Optimise your app for the app store

This is a good point as making the most of the opportunities present has to be of some help. Failing to think about keywords, making your app sound dull and boring, or failing to include images is likely to stop you before you start.

We had to consider quite a few things when planning submission to the app store. First up was the name of the app followed by a visually striking image for the icon. We tried many variations before settling upon a white cross on a two-tone green background.
We also had to choose a primary category and a secondary category for the app. We selected Health & Fitness as primary and Lifestyle as a secondary. It was a tough decision and quite a few hours were spent pondering this alone. If an app is in the wrong, or inappropriate, category it may not be seen by people browsing for apps. Did we make the right selection?

We also had to come up with keywords to help describe the app. Again, this was tough, as there appears to be no way of measuring the effectiveness of a particular keyword in the app store so it felt pretty much like a finger in the wind exercise. In the end we went with geographical references (our first aid quiz is based on UK recommendations), and variations on first aid and quiz. Other keywords may have been more appropriate but with little feedback it is hard to assess.

Finally, we had to try and write a captivating description that would provide people with the information they needed in order to decide if they wanted to give the app a go. We went with an opening “call to action”, followed by a list of features contained within the app. There is probably much more we could have said in the description – what do you think?