App Store Optimization Services That Drive Installs

What App Store Optimization Services Cover

App store optimization, usually shortened to ASO, is the work of making your app rank higher in App Store and Google Play search results and convert more of the people who land on your listing into installs. It is for any team with a live app, or an app close to launch, that is not getting found by the people searching for what it does. This is not paid advertising. It is the organic side of app growth, and it compounds over time in a way ad spend does not.

If you already have an app and your install numbers are flat despite decent reviews, ASO is usually the missing piece. If you are about to launch, ASO decisions made before submission (your app name, your first screenshot, your category) are far cheaper to get right than to fix six months later after your keyword rankings have settled.

Who This Service Is For

• Startups launching a first app who need the listing built correctly from day one, before spending on ads.
• SaaS and subscription apps where install-to-trial conversion on the store page directly affects revenue.
• SMEs with an existing app whose downloads have plateaued or declined after a competitor update.
• Businesses running paid app install campaigns who are paying for traffic that then bounces off a weak listing.

If your problem is that the app itself has bugs, missing features, or a broken onboarding flow, ASO will not fix that. It optimizes discovery and first impression, not the product underneath it. We say that upfront because plenty of agencies will happily sell ASO to a team whose real problem is retention.

What You Get: Deliverables and Scope

A full ASO engagement is not just picking better keywords. It is a set of connected pieces that each move a different lever in the store algorithm and the human decision to tap "Get" or "Install."

Included in a standard engagement:

• Keyword research specific to App Store and Google Play search behavior, not generic SEO keyword tools repurposed for apps
• Competitor listing audits, including their keyword targets, update cadence, and screenshot structure
• App title, subtitle, and short description copy tuned for both algorithms
• Long description writing (Google Play weighs this more heavily than Apple does)
• Screenshot and preview video concept and design direction, built to explain the app in the first two frames
• Icon testing recommendations, since the icon is often the single biggest lever on tap-through rate
• Category and localization strategy for markets where you have real demand
• A/B testing setup using Google Play's native experiments, or third-party tools for iOS
• Monthly ranking and conversion rate reporting against a defined keyword set

Usually not included, and worth asking about separately:

• Paid user acquisition and ad creative (this is a different discipline, though related, and something our digital marketing team handles)
• App development, bug fixes, or feature builds
• Review response management at scale (some agencies bolt this on; we scope it separately if a client wants it)
• Video production beyond the concept and storyboard stage

Our own engineering team's take: the single most under-used lever in ASO is the icon. We have seen tap-through rate move by a noticeable margin from an icon change alone, with zero keyword or copy changes, because the icon is the first and sometimes only thing a user judges before deciding to read further.

How the Engagement Runs

ASO is not a one-time setup. The store algorithms reward accounts that keep testing and updating, so the engagement is structured as an initial build followed by an ongoing cycle.

1. Discovery (week 1). We review your current listing, pull your existing keyword rankings and conversion data if you have any, and audit three to five direct competitors.
2. Research and strategy (weeks 1 to 2). We build your keyword map, decide category and localization priorities, and set the goals we are tracking against, whether that is impressions, install rate, or keyword position.
3. Build (weeks 2 to 4). Copy, screenshot design, and video concepts get produced and reviewed with you before anything goes live.
4. Launch and test (week 4 onward). New listing elements go live, A/B tests start running on screenshots and icons where the platform allows it.
5. Ongoing optimization (monthly). We report on rankings and conversion, roll winning test variants into the live listing, and adjust keyword targets as competitors shift.

You get a single point of contact for the engagement, usually a strategist who pulls in a designer and copywriter as needed rather than handing you off between departments. Most clients get on a short call every two weeks during the first three months, then move to monthly once the listing has stabilized.

What It Costs and What Moves the Number

ASO pricing depends on how many platforms you are optimizing for, how many markets you are localizing into, and whether you need original screenshot and video design or just copy and keyword work.

