From tender manager to ASO specialist: Darya Shevel case study

I worked as a tender manager but decided to try her hand at App Store Optimization. In just 2 months, I mastered a new profession, promoted an app to the top of the App Store for a number of requests, got a job offer, and switched to flexible hours and remote work. Read how I did it in this case study.

In this case study you will learn:

• Why a successful tender manager decided to change her career
• How the income from my husband’s app motivated me to develop
• How I already got a job during my studies
• Why I love working as an ASO specialist

Before changing profession, I worked as a tender manager

Before changing my profession, I worked as a tender manager. I was engaged in complex projects in the field of telecommunications and supervised the fulfillment of obligations under supply contracts.

I was quite satisfied with the salary, which depended on the concluded contracts. I also liked the work itself, as it combined multitasking and exciting, unpredictable work. But I felt like I was approaching a “professional ceiling”, so I wanted to immerse myself in new professions.

I decided to start doing ASO to help my husband with his apps

To hone his mobile development skills, my husband created an app in the Health & Fitness category and uploaded it to the App Store. I decided to help him and took care of the tax and accounting issues with the App Store. My husband gave me the income from the sales of app subscriptions, which was very motivating 🙂

First, we did a basic ASO without taking the nature of the App Store algorithm into account.

ASO (App Store Optimization) is the process of improving visibility and optimizing install conversion in app stores: App Store, Google Play, AppGallery, and others. Learn more on how to get started with ASO in this article.

After basic ASO, the app started ranking for near-relevant queries, users started installing the app, but the install conversion was very low. Then we started targeting the CIS, and I studied additional information on ASO.

I redid the metadata to prioritize relevant keywords. After that, I did a couple of iterations to maximize installs and got into top positions in Russia for several desired requests. However, at this stage, I did not have a complete understanding of the optimization analysis process and the results of continuous cycles of iterations.

I realized that it was important to deal with ASO more comprehensively and found a course from Asodesk Academy that answered all my ASO questions. It was a very structured and intensive course, which combined both theory and practice. I liked that the lecturers were very responsive and approachable, and the community was always willing to help.

The course gave me a clear understanding of the iteration process and how it affects app optimization. It taught me how to analyze competitors’ work and measure the effectiveness of text optimization.

After the course, I started working with countries other than the CIS, conducting A/B tests of icons and screenshots, and building hypotheses to improve the install conversion rate. I also started localizing the app page into European languages.

I got a job offer before the end of the course

During the training process — before I even completed the final test — I received a job offer as an ASO specialist at GameTunes.

An ASO specialist optimizes app pages so that the app ranks at the top of App Store and Google Play search and gets more installs. Learn more about the work of an ASO specialist in this article.

I had doubts, as the work seemed difficult for a beginner. I also did not know what to do with my old job, since originally I had a completely different plan: I wanted to work as a tender manager and apply all the new information from the course to my app.

However, during the course, I realized that ASO is an ongoing process, and I will not be able to immerse myself in this profession if I continue to work as a full-time tender manager. So I decided to take a risk and accept the offer.

I have only been working for three months: preparing for the release of new apps, studying competitors, and doing iterations. Everything related to visual optimization is easy for me (ed. note: visual optimization is the process of preparing icons, screenshots, and videos for an app).

What I find more difficult is searching for relevant low- and mid-frequency queries, as data constantly becomes outdated (ed. note: for an app to rank for more search queries, you need to add keywords to the app page).

So far, from the intermediate results, we managed to reach the top for six mid-frequency queries. But since the apps are still new to the market, it is too early to evaluate the ASO results.

I enjoy working as an ASO specialist

Now I enjoy working, I get up and fall asleep scrolling through the stores and studying competitors. I am not tied to the office and can work flexible hours. I like mixing analytics and creativity, and I am also interested in the process of analysis and hypothesis building.

The main thing in the field of ASO is to surround yourself with a community — up-to-date information and work will find you. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions. It is important to have a personal knowledge base where you can store all useful information and links.

I am now completing a course on Apple Search Ads from SplitMetrics, and I am also reading a book on game analytics by Vasily Sabirov. I have not yet decided what to do next, but I want to study and practice ASO.

If you also want to become an ASO specialist or get more installs for your apps from App Store and Google Play search, check out this ASO course from Asodesk Academy. In just 1 month of live lectures, you will learn how to complete the full cycle of ASO.