3 months by Lera Melnik

App Store Optimization (ASO)

What is this article about?

  1. What is ASO?
  2. Why ASO traffic deserves attention
  3. Benefits of ASO in Gambling
  4. WebView and PWA apps in the Gambling vertical
  5. ASO guidelines for Gambling apps
  6. Gambling offers from Yellana: ASO edition
  7. Conclusion

Have you ever thought about how to make your app stand out and attract more downloads when working with the iGaming vertical? Gambling and Betting remains one of the most profitable niches in affiliate marketing, and ASO traffic in this vertical is like a goldmine. 

Advertisers don’t just like it; they absolutely love it because it’s high-quality traffic that delivers fantastic results. So, how do you succeed in the ASO game? Hang tight because we’re about to reveal the winning ASO strategies!

Do you want to start promoting Gambling offers at Yellana straight away? Great! Join our Telegram chat and reach out to the support team – we are just 1 click away!

What is ASO?

App Store Optimization definition comes down to a set of tactics and methods intended to raise an application to the top of app store search results. It’s important to note that ASO differs slightly between the two major players in the app ecosystem: Google Play and the Apple’s App Store.

The effectiveness of indexing in ASO depends on a number of factors that we will discuss in more detail later in this article. However, the most notable of these is the semantic core, a collection of well selected app keywords that complement the topic of the app and the popularity of search phrases. The app’s title and description are just as important, and they should be written in a creative, captivating way. 

App Store Optimization bears a resemblance to its web counterpart, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), where webmasters aim to boost organic traffic and their website’s ranking in search engine results. Thus, improving exposure is the shared objective of both ASO and SEO.

Curious to learn more about Gambling SEO promotion? Dive deeper into our full guide at Yellana and unlock the secrets to driving success to your website!

Why ASO traffic deserves attention

Let’s take a look at some eye-opening statistics regarding two key market players – App Store and the Google Play:

As for Google Play, during the third quarter of 2022, it hosted over double the number of apps compared to the iOS apps. Downloads for that quarter reached a staggering 27.1 billion, while the Apple App Store managed 8.2 million downloads in the same period. 

Furthermore, as of June 2023, the Google Play Store hosted a whopping 2.6 million apps and continues to expand rapidly, with nearly 90,000 new apps added in May 2023 alone.

Number of available apps in the Google Play Store from 2nd quarter 2015 to 3rd quarter 2022
(Source: Statista)

On the Apple front, while it may not have the sheer volume of apps as Google, it’s still a force to be reckoned with. At the end of 2022, App Store provided approximately 1.6 million apps to iOS users.

Though Google appears to be a more seasoned player in this market, Apple’s competitive advantage is derived from its capacity to produce greater mobile user spending and gross app revenue figures.

Number of available apps in the Apple App Store from 1st quarter 2015 to 3rd quarter 2022
(Source: Statista)

These figures make one thing very evident: whether your product is distributed through Google Play or the Apple App Store, ASO techniques are not only advantageous but also vital in today’s fiercely competitive digital market.

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Benefits of ASO in Gambling

For challenging verticals like Gambling, Betting, Dating, Crypto, etc. ASO takes on a pivotal role. These niches are frequently thought of as “grey” areas where direct promotion of contentious subjects may be rejected by moderators.

This is where ASO comes into its own, saving the day by enabling you to advertise mobile apps without relying on outside assistance or running the danger of being rejected by Google Play or the App Store moderation teams.

So, what are the advantages a webmaster gets when implementing ASO strategies into Gambling advertising campaigns? Here are the main benefits of app store optimization:

  • Increased Traffic
    By optimizing your application for relevant keywords and improving its visibility in app store listing, you can attract more potential users.
  • Top Rankings
    When it comes to user retention, apps that are downloaded straight from the top of search results typically have greater rates than those that are found through adverts or lower-rated listings.

These advantages are amplified when it comes to affiliate marketing. Along with improving user trust and engagement, ASO raises the exposure of the apps you are advertising.

WebView and PWA apps in the Gambling vertical

Now the question arises: which Gambling apps, WebView or PWA (Progressive Web Apps), should be developed in the first place? Let’s go into more detail about the variations between these choices, each of which has special benefits.

WebView 

In essence, a WebView app is a website housed inside an app shell. Without the standard UI components, such as a URL bar or choices to navigate to other websites, the software functions as a container for a browser in this configuration. Only the casino’s mobile version is available to users.

To ensure play, avoid detection by moderation teams, and verify compliance with rules, developers often incorporate a “stub” – a simple, innocent game, within their applications. Moderators are directed to the stub using cloaking technology, which also directs target traffic to the casino.

Maintaining valuable traffic while remaining undiscovered is a delicate balance. The longevity and conversion rates of the application will be impacted by the webmaster’s decision to balance between traffic loss and detection risk.

PWA

Progressive Web Application, or PWA, is a technology that allows a website to appear to be an app from the Google Play Store. Users are redirected to the relevant website without launching a separate browser when they click on the PWA app icon.

PWA reduces disparities between the landing page and the Play Market layout in order to increase conversion rates. The app should appear to users as though they are installing it from an official store.

When done properly, the landing page opens in the Google Chrome browser instead of the Play Market, with only faint clues such as the obscure domain in the URL string revealing the hoax.

