The mobile games market is still growing, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier for anybody but the top publishers to survive. When releasing a game, it’s vital to understand the tools — like app marketplace keywords — to give players a chance to find your work.
Bjoern Bergstein, Head of Games for Tivola Publishing, explained the importance of keywords during his Casual Connect Tel Aviv 2015 lecture, underscoring his advice with data and examples. “In my opinion, (keywords) are very magical, because they’re free, and if you use that tool right, you could survive among the big players,” Bjoern says.
Looking at the App Store in 2014, only two big players (King and Supercell) controlled nearly half the spots in the U.S. highest-grossing Top 10. Eight of 2014’s Top 10 were published in 2013, meaning that despite a constant flood of new games, none had the power to unseat the current leaders.
Making matters even more unfavorable for new games is the fact that 80% of apps 2014 were zombie apps, meaning they didn’t rank in the top 300 in any App Store category for two of three days or more. No matter how appealing your game may be, this sort of App Store invisibility can have a clear impact. “When you’re not listed, and nobody finds you, there’s nobody to convince,” Bjoern says.
One antidote to over-reliance on ranks and featuring is careful use of keywords and titles, the two largest factors in App Store SEO. Another benefit of focusing on keywords: They’re free, but they can help draw users to your game. If you have poorly-chosen keywords, even if your app is featured, download numbers may drop off quickly after a surge of interest. Strong keywords, on the other hand, will help attract a more steady stream of gamers.
Other tips Bjoern recommends: Pick keywords based on your target audience’s expectations — the gamers you’re going after may expect genre names or certain features, mechanics or settings. Keywords can also include brand names to help cross-promote your apps (so long as they’re your brand names). Focus on one language first, then translate for every country you’d like to release in. Use tools like Google AdWords to find out what people are searching for. And remember that you can update keywords when you update your app, letting you optimize and measure keyword performance over time.
Watch the video below for Bjoern’s full session.
For more on Bjoern’s background, check out this exclusive interview.
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