Creating Store Assets to Boost User Conversion
You’ve spent time doing market research, vibe coding, and crafting your messaging. It’s now time to make creative elements for your app (even if you have no design experience).
Creating Store Assets to Boost User Conversion
You’ve spent time doing market research, vibe coding, and crafting your messaging.
It’s now time to make creative elements for your app (even if you have no design experience).
You first need to understand that your branding should be cohesive, and your key differentiators should be mentioned in both your screenshots and description.
App Icons.
Icons are the only visual element that signals an app’s presence to store visitors. E.g., in the top charts of either app store. It might sound unimportant, but consider how each of these icons communicates brand positioning and value in a split second.
Source: The Advanced App Store Optimization Book
The value proposition for each is immediate and obvious.
You can easily create an icon on Canva that lets store visitors know what category your app belongs to.
Take Natively user Mika Heikkinen.
His app, Transpose Assistant, lets users transpose concert keys into the written notes and scales their instrument uses. He created a simple and elegant icon that matches what his app does.
Source: Transpose Assistant
Including clear identifiers, like a musical instrument, is crucial when you don’t yet have clear brand recognition.
App Store vs Google Play App Icons.
The only creative element Google Play shows in keyword search results is your app icon. This makes your app icon design far more important for Google Play than the App Store. As of 2021, Google Play has banned emojis and CTAs in icons.
Google Play generally offers greater design flexibility. This means you can make your icon more complex with shading and dynamic elements. The App Store prefers a more uniform and minimalist design style.
App Title.
Keyword optimization should be your main goal with your app’s title. However, you should do some A/B testing to see if you can boost conversion rates with titles that also communicate your value proposition.
One way to A/B test your app title is by releasing a new title on a localized app page. Make sure it’s not your primary market, but shares the same language as your primary market. You can then anticipate what impact the change will have on your primary market through a sequential analysis.
Screenshots.
The first screenshots you use should show the most important benefits of your app. Don’t assume that store visitors are going to flick through all screenshots, so have a clear hierarchy in mind.
As always, A/B test your screenshots as well as different content on the screenshots to see what works best for CRO.
You can also experiment with caption style, changing captions to be overlaid on the top or bottom of the image instead of in the background.
Play around with background styles using real-world imagery, solid colors, gradients, etc.
The Advanced App Store Optimization Book features an impressive screenshot design example you can view below for inspiration.
Source: The Advanced App Store Optimization Book
Pay attention to how the first three screenshots are connected through design elements.
Large, legible fonts make the value proposition clear and create contrast with the background.
The images you use don’t have to be in the phone interface, as this will save you space.
Capture attention.
This can be done by alternating the styles and sacrificing unity.
Of course, this is going to make the design messier and intense. But it can help to grab users’ attention and increase CRO if done properly.
A good example of this is Canva’s screenshots on Google Play. The first screenshot is bold and creates a strong impression, with a large caption that establishes the value proposition. Each image that follows is less bold and focuses on specific benefits.
A really cool way to maximize your screenshots is through storytelling with longer captions - each connected to the previous one.
Source: Google Play, Canva.
Video.
Preview videos offer a lot more depth and give store visitors the chance to learn more about your app and what it does.
You can opt for something minimalistic and don’t have to spend a lot of money and time on a super sophisticated trailer.
But you do want to follow a few best practices.
Keep videos under 30 seconds - completion rates drop 40% after this mark. The first 3 seconds determine whether users keep watching, so skip logos and branding intros.
Mention the most important benefits early on. Users have short attention spans, and you want to get their interest quickly. The pace should also be fast.
Include captions for users who are watching without sound. Use keywords that users are searching for to increase relevance and word recognition.
According to AppTweak, Games, Health & Fitness, and Photo & Video apps tend to use videos over screenshots. Of course, you’ll want to do your own A/B testing, but if your app is one of these categories, you can consider this.
You can leverage YouTube analytics for Google Play to figure out drop-off points and other insights.
There’s more to learn about mastering CRO, so follow this space for new content to help make your app a smash hit that outcompetes your competitors.