Differences between WebView and PWA

To help you make the best decision, the following are the primary benefits of both PWA and WebView apps:

WebView advantage

  • Better conversion
    WebView boasts approximately 10-20% better conversion rates compared to PWA, making it a favored choice for some.

PWA advantages

  • Longevity
    In terms of longevity, PWA applications are superior. You can easily move the landing page to a different domain in the event that a domain is compromised. By comparison, WebView Gambling apps are usually withdrawn from the Play Market very quickly, which results in the blocking of accounts, the need for new advertising campaigns, and a higher chance of being banned during the moderation process.
  • Cost-effectiveness
    PWA development is often cheaper.
  • Smoother moderation
    PWA applications launched with goals like “Traffic” or “Conversions” face easier moderation on Facebook and tend to have more stable advertising accounts.

ASO guidelines for Gambling apps

It is now necessary to examine the specifics of ASO for the Google Play and App Store, since they will affect how frequently users will download your app!

Text optimization

A crucial element in the effectiveness of an app promotion for both Android and iOS devices is the app title. By adding multiple keywords in your app title, you increase the application’s visibility to consumers. Here are the variations between these stores:

App Store: limited to 30 characters, but you can add a 30-character sub-title containing keywords.
Google Play: allows a 50-character app name with an 80-character app description.

full app description can boost downloads and is a crucial marketing strategy. To describe your app on Google Play and the App Store, you are limited to 4000 characters. However, the stores differ from one another:

App Store: the description isn’t indexed by search engines.
Google Play: the description is indexed and can include keywords.

The keyword field is used to enter keywords and phrases that users can use to search for the app. Make sure that these keywords don’t appear more than once in the app’s description, title, or other parts. Users who download the application are the only ones who can see keywords in your app.

App Store: allows up to 100 characters.
Google Play: doesn’t have a dedicated keyword field.

A mobile app’s marketing is not directly impacted by the “category” field, but it is important to correctly classify the app in the charts.

App Store: allows a major and minor category for regular apps and 4 additional identifications for games.
Google Play: only permits selecting 1 category per app.

Visual optimization

An essential component of app store ranking is visual optimization. The visual components of app pages are the first thing users notice when they browse the App Store and Google Play.

Let’s focus on visual variations between these stores. The home screen appears as follows: 

App Store: has a title, icon, rating, and a screenshot gallery where you may add up to 10 screenshots.
Google Play: includes the product’s title, icon, rating, number of downloads, category, short description, and up to 8 screenshots can be added to the gallery.

Adding a video is another feature available within the App Store. The likelihood that the user will watch it improves because it starts automatically. 

A video that you upload to the Google Play gallery will direct viewers to YouTube. Although this may make surfing a little more challenging, watching the video indicates that customers are genuinely interested in the information.

Factors beyond metadata

When doing conversion rate optimization, there are other aspects that must be taken into account, most of which are impacted by the way customers respond to the product. They are also influenced by the portion of the marketing spend that is devoted to the app’s advertising:

  • Backlinks and mentions
    This is a conversion factor, as mentions help the user to make a decision to download.
  • Ratings and reviews
    Conversion is also impacted by the ratings and reviews that store visitors might provide.
  • Speed of installation
    Faster app downloads improve rankings in both stores.
  • Engagement
    More downloads increase rankings, especially for games.
  • Total number of downloads
    App Store: Affects ranking, not displayed.
    Google Play: Influences app rank, visible.
  • Average rating
    App Store: impacts conversion, displayed separately for each country.
    Google Play: affects conversion, shows the global rating.

As you can see, App Store Optimization strategy calls for ongoing testing, monitoring, and adjustment. As you improve the semantics of your app, monitor rankings, and adjust keywords, your promotion plan needs to change too. In order to get the greatest outcomes, be ready to optimize your app continuously.

Gambling offers from Yellana: ASO edition

Did you anticipate that we wouldn’t provide you with a variety of offers for ASO Gambling promotion? Not at all! Take a look at what we have prepared just for you:

  1. Infinity ASO IT
    GEO: IT
    Paid event: deposit
    CPA: 220 USD
  1. Amunra ASO FR
    GEO: FR
    Paid event: deposit
    CPA: 140 USD
  1. Amunra ASO IT
    GEO: IT
    Paid event: deposit
    CPA: 160 USD
  1. Cosmolot Direct+Prelanding ASO
    GEO: UA
    Paid event: deposit
    CPA: 57 USD
  1. HeySpin Uk ASO
    GEO: UK
    Paid event: deposit
    CPA:  110 USD

Conclusion

Our guide to App Store Optimization showed that increasing the visibility of your application is not only a smart move, but it is also a must for your growth in the iGaming industry. It’s a dynamic process that needs close attention to detail, ongoing observation, and a deep comprehension of the subtle differences across other app stores.

Ready to take action? Join us at Yellana, where we specialize in helping webmasters unlock their full potential and generate the highest profits in the industry!

Lera Melnik is a freelance copywriter for the Yellana’s blog. Having 3 years of experience in accounting for an affiliate network and 2 years writing for affiliate marketing blogs, she has great expertise in the sphere. The author is well-versed in such verticals as Gambling and Betting, Sweepstakes and Nutra.