479% more organic downloads for an accounting software app in 90 days

• +479%organic downloads from the app store
• 90 daysfrom the start of the work to the result

The challenge

The app helps small business owners keep their accounts on a phone. It worked well, but people who searched the app store for an accounting or bookkeeping app did not see it. Five things held it back.

• The listing used the wrong wordsThe app title and short description did not contain the words shop owners type when they look for an accounting app, so the app store had no reason to show it.
• Customers search in Bangla and in EnglishSmall business owners search in Bangla, in English and in Bangla written with English letters. The listing covered only one of these.
• Screenshots did not explain the appIn an app store most people decide from the first two screenshots. The screenshots showed screens of the app without saying what problem each one solves.
• Few ratings and reviewsRatings affect both where an app ranks and whether people install it. The app had few reviews, and the reviews it had were not answered.
• Larger apps in the same categoryBetter-known apps with bigger budgets held the top places for the broadest searches.

What we did, step by step

1. Researched how people search the app storeWe listed the searches small business owners use for accounting and bookkeeping apps, in Bangla and in English, and how hard each one is to rank for.Why it matters: App store search works on words, as Google does. Guessing them wastes the small space a listing has.
2. Rewrote the title and short descriptionThe most important searches went into the app title and short description, the two places the app store weighs most.Why it matters: The title and short description are the first words the store reads and the first words a visitor sees.
3. Rewrote the full descriptionA clear description of what the app does and who it is for, using the remaining searches in natural sentences.Why it matters: The description helps the store understand the app, and helps a visitor decide to install it.
4. Added a Bangla listingA full store listing in Bangla, so the app can appear for Bangla searches and reads naturally to the people it is made for.Why it matters: A listing in the user’s own language is easier to find and easier to trust.
5. Redesigned the screenshotsEach screenshot now carries one short line that names a benefit, with the strongest benefit first.Why it matters: When more visitors install, the same number of store visits brings more downloads.
6. Chose searches a smaller app can winWork started with specific searches where the app could reach the top, before going after the broadest category searches.Why it matters: Installs and ratings earned from specific searches make the app stronger for the broad ones.
7. Built up ratings and answered reviewsUsers are asked for a rating at a good moment inside the app, and every review gets an answer.Why it matters: A new visitor reads the rating first. Answered reviews show that someone stands behind the app.
8. Measured in the app store console and adjustedStore visits, installs and search terms were checked regularly, and the listing was changed again based on what worked.Why it matters: A store listing can be changed and compared. Each change shows which words and images bring installs.

The result

In 90 days, organic downloads from the app store grew 479%.

How we measured this

• The growth figure compares the starting level with the result. It comes from our project records.
• Month-by-month figures are not shown for this project, so the chart has two points only.
• The chart is an index. The starting level is 100. An index of 200 means twice the starting level.
• Only organic results are counted. Paid advertising is not included.

Check this on your own website

• Search the app store for three phrases your customers would use, and note where your app appears for each one.
• Show your first two screenshots to someone who has never seen the app, and ask what the app does.
• Read your last ten reviews and count how many have a reply.

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What you can take from this

• An app store is a search engine. Put the words your customers type into the app title and short description.
• Write the store listing in the language your customers search in. For Bangladesh that usually means Bangla as well as English.
• Screenshots are your sales page. Say what each screen does for the user, not what it is called.

Results differ from one website to another. This page describes one project and is not a promise of the same result.

Client name withheld at the client's request. Figure from project records.

Maqsood RahmanFounder and CEO, SEO Agency Inc. 25 years in search. The agency has worked since 2018 from Dhaka and New York, for more than 250 SEO clients. He led this project. About the agency