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改进应用商店产品描述的5个简单步骤

发布时间:2013-08-09 14:57:32 Tags:,,,,,

作者:George Osborn

就像搬家和结婚,在任何移动市场发布游戏也是一件压力山大的事——关注游戏的商业方面的读者应该都知道这一点吧。

面临这种压力导致的结果是,开发者很容易忽略那些看似不重要的事。

在赶截止日修补BUG或优化赢利策略的期间,开发者总是忍不住把应用商店描述这种事排到工作计划表的最后。

但在发现和之后的下载量方面,把这几百字的描述写好,作用是非常大的。即使应用商店的图标做得再好,截图再多再吸引人,不合格的描述也会让这些努力全部白费。

那么,开发者要怎么保证他们的应用描述达标——至少不会让潜在的消费者很快按下返回键?

为了保证应用商店的描述有效,我们总结了五个简单的步骤。

1、巧妙

在你提笔前或打开电脑前,你必须意识到,你的应用正面临着激烈的“发现”竞争。

虽然营销、PR和广告都有作用,但最能帮助你的应用获得正常流量的方法是优化关键词,以适应ASO算法(苹果应用商店优化算法)。

app-store-optimization-aso(from trendblog.net)

app-store-optimization-aso(from trendblog.net)

然而,AppCodes的创始人Tomasz Kolinko发现,掌握ASO意味着采取不同的方法做SEO(搜索引擎优化)。

Kolinko解释道:“应用商店的SEO就像网页SEO。”

“对于网页SEO,你必须发现可能最好的词组,然后争取出现在搜索结果的最前列。至于ASO,并不存在什么‘出现在搜索结果的最前列’这种东西—-如果你的位置低,除了寻找不同的词组,你就无能为力了。”

所以当关键词限制在100字以内时,Kolinko认为开发者组合的关键词必须符合两点:一是用户可能点击的、貌似可信的搜索词;比较不容易与其他应用发生竞争。

一开始看来觉得很棘手,但如果你掌握了其中的窍门,Kolinko认为优化ASO只是轻而易举的事。

“不像Google SEO,ASO要求在更新前花一两个小时润色关键词。所以这个努力真的很小,并且当你确实去做了,至少能在竞争中打个平手。”

2、清楚

如果应用商店的描述不清楚或含糊,应用可能会损失很多下载量。那么程度才叫清楚?

描述清楚是保证在最初的10秒内抓住消费者的注意力的关键。

如果消费者不能很快、很容易地从描述中了解一款游戏,那么要他下载——哪怕是免费的,就不太可能的。

表现得太聪明是没有好处的,因为消费者可能根本不能领悟描述中的笑点。保持语言简单是关键,还要确保吸引目标受众,格式要容易阅读。

点阵式排列和短句是开发者的好朋友,所以尽量多用吧。

3、信息充足

开发者往往太陶醉于自己的游戏本身,以至于要表现游戏的独特卖点时,他们居然找不出来。

虽然制作游戏团队可能知道应用的亮点在哪里,但一般消费都并不会下载后再寻找这个亮点——这就是应用描述应该传达的东西。

所以,开发者应该考虑的关键点是什么?对于新手,关键是要用某种形式把类型说出来,因为游戏机制通常很难从截图上看出来。

另外,应该在描述中突出无法在竞争中直接利用的原创特征。例如,Ustwo的《Whale Trail》,利用应用描述大利宣传由Super Furry Animal的Gruff Rhys编写的游戏音乐。

事实上,这款游戏的所有营销材料上都提到这个特殊卖点。

ios-ustwo-whale-trail(from pocketgamer)

ios-ustwo-whale-trail(from pocketgamer)

五句话以内说清应用的特点非常重要。正如AppLift的Thomas Sommer所说的,苹果在应用商店里执行的设计改变使之成为吸引好奇的用户点击下载按钮的重要方法。

Sommer解释道:“导航结构对于iOS 6是最重要的,因为用户发现你的应用后,只有前面五句描述会出现在主要的应用页面上。”

“因此,你必须把你的独特卖点或游戏的要点压缩在描述的前面几句话里。在这方面,《Candy Crush Saga》做得就特别好。”

