How to Select Competitors for Your ASO Strategy

App Store Optimization
Mobile Analytics
Aug 7, 2023

Competitive analysis is the foundation of App Store Optimization as it allows for an in-depth understanding of your competitors and helps you build a semantic core, prepare metadata, and make well-informed decisions regarding your own ASO strategy.

Selecting competitors to analyze based on the main feature of the app

In general, most apps provide users with a variety of features. However, when selecting competitors, it is important to separate the functionality of the mobile application to distinguish the main features from secondary or additional ones.

Step 1: Analyze your own app

Firstly, identify the main feature of your application

The main feature of the app is what the app was created for; think of it as the problem it aims to address. To identify the main feature, you don't have to look far, as app developers often reflect it in the core of its design. As you attempt to identify it, pay close attention to screenshots, name, description, and app icon.

Let's take a closer look at specific examples.

Example 1

Application: RecMyCalls – Call Recorder App.

Main Feature: Call recording. Additional features – voice notes recording, text transcription and voice recording.

Competitors: All apps with the main function of call recording such as: Call Recorder for iPhone, Recordeon: Call Recorder Plus, TapeACall: Call Recorder.

Example 2

Application Pedometer – Run & Step Counter.

Main Feature: Step counting during walking or running. Additional features: Activity statistics, step goal achievement rewards and GPS tracker.

Competitors: All apps primarily focused on providing a pedometer feature such as: Pedometer & Step Counter, Steps – Step Counter, Activity, StepsApp Pedometer.

Example 3

Application Glovo: Food Delivery and more.

Main Feature: Food Delivery – ready-made dishes from restaurants and groceries.

Competitors: All food and grocery delivery services that allow ordering and payment via a mobile app such as: Zakaz: доставка з Metro Ашан, Bolt Food, Jumia Food – Food delivery.

Example 4

Application Profile Border: New Pic Maker.

Main Feature: Creating circular frames around social media photos.

Competitors: All apps that allow users to create and edit circular photos for avatars such as: Profile Picture – Border Maker, DP Maker – Profile Photo Maker, Profile Picture Border Frames.

Step 2: Gather a list of competitors

Research the main keywords

Distill the main feature of your app into simple keywords that describe what it does. For example, “running tracker”, “tracker for running” or "call recording", “phone call recording”. This will help you understand how users will search for your app in the stores.

It's important to keep in mind that user search behavior in app stores is slightly different from what can be said for traditional search engine queries – search terms are usually shorter and more concise.

Enter the derived search terms into Google Play and App Store for the relevant country and identify the top competitors for each keyword you searched. Competitors that appear in the top search results are better suited to guide you.
Repeat the same process for other countries in their local languages.

Let's take a look at an example using the App Store:

To expand the list of competitors in the App Store or Google Play, you can use the "You Might Also Like" or "Similar Apps" sections.

App Store:

Google Play:

Alternatively, you can utilize specialized ASO tools (both paid and free versions), such as ASO-bot, Asolytics, Asomobile. These tools automatically suggest similar apps based on the app's niche and search terms.

Quick competitor analysis

Analyzing competitors will help you better understand the needs of your target demographics, evaluate successful ASO strategies of others, and determine your main target regions for promotion.

