Mobile Apps and SEO: Low-Cost Strategies for 2020

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7

Mada Seghete (CEO of Branch - Deep linking tool) and Ethan Smith (Graphite CEO) talk about how to optimize SEO to drive app growth.

Source:
Mobile Apps and SEO: Low-Cost Strategies for 2020
(no direct link to watch/listen)
(direct link to watch/listen)
Type:
Webinar
Publication date:
April 29, 2020
Added to the Vault on:
May 6, 2020
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💎 #
1

Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time. 

05:50
💎 #
2

Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting. 

07:00
💎 #
3

Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc. 

09:50
💎 #
4

If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think should belong to that article.
Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass

10:35
💎 #
5

If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example: - "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue" - "View Dress In App" instead of "Open In App"

13:50
💎 #
6

Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion. 

20:05
💎 #
7

The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x). 

25:25
The gems from this resource are only available to premium members.
💎 #
1

Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time. 

05:50
💎 #
2

Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting. 

07:00
💎 #
3

Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc. 

09:50
💎 #
4

If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think should belong to that article.
Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass

10:35
💎 #
5

If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example: - "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue" - "View Dress In App" instead of "Open In App"

13:50
💎 #
6

Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion. 

20:05
💎 #
7

The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x). 

25:25
The gems from this resource are only available to premium members.

Gems are the key bite-size insights "mined" from a specific mobile marketing resource, like a webinar, a panel or a podcast.
They allow you to save time by grasping the most important information in a couple of minutes, and also each include the timestamp from the source.

💎 #
1

Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time. 

05:50
💎 #
2

Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting. 

07:00
💎 #
3

Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc. 

09:50
💎 #
4

If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think should belong to that article.
Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass

10:35
💎 #
5

If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example: - "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue" - "View Dress In App" instead of "Open In App"

13:50
💎 #
6

Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion. 

20:05
💎 #
7

The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x). 

25:25

Notes for this resource are currently being transferred and will be available soon.

Web acquisition is more cost efficient than app acquisition but app conversion is more effective.


[💎@05:50] Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time.


SEO by Intent

SEO should start with intent - ask yourself the question "what is it that the user wanted?" Think about the user experience for that intent, the content strategy for that intent and the conversion strategy for that intent.

→ [💎@07:00] Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting.


A common mistake of SEO is to have a number of keywords and to have a landing page for each. Rather than thinking about keywords, think about topics and group several keywords and key phrases.


Google does not want list pages and is favoriting long form content.


[💎@09:50] Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc.


[💎@10:35] If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think belong to that article.

Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass. Here is the link (subtopics are actually on the page).


Conversion by intent

A decision to download and register for an app is like a cost analysis by the user. Reduce cost for users by reducing friction: small details can have a large impact.


[💎@13:09] Different parts of your (mobile) website have different volumes of visits and different intent "intensity". Each of these parts can have its own strategy: you don't want to be too agressive when the intent is too low.

By App Growth I feel Ethan is really talking about prompts and CTA

[💎@13:50] If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example:

- "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue"

- "View Dress In App" instead of "Open"


Choosing content with data analysis

  1. Keywords you currently rank for
  2. Competitive keywords
  3. New brainstormed keywords, looking at data from Moz or SEMRush to assess impact


Then categorize by themes and giving scores to the keywords.


Bringing users to your app

Banners sending to the app from the web can look very different: app only discount, small prompt for low-intent users, etc.


[💎@20:05] Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion.


Do not disturb users when they are deep in the funnel and/or decide to show banners only if they have the app.


[💎@25:25] The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x).


Measurements across platforms

Branch has developed a persona idea that allows to follow users across platforms.


Q&A

  • What about the strategy for non e-commerce websites?
  • If there is premium content that users have to pay for, you can not expose it. You need to give a taste, you can not directly ask to subscribe. Example: MasterClass uses the article strategy as well as trailers (demos could work too).
  • What about FinTech apps like Acorns, etc.?
  • There are a few different of clusters: buy a stock, long-form content (financial literacy, credit card, etc.). Having the right landing page (and the right type) is critical. With any high LTV conversion you need multiple touch points: target with SEO, retarget them with ads, etc. Each time that users come you need to build their intent a bit more.
  • Google penalizing interstitials?
  • They think it's a bait and click strategy and decrease your ranks. Small banners are ok but big pop-ups are not to be used unless there is a very strong intent.
  • How do you think about Google AMP?
  • Google MP has constraints around Java and tracking. You can not personalize an AMP page so you put just the content on that page and once you click to any page you can be more agressive. You can also add banners even on AMP.


The notes from this resource are only available to premium members.

Web acquisition is more cost efficient than app acquisition but app conversion is more effective.


[💎@05:50] Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time.


SEO by Intent

SEO should start with intent - ask yourself the question "what is it that the user wanted?" Think about the user experience for that intent, the content strategy for that intent and the conversion strategy for that intent.

→ [💎@07:00] Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting.


A common mistake of SEO is to have a number of keywords and to have a landing page for each. Rather than thinking about keywords, think about topics and group several keywords and key phrases.


Google does not want list pages and is favoriting long form content.


[💎@09:50] Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc.


[💎@10:35] If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think belong to that article.

Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass. Here is the link (subtopics are actually on the page).


Conversion by intent

A decision to download and register for an app is like a cost analysis by the user. Reduce cost for users by reducing friction: small details can have a large impact.


