the icon/title/subtitle/get button to transform into a CTA.
This test, however, doesn’t revert back to the original card image with the “Get” button when you scroll back over it.
Screenshot provided by Aude Boscher: Showing possible tests in the Today Tab
9th January — Is the iOS search autocomplete getting smarter?
It was brought to our attention by Francesco Zucchetta that the autocomplete for semantic searches has started to provide some interesting matches! See two examples below:
15th January — Getting your apps ready for Androids 64-bit requirement!
Starting from 1st August 2019 it will become a requirement for all new apps and app updates that include native code to provide a 64-bit version as well as the standard 32-bit. This is being rolled out to eventually stop serving all versions but 64-bit by 2021, but Google is on hand to give you the advice to prepare for the requirement.
While this change is only known to affect visibility by 2021, it is likely that the Play Store will increasingly favor 64-bit versions in the recommended sections and search results.
24th January — New metrics on Google Play Experiments
Catherine Sibirko from the ASO Stack Slack flagged that Google had brought another feature to kick off 2019! They graced us with new hourly metrics for play store experiments, applicable to all experiments started after January 15th with the option of ‘First-time installers’ or ‘Retained installers (1-day)’. This should ultimately speed up experiments, and remove the dreaded 3-day wait to see first results.
Not only did the metrics receive an update — as noticed by myself — a new “Notifications” tab has appeared in store listing experiments. This allows you to receive an email or in-browser notification when your experiment has reached significance.
I’m hoping my previous article teaching you to build a Store Listing Experiment Slack Bot is what prompted them to make this update.
Looking for which Mobile Growth events are on this year? We have published a list of major Mobile Conferences and Events in 2019 — check it out here!
Tool Updates
- ASO Giraffe — A new tool to run ASO experiments
- AppTweak — Discover the Most Searched App Store Keywords of 2018
- StoreMaven — Updated ASO Tool for Chrome
Interesting Reads
- Apple Planning Netflix for Games
- Apple announces ‘record-breaking’ App Store holiday revenue, $322 million earned on New Year’s Day
- Exploring users’ Natural Usage Habits
- New Year Resolutions in Health & Fitness Apps
- The real trends and habits of mobile app users
- The State of Mobile in 2019 — The Most Important Trends to Know
Thanks, that’s it from us for January!
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