A realistic one-time listing build, covering keyword research, title and description copy, and a set of screenshot design concepts for a single app on one platform, runs $450 to $900. That reflects roughly 30 to 60 hours of combined strategist, copywriter, and designer time on a project of that scope.

Add a second platform (both iOS and Google Play instead of one), and you are looking at $700 to $1,400 for the initial build, since keyword behavior and asset requirements differ enough between the two stores that they are not a copy-paste job.

Ongoing monthly optimization, including A/B testing, ranking reports, and iterative copy or screenshot updates, typically runs $300 to $700 per month, scaled to how actively you want testing running and how many markets you are tracking.

Video preview production, if you want more than a storyboard and concept, is usually quoted separately since it depends heavily on animation complexity or whether you are filming live footage.

A single localized market added to an existing listing typically costs $150 to $350, far less than a full rebuild, because the keyword research and screenshot structure are already done. The expensive part is the first market. Every one after that is cheaper.

How to Judge Any ASO Provider

Plenty of freelancers and agencies sell ASO as a keyword-stuffing service. That is outdated and, on the App Store especially, can flag your listing for review. Ask any provider these questions before signing anything, including us:

• Do you optimize for conversion rate, or only for keyword rank? Rank without conversion is a vanity metric. A listing can rank first for a term and still convert at half the rate of a competitor ranking third.
• What is your A/B testing process, and on which platform's native tools? Google Play supports store listing experiments natively. iOS testing requires third-party tools or App Store product page optimization inside App Store Connect. If a provider cannot name the tool, be cautious.
• Can you show real before-and-after ranking or conversion data from past work? Ask for the specific keyword position or conversion rate movement, not a vague claim of "improved visibility."
• How do you handle keyword research differently for App Store versus Google Play? The two algorithms weigh different signals. Apple leans more on the title and keyword field; Google leans more on the long description and backlink-style signals. A provider treating both the same has not done the work.
• What happens if my app gets a major update or redesign mid-engagement? Your answer should include a plan to re-audit, not a promise that nothing changes.
• Is paid install traffic part of your recommendation, and is that person the same team doing my organic ASO? Mixing incentives here can lead to advice that favors ad spend over organic fixes.

A provider who cannot answer the conversion-versus-rank question clearly is optimizing for the wrong thing.

What Good ASO Actually Looks Like in Practice

The App Store and Google Play both publish their own guidance on how ranking and discovery work, and Apple's own developer documentation is explicit that the app name, subtitle, and keyword field are the primary text signals it indexes for search, while user engagement metrics like retention and ratings also factor into ranking. That means copy work and keyword targeting only get you into the search results. What happens after the tap, meaning your conversion rate, your ratings, and your retention, feeds back into how well you keep ranking over time. This is why an ASO engagement that only does keyword research and stops there tends to plateau after the first month or two.

A comparable pattern shows up when apps add AI-driven features and need that capability reflected honestly in their listing copy and screenshots. If your app includes a chat or assistant feature built on a language model, our team handling ChatGPT integration work can also make sure your store listing accurately represents what the feature does, since overselling an AI feature in your screenshots is a fast way to earn a wave of one-star reviews.

Getting Started With Dignizant

We run ASO as its own scoped engagement, separate from app development, so you are not paying for services you do not need. If you already have an app live and just need the listing fixed, we start with the discovery audit and can usually turn around a keyword and competitor report within the first week. If you are pre-launch, we build the listing alongside your final development sprints so it is ready the day you submit for review.

Before we start any engagement, review our terms of engagement and our privacy policy covering how we handle your app data and analytics access during the audit.

Ready to Fix Your App's Listing

If your app is getting impressions but not installs, or ranking for the wrong keywords entirely, the fix is usually smaller than a full rebuild. Reach out to Dignizant Technologies LLP with a link to your current listing and we will tell you within the first call whether this is a copy problem, a visual problem, or a keyword targeting problem, before you spend a dollar on the fix.

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