  1. Identify direct competitors of your app. Select a minimum of 50 competitors for your app. Apps that have the same main feature are your direct competitors, while those that have it as a secondary function are indirect competitors. Aim to choose as many direct competitors as possible (at least 50-60) to gather a high-quality semantic core.
  1. Analyze the visual presentation of the app. Pay attention to the icons, screenshots, and videos of your direct competitors’ apps to see how they showcase the features and advantages of their apps and pinpoint what captures the users' attention.
  1. Enhance its visual components. Look for opportunities to improve your own visual presentation and effects based on what you see and make your app stand out from your competitors within the niche.
  2. Analyze your competitors' metadata. Examine the titles, descriptions, and keywords of your competitors’ apps to understand how they target their audience and what search terms users search for in the app stores.  
  1. Analyze your competitor’ positions. Use ASO tools to check the search result positions of competitors in the app stores for the keywords you’re targeting. Consider both popular and less popular keywords and include them in your own metadata wherever it makes sense doing so.
  1. Analyze app reviews. Review analysis fosters a feedback loop between users and app developers, allowing you to understand user needs and identify any issues they encountered during app installation and usage, thus allowing you to improve it. Good reviews and ratings have a positive impact on app visibility and conversion, whereas negative reviews and low ratings have a negative impact.
Attribute
Value
Format
PNG
Color space
Display P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale).
See Color Management.
Layers
Flattened with no transparency
Resolution
Shape
Square with no rounded corners
Attribute
Value
Format
PNG
Color space
Display P3 (wide-gamut color), sRGB (color), or Gray Gamma 2.2 (grayscale).
See Color Management.
Layers
Flattened with no transparency
Resolution
Shape
Square with no rounded corners
Word
Frequency in service
Qimai(China)*
AppTweak
Mobileaction
Appfollow
课程 (course)
5387 (high)
56 (mid)
5 (low)
34 (mid)
外语 (foreign language)
5699 (high)
35 (mid)
5 (low)
34(mid)
播放 (play)
5496 (high)
35 (mid)
5 (low)
35 (mid)
*Search index in China provided by Qimai and based on multidimensional calculations such as search results, downloads and relatable keywords.
App Store
Google Play
1. Icon impact on user choice
Important, but not more than a video with screenshots, as they take up most of the screen
Icon is displayed with several other icons in search results, and therefore it has the greatest impact on the user's choice
2. Icon localization
1 icon for all locales
Can be localized for each country
3. Screenshots quantity, orientation
From 1 to 10, any orientation
From 2 to 8, any orientation
4. Screenshots the most important are the ones that are visible before you start scrolling
  • Vertical screenshots: 3 are visible
  • Horizontal screenshots: only the first one is visible
  • Vertical screenshots: 4 are visible
  • Horizontal screenshots: only the first one is visible
5. Screenshots size
Large — the content is legible
Much smaller — the captions are quite illegible
6. Video quantity
Up to 3
One video that must be uploaded to YouTube
7. Video orientation
Any orientation
Horizontal orientation prioritized
8. Video autoplay
Plays automatically for 30 seconds without sound
You need to click on it to play
9. Application cover
Displayed on the application and developer pages
There is no cover
10. Graphics update
After release only
Whenever
Device or context
Icon size
iPhone
60x60 pt (180x180 px @3x)
60x60 pt (120x120 px @2x)
iPad Pro
83.5x83.5 pt (167x167 px @2x)
iPad, iPad mini
76x76 pt (152x152 px @2x)
App Store
1024x1024 pt (1024x1024 px @1x)
Source language
Target language
How much longer (+) or shorter (–) the text in the target language is
English
French
21.18%
English
Spanish
19.52%
English
Italian
17.91%
English
Deutsch
16.67%
English
Dutch
13.80%
English
Portuguese (Portugal)
14.29%
English
Portuguese (Brazil)
12.96%
English
Polish
9.33%
English
Russian
9.11%
English
Czech
3.70%
English
Arab
–6.25%
English
Japanese
–39.68%
English
Korean
–44.04%
English
Chinese (Simplified)
–61.97%
English
Chinese (Traditional)
–63.80%
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
Device
Spotlight icon size
Settings icon size
Notification icon size
iPhone
40x40 pt (120x120 px @3x)
29x29 pt (87x87 px @3x)
38x38 pt (114x114 px @3x)
40x40 pt (80x80 px @2x)
29x29 pt (58x58 px @2x)
38x38 pt (76x76 px @2x)
iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini
40x40 pt (80x80 px @2x)
29x29 pt (58x58 px @2x)
38x38 pt (76x76 px @2x)
Search term
Translation
SAP* English (U.S.)
SAP* English (U.K.)
truck games
games with trucks
62
39
lorry games
games with trucks
32
jail games
prison games
29
8
prison games
prison games
32
24
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
App Store
Google Play
What can be tested?
  • Short description
  • Long description
  • Icon
  • Feature graphics
  • Screenshots
  • Videos
  • Screenshots
  • Videos
  • Icon (has to be uploaded to the build*)
Number of simultaneously running tests
5 tests (each test is valid within a single country.