Candy Crush Saga(from reviews.cnet)

Candy Crush Saga(from reviews.cnet)

4、简洁

虽然开发者必须确保描述充满细节性的东西,但简洁也是关键。

当消费者面对多余冗长的描述时,他们的反应更可能是“太长了,读不懂”,而不是点击安装按钮。

计划和编辑可以避免出现这个问题。在开发者真正开始写描述以前,最好先用一句话概括为什么消费者应该下载这款游戏。

第二步是把这个原因拓展为五句连贯的话,再根据上述的“巧妙、清楚、信息充足”三点要求修改连贯的草稿。

然后把这份草稿放在一边,半个小时后再修改一次。

删除所有多余的话(游戏邦注:例如,把“画面非常精美”改成“画面精美”),然后再检查一次,看看是不是涵盖了游戏的所有特点,以及清楚地概述了玩家应该下载它的原因。

5、个性化

最后一步对开发者来说是最棘手的。根据Sookio的总监Sue Keogh,在市场上,个性化是获得关注的利器。

Keogh解释道:“苹果应用商店的竞争非常激烈,你必须能够在一瞬间就捕获人们的注意力。”

“如果你能用吸引眼球的方式描述你的产品,那么你就比那些把所有精力放在游戏本身而不是其表现方式的同类产品更有优势了。”

幸运的是,要写出个性化的描述有一个简单的办法——去喝酒。当然不是字面上的意思,Sue的意思是,想象你自己在酒吧与朋友交谈,是让自己描述语气变得友善的好办法。

Keogh补充道:“就像在酒吧里跟一个朋友说话那样介绍你的应用。”

“大声说才能让别人听清你的游戏到底是什么;想像你是跟伙伴聊天可以让你的语气更友好。”

把这个策略与上述四个步骤相结合,应该至少能保证应用商店的描述不会在商业上拉游戏的后腿。

因为缺少对消费者的定位、消费者下载游戏的意图不明,我们很难知道应用商店的描述对游戏有多大影响。

然而,在竞争如此激烈的移动市场上,哪怕一个元素的失败,对几乎所有开发者来说都是不可承受的。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

5 simple steps to the perfect app store description

by George Osborn

Like moving house or getting married, launching a game on any mobile marketplace is a stressful affair – and one a large portion of PocketGamer.biz’s audience will be well aware of.

The result of that stress, however, is that it’s easy for developers to let seemingly unimportant things fall by the wayside.

In between ironing out bugs to meet a deadline or optimising a monetisation strategy, it can be tempting to let something like an app’s app store description fall down the to-do list.

But getting those couple of hundred words right can make a big difference when it comes to discovery and, following on, download numbers. Even if a developer nails the app icon and pulls together a collection on engaging screenshots, a substandard bit of writing can undo all the hard work.

So, just what tips and tricks can developers utilise to ensure their app descriptions – at the very least – don’t leave potential customers searching for the back button?

We spoke to folk in the know to pull together five simple steps designed to ensure app store success.

Be smart

Before you even pick up your pen – or laptop in this instance – you need to make sure your app is in with a fighting chance of being discovered by users.

While marketing, PR and advertising all have roles to play, the most consistent way for you to accrue a regular stream of traffic to your app is by optimising your key words to suit the App Store Optimisation (ASO) algorithm.

However, as Tomasz Kolinko – founder of AppCodes – discovered, mastering ASO means taking a different approach to search engine optimisation (SEO) than you may be familiar with.

“App Store SEO is nothing like web SEO,” details Kolinko.

“In case of web SEO, you need to find the best possible phrases, and then work your way to the top search results. In case of ASO, there is no ‘working your way to the top’ – if your position is low, there is nothing you can do, aside from looking for different phrases.”

AppCodes’ guide to App Store SEO

So when presented with a 100 keyword character limit, Kolinko believes developers need to be finding combinations of keywords that are both plausible search terms that users might hit and that have relatively little competition from other apps.

And while this may be tricky initially, once you’ve got the hang of it, Kolinko believes optimising your ASO is a breeze.

