Lesson 7 - Write an Amazing App Description

Today we will show you how to write an effective app description. As you learned in  Lesson 2, there is a big difference between how Apple and Google utilize the app description.

Apple App Store

The description of your app doesn’t matter as much on the Apple App Store. But that does not mean that you should ignore it. Remember to put the most important part of your description at the very top because this is what most people will see.

Notice that only the first three lines are visible. This is referred to as the “above the fold” content.

Take note of how Viber starts off their description by emphasizing the primary benefit of their app: free calls and messaging. This is a good description because it uses all three lines and it tells readers exactly what they need to know, without any marketing hype.

After the first three lines, you can then include things like:

• Other benefits of the app
• Localization information
• Awards the app has received
• Social media URLs
• Disclaimers

Some people will read your entire app description, so be sure that it is the best that it can be. Proofread it for typos and grammar.

A well written description just may be the thing that convinces someone to download your app, so don’t take it for granted.

Google Play

This is where your description really matters. Google pulls the keywords for your app from the app description.

Even though that is the case, do not just stuff keywords into your app description. Make sure that they are part of natural sounding phrases or sentences.

Be sure not to use any one keyword more than five times because it has not shown to help and it could even be considered keyword spamming, at some point.

Here is an example of the description from  Candy Crush Saga. Notice how the keyword “sweet” appears exactly five times.

Google Play displays a lot more lines above the fold than the App Store. However, this does not mean that you should pack in as many words as possible.

Pinterest is a good example of an app that has spaced out their above the fold text. This makes it much easier for people to read.

You may choose to use standard formatting below the fold, it is up to you. But keep in mind that a huge blob of text can be a turn off to potential new users.

If possible, only change your app description and measure the effect that the change had on your downloads. Since the description directly affects your keywords, also monitor your keyword rankings.

Conclusion

So those are the differences between descriptions on the App Store and Google Play. Even though the app description doesn’t matter as much on the App Store, be sure to do a good job anyway.

You want to have the best possible chance of getting your app downloaded and a great description can help. Just like anything else in App Store Optimization, be sure to test and track your changes.

In the next lesson, we are going to show you how to possibly increase your download by 2X or more, just by implementing one strategy.

Lesson 8 coming your way tomorrow…

If you found this lesson useful, feel free to share it with a friend who would benefit from this information.