Online karaoke is no longer a new trend. Today, we will analyze the ASO (App Store Optimization) strategy of the world’s leading karaoke app, Smule, to see what insights we can glean and apply to our own app or game user growth strategies.
Smule: A Social “Karaoke” Platform Earning Over $100 Million Annually
Smule is a globally recognized karaoke app, having topped the music download charts in 153 countries and regions, with a historical cumulative download count nearing 450 million. By 2017, Smule’s annual revenue had already reached $130 million.
Currently, besides being the world’s most popular karaoke platform, Smule has also evolved into a promotional platform for musicians to promote their songs, albums, and tours.
According to App Annie, here are Smule’s main achievements:
- Estimated downloads in 2021: 27.44 million, with a cumulative historical download count of 439 million.
- Estimated in-app purchase (IAP) revenue in 2021: $55.68 million, with a cumulative historical IAP revenue of $445 million.
- Ranked number one in the music category in 153 countries and regions.
- User satisfaction rates exceed 80% in countries like the USA, UK, Brazil, and Indonesia.
Smule’s ASO Strategy: Keyword Analysis
Smule faces many competitors. So how does it improve its search visibility in the app store and increase organic downloads? Let’s start with a basic analysis of its keywords.
- Strong Brand, But Low Brand Keyword Search Share
Since its release in 2012, Smule’s strong user base and brand influence ensure that many users search for “Smule” directly every day. This brand keyword’s search popularity brings stable organic traffic to Smule.
However, unlike other major apps, Smule’s brand keyword traffic share is only 45.68%. Why is this the case despite strong brand search volume? Let’s move on to point 2.
- High Rankings for Major Generic Keywords
As shown in the chart, aside from brand keywords, Smule also ranks highly for high-search-volume industry keywords like “sing,” “singing apps,” “singing,” and “karaoke,” contributing nearly 40% of additional traffic share.
Achieving top rankings for these competitive industry keywords in the app store search results is no easy feat. What methods can we use to increase this probability?
ASO Keyword Optimization:
- In the App Store, when searching for Smule, core keywords like “sing,” “singing,” and “karaoke” appear in the title and subtitle positions. These are the two positions that most help keywords achieve high rankings!
- Additionally, although Smule only ranks second for the keyword “karaoke,” it appears first in search results through Apple Search Ads. This is another excellent example of ASO and ASA working together to achieve user growth.
Enhancing Keyword Rankings via Apple Search Ads:
Apple Search Ads can indirectly boost keyword rankings by generating more downloads and reviews. The more downloads your app gets, the higher some of your keyword rankings will rise, allowing you to cover more keywords.
Increasing App Downloads:
There’s a harsh reality: keyword rankings are closely related to app download volume. If your app has low (and continuous) download volume, even the best ASO keyword optimization might not get some core generic keywords into the top three. Conversely, increasing download volume can gradually improve many keyword rankings and cover more keywords.
Combining these factors, we can see that Smule not only uses the correct strategy for ASO keyword optimization but also leverages Apple Search Ads and maintains a high download volume. These are all advantageous factors that help it stand out in the competitive industry keyword rankings.
Smule’s ASO Strategy: Screenshot and Video Analysis
- Video – Carefully Planned
Following ASO best practices, Smule has a video on the App Store. The video, like those from many major brands, is carefully planned. It has a fast pace, creates a fun and relaxed atmosphere, and features famous singers like Ed Sheeran, making viewers excited yet relatable with ordinary people, emphasizing Smule’s essence—singing together.
- Screenshots – Highlighting User Interests
Smule’s screenshots highlight karaoke features that interest users, such as “a vast song library,” “solo or duet with friends,” “sing with celebrities,” and “karaoke recording.” Each feature is accompanied by a brief description. Since Smule has many core features, it’s challenging to predict which features users are most interested in. Therefore, Smule’s ASO optimizer can use Google Play’s A/B testing and App Store’s Product Page Optimization to find the most appealing features for different regions and adjust the screenshot order accordingly to further improve download conversion rates.
Smule’s ASO Strategy: Strong Technical and Product Support
In discussing ASO, we often focus on details like keywords, videos, screenshots, and ratings. However, strong technical and product support is also crucial for ASO success. If your app constantly crashes or users uninstall it shortly after downloading, how can you gain Google Play and App Store’s favor and recommendations? Smule excels in this area too, as evidenced by the recognition from Apple and Google for its development team and technology.
Despite stable (and high) download volumes over the years, Smule experienced a download surge in May 2021, driven by viral TikTok videos of strangers singing together. This increased Smule’s global daily downloads from 50,000+ to 180,000+.
For music and entertainment apps, leveraging TikTok for promotion can be incredibly beneficial.
Conclusion
Overall, Smule’s ASO optimization strategy is commendable—effective keyword optimization, engaging videos, and appealing screenshots. Additionally, Smule stays updated with trends like iOS 15, setting up “App Events” in the App Store to attract target users.