“Unlike Google SEO, the ASO is all about spending an hour or two before an update, polishing the keywords. So the effort is truly minimal, and it’s hard to not at least break even when you do this.”

Be clear

If an app store description isn’t clear or is muddled, the app could miss out on a large chunk of downloads. How’s that point for clarity?

In all seriousness, ensuring a description is clear is a vital part of withholding a consumer’s attention beyond an initial 10 or so seconds.

If someone isn’t able to ascertain quickly and easily just what a game is about from its description, then a download – even for a free release – is especially unlikely.

So, developers need take the time to keep things as straight up as possible.

There’s little to be gained by trying to be all too clever, making references or in-jokes there’s a risk people won’t get. Keeping the language easy to read is key, as well as making sure the copy appeals to the app’s target audience and is a readable format that’s easy on the eye.

Bullet points and short sentences are a developer’s best friend here, so use them to great effect.

Be informative

It’s very easy for a developer to be so wrapped up in their own game that, when it comes to conveying what it’s unique selling point is, they can’t see the wood from the trees.

While the team behind a title might know why it rocks, the average punter isn’t going to download it to find out – that’s something that, difficult as it sounds, needs to be conveyed in one way or another within the app description.

So, what are the key bases a developer should look to touch? For starters, it’s key that the genre – what slot the game fits into – is conveyed in some form, as game mechanics can often be hard to decipher from screenshots.

Also, any original features that the competition simply can’t boast needs to find a spot in the copy. Ustwo’s Whale Trail, for instance, used its app description to push forward the game’s soundtrack, written by Super Furry Animal Gruff Rhys.

This USP was, in fact, layered throughout all of the game’s marketing material.

Whale Trail

In particular, selling the uniqueness of an app in the first five lines is really important. As Thomas Sommer from AppLift explains, design changes Apple implemented within the App Store makes this a key way to draw curious users towards the download button.

“The structure of navigation is paramount on iOS 6, since after a user discovers your app only the first five lines will be shown on the main app page,” details Sommer.

“Therefore you need to pack your unique selling point, or the gist of your game’s awesomeness into the first sentences of your description to get users in. Apps like Candy Crush Saga do this really well.”

Be concise

While developers need to make sure that their description is crammed with detail, brevity is also key.

Rather than hitting the install button, consumers are likely to respond to needlessly lengthy copy with the “tl;dr” meme – that’s “too long, didn’t read” if you’re out of the internet loop.

Planning and editing is key to avoiding such a situation. Before a developer sets about actually writing the description, a simple trick is to try and summarise in just one line why consumers should download the game in question.

The next step is to stretch that argument into five connected narrative points, fleshing it out with the tactics illustrated in the points above to form a coherent draft.

Then put it away for half an hour, come back with a fresh pair of eyes and edit like mad.

Cut out anything superfluous (for example, switch from “the graphics are really great” to “the graphics are great”) then double check to make sure that all the game’s features are mentioned and the argument outlining why the user should download is clear.

Be yourself

The last step may feel like the trickiest bit for a developer to get right but, according to Sue Keogh – director of Sookio and specialist in writing for the web – being unique is a great way to garner attention for a game’s page on a marketplace.

“There is a lot of competition on the App Store and you have to be able to capture people’s imagination in an instant,” says Keogh.

“If you can talk in an attention-grabbing way it might just give you the edge over someone with a similar product but who has put all their effort into creating the game itself, not the way it’s presented.”

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to get that tone right; go for a drink. Well perhaps not literally but, as Sue explains, imagining yourself at the watering hole is a great way to get that friendly tone”Try explaining the app as you would to a friend in the pub,” adds Keogh.

“Saying it out loud helps you get to the nub of what the game is all about, and imagining yourself among your peers helps give you a conversational tone.”

Melding this personal approach with the strategies laid out above should, at the very least, ensure that – success or failure – a game’s app store description isn’t going to hold it back commercially.

Short of pinning every customer down and taking them to task as to just why they downloaded the games they did, it’s extremely difficult to know just what impact app store descriptions have on a title’s uptake.

However, in a market as competitive as mobile, few developers can afford to let even one element in their app assault slide.(source:pocketgamer)


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