Gaming apps operate in one of the most competitive environments on the App Store. Users make decisions quickly, and large platforms with strong brands and substantial budgets have long dominated search results and top rankings. For new or lesser-known products, this creates a constant battle for visibility and every single install.
This case study shows how we scaled a social app for gamers on the App Store, achieving +33% organic impressions and +32% installs in just three months.
Below, we outline the approach and solutions that made these results possible.
A social app for gamers that helps users find like-minded players and form teams based on shared interests and skill level.
To improve App Store visibility and scale organic downloads.
We developed a consistent action plan consisting of four key steps.
We collected and analyzed key competitors in the social gaming platform niche to identify priority markets with the highest potential for installs and revenue.
Based on the analysis results, we identified the priority locales for promoting the app: English (U.S.) and English (U.K.).
To scale coverage in the U.S. market, we added cross-localizations in Spanish (Mexico), Russian, Arabic, and Chinese (Simplified). This expanded our search presence without the need to launch additional regional app versions.
The RadASO team recommends using all available locales in each country to maximize the app's visibility in the App Store. For a detailed breakdown, see the RadASO table “Localizations and Country Coverage in the App Store.”
Next, we formed a semantic core based on the most relevant search terms. To do this, we analyzed:
Based on the analysis, we prepared metadata for the approved localizations. The strongest search terms in the category were used in the titles, while additional key phrases were distributed across other fields to expand coverage.
After publishing the updated metadata, we monitored initial results and implemented further updates, which helped secure the app’s top positions in search results.
In the next stage, the team focused on increasing the app's conversion rate using a CRO-driven approach to graphics.
In this step, we:
Our hypotheses for updating the screenshots:
We also developed hypotheses regarding the app’s color scheme, screenshot text, mockups, and supporting graphic elements.
Learn how to properly localize a page and scale it across dozens of countries in our Case Study on a casual game.
1. After updating the metadata, the app reached the TOP 10 for highly popular keywords in priority regions—the U.S. and the U.K.
Thanks to the updated localizations for the U.S. and U.K., the positive ranking dynamics extended to other countries where these language versions influence App Store search results.
2. In the target regions, impressions grew by 33%, providing a foundation for further growth in installations (+6%).
As part of the graphics optimization process, the team tested an updated set of screenshots with different visual accents. A/B testing results showed the new images increased App Store page conversion by 12.28%.
After implementing the updated graphics, conversion rates improved as follows:
As a result of testing and updating the screenshots, total app downloads increased by 32%.
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