【ASO Optimization】Three tips to help you get into the App Store’s recommended catalog!

Transcendence Tips: Robleh Jama is an experienced app developer. He has participated in developing several apps, including “WakeAlarm”, “Quick Fit” and “Nextkeyboard”, which have been successfully included in the App Store’s recommended catalog. In this article, Jama explains to us the tips for getting into the App Store's recommended catalog, of course, all of this is based on the premise that you have successfully created an excellent app.

Before reading this article, you need to make sure you have done a few things, because if these things are flawed, no matter how hard you try, you will not be recommended on the App Store. These tasks are:

1. Build a great app
2. Work hard on design
3. Make sure your app is differentiated (unique)

It’s important to remember: being featured on the App Store is a good thing, it brings you opportunities and gives your app more credibility, but it’s not the end of your job. Your marketing plan shouldn’t just be about getting recommendations; you also need to do PR and media coverage to drive traffic to your app. To make your app successful, you should start following these steps:

1. App presentation and search results on the App Store
2. App video and web page presentation effects
3. Apply cross-promotion efforts
4. Applied Public Relations Jobs
5. Paid Advertising

The following are only suggestions on "How to get recommended on the App Store".

1. Establish connections with relevant personnel

Obviously, everyone wants their app to be favored by the editors. That’s why every article about this topic will repeatedly emphasize that “you need to build a great app”. In addition, if you want to take some initiative, you can try to establish contact with relevant personnel at Apple.

For example, you can look at which apps are in the "Recommended" column on the App Store and then dig into the teams and people behind these apps, who are likely to know the managers or editorial team of the App Store. Therefore, once your app catches their attention, they may refer you to relevant personnel at Apple.

By the time you get to this stage, you should have an app that you can be proud of. Remember: Even if you have already made contact with relevant people at Apple, they are not your sales targets. What you need to do is to make them your development partners. You can invite them for coffee, or at least ask them to spare a small amount of time (15-30 minutes) for communication.

Before you make your first contact with someone, you should have some understanding of their application. You can tell them what you think of their product and whether you like their product or not (false praise will only lead to disdain). In addition, you should prepare your product in advance, at least a trial version, for the other party to try it out and provide feedback.

I once received a video that another app developer made just for me and I was really impressed. In the video, the other party not only expressed their love for the app I developed, but also introduced their own app to seek my support. I happily recommended their product to Product Hunt.

2. Think clearly about which modules Apple wants to improve

If your goals are consistent with those of Apple, I believe your app will be easily included in the recommended catalog of the App Store. Therefore, once your app is in line with Apple's future plans, you don't have to worry about the traffic of your app.

What you need to do is pay attention to the Worldwide Developers Conference held in June every year, Apple's upgrade schedule, Apple's special hardware upgrade time (September every year), and Apple's general hardware upgrade schedule. Most people look at these events and think only of their technological impact, but the substance of these events is much more profound. You need to abandon the purely technical perspective and try to look at these events from a product perspective. Only in this way can you win the favor of Apple.

For example, if you notice that Apple is trying to improve the interface of an app, you can respond to that call by updating the app. Once a considerable portion of your app's features fit with Apple's product line, they will be very happy to place your app in the recommended catalog because they hope your app can have a demonstration effect.

When iPhone 6S was launched, Apple recommended a series of applications compatible with the "3D Touch" function. Therefore, if your app can be linked to the 3D Touch feature at that time, your chances of being included in the recommended catalog will be greatly increased, because the functional fit is much more effective than just "knowing" relevant people at Apple. Apple certainly wants to sell more phones and improve the specs of the phones in the process, so if your app can help them achieve that, they'll be eager to promote your app.

Of course, I am not saying that you should blindly follow Apple's product line. You need to selectively combine it with your own products. Not everyone needs an app that works with the Apple Watch or the Apple TV, but if you can extend your app’s user experience across both of those devices, you have a definite advantage. But these cannot be forced. What you need to do is try to find a balance between product goals and commercial purposes.

At the same time, you need to remember that apps for Apple TV may not bring substantial opportunities to your company at the moment, but if your app is compatible with Apple TV, I believe Apple will pay more attention to your app. Therefore, product upgrade is not as simple as simply upgrading the functions. As long as you can make good use of it, the upgrade will become your efficient marketing tool.

3. Create an excellent app icon

I consider myself to be an expert at appreciating app icons, and I could talk all day about the aesthetics of app icons. I could write a blog post about this in detail, but here are a few quick comments:

The apps we developed have been recommended several times, and we have heard directly from Apple employees that they also attach great importance to the design of app icons. Although icons are just details, they can have a far greater impact than people imagine. Your icon design can reflect the quality of the app. If you make the icon beautiful, people will have more confidence in the quality of the app, or at least they will be happy to try it. Therefore, if you want to evaluate the quality of an app, start with the icon!

Your app icon needs to compete with millions of other apps. Even if your app is lucky enough to be included in the recommended directory, you don't have to be happy too soon, because it is not easy to stand out in the recommended directory. Many people tend to use cooler tones (like blue) when designing icons, so you need to go against that trend and try something different (the Snapchat icon uses yellow). When designing the Next Keyboard icon, we boldly used orange.

Excellent icon design includes the following elements:

Technical: Use bold colors for contrast

The most representative are the icon design styles of "Videoshop Video" and "7 Second Challenge". Both use extremely bold and vivid colors in their icons, so it is easy to stand out in the App Store dominated by cold colors.

Description level: briefly explain the function of this app to users

Your app icon should explain the function of your app so that users can easily understand what it is when choosing it. All of the apps mentioned above do a great job of this, and if you want more references, you can take a close look at the icons of the following apps: Alto’s Adventure, Forest, and Sago Mini Road Trip. In addition to their dynamic features, the icons of these three apps also use very distinctive fonts (icon design is extremely important for gaming apps).

Consistency level: The icon design style should be consistent with the application's user interface

We can use the design quality of the icon as an indicator of the overall quality of the application. I am not making trouble out of nothing. Readers who are interested in verifying this can just look at the Wake application we developed. When designing an icon, you should keep in mind that the inclusion of Apple elements is the most effective advertising method, as this will bring great advantages to subsequent promotional work.

Many app developers like to use white as the background color of the icon and only use their own trademark as the app icon. This is certainly not a bad idea for big brands, because people will associate the brand with their app from the moment they see the app icon. Companies that choose this method include Google, YouTube, Groupon, Indeed, Dubsmash, Musical.ly, eBay, Kik, and Pinterest, among others. However, this method also has certain risks, at least it is not applicable to most less well-known applications.

Don't be too selfish

When it comes to thinking about applications, the question of “what do I need to do to be included in the recommended list” is just the beginning. When thinking about application design issues, you can also think about the application's functions. There are also questions of relationships (who do I need to know?), timing (how should I establish a connection with Apple for my app?), and brand representation (what first impression will my app icon give to users?). But remember: all of this is based on the premise that you have created an excellent product, because this is the prerequisite for getting recommended.

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