How To Effectively Complete Competitive Analysis
If you’re a start-up owner or running a large business, you might feel like spending time researching your competition is counterproductive – after all, you should be focusing on your own app, right?
Yet, effectively completing competitive analysis is one of the best ways to get your app started on the right foot. By understanding and implementing some key concepts, you can nail your analysis and see your download figures soar.
Understanding ASO
You might have heard the term ‘ASO’ being thrown around in the app creation space. But what actually is it?
When you use the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to search for an app, you’ll likely find yourself inundated with options that match your search word or terms.
App Store Optimization, or ASO, is the process of fine-tuning your app’s metadata to maximize its potential to rank as highly as possible within these results. This is an important tool that can make or break the success of your app.
If your app is the first one to show up, your customers are more likely to click on it, and subsequently download it. Alternatively, if it sits at the bottom of the search results, the chance of users finding it is slim to none.
This is where competitive analysis comes in. Understanding what your competitors are doing is the best way to use ASO to beat them at their own game.
Discovering Your Competitors
A key element of ASO, finding out who your competitors are, is necessary to analyze what they do, and how you can do it better. This can be done through a simple, three-step approach:
1. Identify Your Competitors
Prioritize your close competitors – those that are in the same industry, or specialize in the same niche as you are considered ‘direct’ competitors. You can then look for apps that are similar, but might exist in a different space, and analyze how and why they are successful.
If you’re struggling to find competitors, you can use a dedicated tool like App Radar, which will use your app’s metadata to find competitors based on similarities.
2. Assess Their Analytics
App stores offer a range of channels to assess the general analytics of your competitors. How many reviews do they have? Are their reviews positive or negative? Viewing your competitors from a consumer perspective gives you a general understanding of whether their app is highly regarded.
3. Monitor Their Performance
While the bulk of your work should be focused on creating your own app, keeping an eye on the performance of your competitors is an excellent way to test its relevance and popularity. Note any significant changes, and see how your app can continue to improve.
If your business is in its early stages, you might be having difficulty completing market research. A reliable way to check whether a problem exists to warrant an app in the first place, is to use a keyword checker tool, like the Google Adwords Keyword Planner. This excellent resource can tell you exactly how many search engine users are searching for specific keywords. If you have an app idea, try to input a theme-specific term to see how popular it is.
Completing General Research
Once you have an idea of who your main competitors are, general research is an excellent way to start completing effective competitive analysis.
Taking the time to understand what creative assets they use, such as pictures, videos and product descriptions, allows you to gain a clearer idea of what you can do to set your own app apart.
You can also use your general research period to assess their wider content offering. This can include written content such as blog posts or articles that make up a portion of their website. When viewing the content, consider how well it is optimized to rank highly on search engine rankings, and if they are delivering value to their customers that centers around their products or services.
Doing Effective Keyword Research
Keyword optimization is one of the biggest drivers when it comes to app store success. Having the right words and search terms interwoven into your app’s metadata plays a crucial role in its search ranking.
But, did you know that one of the best ways to improve your app’s ranking is actually through competitive analysis?
Learning what keywords are being used by your close competitors, and identifying how they use them to rank higher in the search results is an excellent way to play them at their own game – try to use similar keywords that are relevant and high value.
You can use various tools to find suitable keywords, but a popular one for new app creators is Google’s Keyword Planner, which can be accessed for free.
Using Advertising Intelligence
Finally, advertising intelligence is a key component of any ASO strategy, and through competitive research you can effectively put your knowledge to good use.
Understanding what ads your competitors are running to boost their ASO will allow you to implement the right strategies to propel your own app to the top of the results.
While you can use specific apps to help you track your competitors’ advertising strategies, you can also employ an in-house marketing specialist who would be able to provide a similar level of insight.