[💎@13:09] Different parts of your (mobile) website have different volumes of visits and different intent "intensity". Each of these parts can have its own strategy: you don't want to be too agressive when the intent is too low.

By App Growth I feel Ethan is really talking about prompts and CTA

[💎@13:50] If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example:

- "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue"

- "View Dress In App" instead of "Open"


Choosing content with data analysis

  1. Keywords you currently rank for
  2. Competitive keywords
  3. New brainstormed keywords, looking at data from Moz or SEMRush to assess impact


Then categorize by themes and giving scores to the keywords.


Bringing users to your app

Banners sending to the app from the web can look very different: app only discount, small prompt for low-intent users, etc.


[💎@20:05] Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion.


Do not disturb users when they are deep in the funnel and/or decide to show banners only if they have the app.


[💎@25:25] The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x).


Measurements across platforms

Branch has developed a persona idea that allows to follow users across platforms.


Q&A

  • What about the strategy for non e-commerce websites?
  • If there is premium content that users have to pay for, you can not expose it. You need to give a taste, you can not directly ask to subscribe. Example: MasterClass uses the article strategy as well as trailers (demos could work too).
  • What about FinTech apps like Acorns, etc.?
  • There are a few different of clusters: buy a stock, long-form content (financial literacy, credit card, etc.). Having the right landing page (and the right type) is critical. With any high LTV conversion you need multiple touch points: target with SEO, retarget them with ads, etc. Each time that users come you need to build their intent a bit more.
  • Google penalizing interstitials?
  • They think it's a bait and click strategy and decrease your ranks. Small banners are ok but big pop-ups are not to be used unless there is a very strong intent.
  • How do you think about Google AMP?
  • Google MP has constraints around Java and tracking. You can not personalize an AMP page so you put just the content on that page and once you click to any page you can be more agressive. You can also add banners even on AMP.


The notes from this resource are only available to premium members.

Web acquisition is more cost efficient than app acquisition but app conversion is more effective.


[💎@05:50] Organic users are better in terms of both purchase rate and retention rate over time.


SEO by Intent

SEO should start with intent - ask yourself the question "what is it that the user wanted?" Think about the user experience for that intent, the content strategy for that intent and the conversion strategy for that intent.

→ [💎@07:00] Cluster the different user intents and have strategies specific to them on 3 main levels: learning, browsing and converting.


A common mistake of SEO is to have a number of keywords and to have a landing page for each. Rather than thinking about keywords, think about topics and group several keywords and key phrases.


Google does not want list pages and is favoriting long form content.


[💎@09:50] Think beyond your intuition of what is good content and think about what Google and users consider is good content. Depending on topics there are different patterns: step by step photos, video, etc.


[💎@10:35] If you have the right subtopics that are comprehensive and cover all the themes around one topic you can outperform competition. Many of the top results are missing subtopics that you wouldn't think belong to that article.

Example: health benefits and cooking ideas on fennel by MasterClass. Here is the link (subtopics are actually on the page).


Conversion by intent

A decision to download and register for an app is like a cost analysis by the user. Reduce cost for users by reducing friction: small details can have a large impact.


[💎@13:09] Different parts of your (mobile) website have different volumes of visits and different intent "intensity". Each of these parts can have its own strategy: you don't want to be too agressive when the intent is too low.

By App Growth I feel Ethan is really talking about prompts and CTA

[💎@13:50] If you know the intent, feed that intent back to the user in your buttons and CTA. Example:

- "Order delivery In App" instead of "Continue"

- "View Dress In App" instead of "Open"


Choosing content with data analysis

  1. Keywords you currently rank for
  2. Competitive keywords
  3. New brainstormed keywords, looking at data from Moz or SEMRush to assess impact


Then categorize by themes and giving scores to the keywords.


Bringing users to your app

Banners sending to the app from the web can look very different: app only discount, small prompt for low-intent users, etc.


[💎@20:05] Google penalizes you from a SEO perspective if you show them a big interstitial as soon as they get to your page so using smaller banners for low-intent users is probably better. But you can be more agressive when there is a stronger intent or after the first web conversion.


Do not disturb users when they are deep in the funnel and/or decide to show banners only if they have the app.


[💎@25:25] The more you customize and personalize the banner to the user intent, the higher your View-to-Click ratio (can be more than 5x).


Measurements across platforms

Branch has developed a persona idea that allows to follow users across platforms.


Q&A

  • What about the strategy for non e-commerce websites?
  • If there is premium content that users have to pay for, you can not expose it. You need to give a taste, you can not directly ask to subscribe. Example: MasterClass uses the article strategy as well as trailers (demos could work too).
  • What about FinTech apps like Acorns, etc.?
  • There are a few different of clusters: buy a stock, long-form content (financial literacy, credit card, etc.). Having the right landing page (and the right type) is critical. With any high LTV conversion you need multiple touch points: target with SEO, retarget them with ads, etc. Each time that users come you need to build their intent a bit more.
  • Google penalizing interstitials?
  • They think it's a bait and click strategy and decrease your ranks. Small banners are ok but big pop-ups are not to be used unless there is a very strong intent.
  • How do you think about Google AMP?
  • Google MP has constraints around Java and tracking. You can not personalize an AMP page so you put just the content on that page and once you click to any page you can be more agressive. You can also add banners even on AMP.