You can choose a default country test (details below): then it will run in all countries where there are no localized graphical or textual materials.
1 test (the test can be immediately extended to all countries where the application is available or opt for specific countries as needed)
The number of test variants that can be tested with the current version in the store
Compared with a maximum of 3 new variants
Can a test be launched while another item is under review?
Yes
No
Mandatory formats for screenshots uploaded to the store
6.5
  • 6.5
  • 5.5
  • 12.9 (if there is an iPad version)
*Build – is a new version of the application. Updating the icon is only possible when updating the application version in the store. In other words, the term "build" refers to a specific version or variant of the application that is ready to be downloaded and installed on the users' devices. It contains all the necessary files and data for users to install and use the application.
More about optimizing graphic elements in the App Store and Google Play can be found in the article 'Graphics in Mobile App Promotion in the App Store and Google Play (ASO) – How to Optimize Graphic Elements.'
Device size or platform
Screenshot size
Requirement
Screenshot source
6.5 inch (iPhone 13 Pro Max, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 11, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR)
1284 x 2778 pixels (portrait)2778 x 1284 pixels (landscape)1242 x 2688 pixels (portrait)2688 x 1242 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone
Upload 6.5-inch screenshots
5.8 inch (iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone XS, iPhone X)
1170 x 2532 pixels (portrait)2532 x 1170 pixels (landscape)1125 x 2436 pixels (portrait)2436 x 1125 pixels (landscape)1080 x 2340 (portrait)2340 x 1080 (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone and 6.5 inch screenshots are not provided
Default: scaled 6.5-inch screenshotsAlternative: upload 5.8-inch screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
1242 x 2208 pixels (portrait)2208 x 1242 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPhone
Upload 5.5-inch screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
2048 x 2732 pixels (portrait)2732 x 2048 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPad
Upload 12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation) screenshots
5.5 inch (iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 6s Plus)
2048 x 2732 pixels (portrait)2732 x 2048 pixels (landscape)
Required if app runs on iPad
Upload 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation) screenshots
Price
Traffic Source (Self Reporting Networks)
Facebook
Google
X (Twitter)
Apple Search Ads
Cohort reports
Impression tracking
Audience segmentation
At extra charge
Custom Dashboards
Custom Reports
At extra charge
Advertisement Cost
DAU/MAU (Stickiness)
Raw Data Export
At extra charge
At extra charge
At extra charge
API Reporting
Search term
Translation
SAP* French
SAP* French (Canada)
soldes
sale
25
5
aubainerie
sale
14
*Search Ads Popularity (SAP)shows the popularity of the search term from 5 to 99.
Device
Icon size
iPhone
180px × 180px (60pt × 60pt @3x)
120px × 120px (60pt × 60pt @2x)
iPad Pro
167px × 167px (83.5pt × 83.5pt @2x)
iPad, iPad mini
152px × 152px (76pt × 76pt @2x)
App Store
1024px × 1024px (1024pt × 1024pt @1x)
Icon format
PNG
Color models
sRGB or P3 (see "Color Management")
Layouts
Aligned without transparency
Sizes
Shape
Square without rounded corners
All the current requirements for icons are specified in the specification.
Icon format
32-bit PNG (with alpha channel)
Color models
512 х 512 pixels
Layouts
1024 КБ
Sizes
square, without rounding and shadows (Google automatically rounds the corners and adds shadows)
All the current requirements are specified in the specification.

In conclusion, when selecting competitors for your ASO strategy, note the following:

  1. Identify the main feature of your app. This will help you to select relevant competitors and build a high-quality semantic core during the next step in the ASO optimization process.
  2. Choose relevant keywords based on your app's main feature and search for them in the app stores. The apps appearing in the top search results will be your competitors.
  3. Perform competitive analysis. That will allow you to identify your app’s weaknesses, improve its strengths, and ultimately have it evolve.
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