[ASO Index 2022]
Which apps need App Store Optimization?

Find out in the Asodesk's comprehensive market research ASO Index 2022
A detailed analysis of the semantic core in Asodesk allowed us to identify three queries with the highest priority that had reasonable competition and a sufficient volume of traffic to promote the app.
30 thousand
2 million
new users per day
installs
Oleg,
Product & Analytics, Epic Split Truck Simulator
April, 2018
Epic Split Truck Simulator
Epic Split Truck Simulator is a unique truck driver simulator for true fans of competition and "The Epic Split". The app is based on a Volvo ad where Van Damme does the splits between the side windows of two moving trucks.

The goal of the game is to get as far as possible without Van Damme falling. The task is complicated by the fact that the left truck moves unpredictably — it accelerates and changes lanes. The game turned out to be fun but challenging, which made some players furious.
Industry specifics: easy to compete with other apps
The market for truck simulators is quite big: there are lots of them on the App Store. Top games get about a million installs per month. Almost all games in this genre are of poor quality.

Truck simulators survive exclusively on organic traffic. Due to poor monetization, publishers of these apps cannot buy paid traffic. However, it is easier to compete with them than with games that have a large budget for promotion.
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Most of the truck simulators are of poor quality, which makes it possible to advance in search positions above competitors
How we worked on ASO and incentivized traffic
To beat competitors and get traffic from search queries, we allocated $1260. We also started working on ASO. I understood that there was no chance of getting to the top for keywords quickly, so at the start, we aimed at low- and medium-frequency search queries.

A detailed analysis of the semantic core in Asodesk allowed us to identify three queries with the highest priority that had reasonable competition and a sufficient volume of traffic.
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We worked on the keywords using the following algorithm:

1. The keyword is added to the game title, which gives it the maximum weight.
2. Asodesk launched an ad campaign with incentivized traffic to improve positions for the desired keyword.
3. Incentivized traffic was only purchased in Russia. Due to the nature of Google Play algorithms, we benefited from this in other countries as well.
Promotion of the app for each keyword lasted several days. After the app got into the top 3 on Google Play, we added a new search query to its title and ran a similar campaign for this query.

We decided to check if the app can grow into a large project solely with the help of ASO in a very competitive niche. This hypothesis was confirmed.

An unexpected increase in CTR was indicated by the change in the icon. The number of installs has tripled.
ASO results — 2 million installs
This mobile game now has nearly 2 million installs. At its peak, it received 30 thousand new users a day. For several months after that, it received a steady 5 thousand new users per day, then it dropped to 1 thousand, and later came down to 100 installs per day.
  • Ivan
    Asodesk, Sales and Customer Success Lead
    Oleg, please share how you worked on ASO and incentivized traffic.
  • Oleg
    Product & Analytics, Epic Split Truck Simulator
    After conducting a detailed analysis of the semantic core, we decided to test a hypothesis. We added a keyword query to the app title, launched an advertising campaign with incentivized traffic in Asodesk, and, after promoting to the top of the search, added a new search query to the title, and ran a similar campaign for this query. Ultimately, the hypothesis was supported by the results. Asodesk helped us find the top three priority queries with moderate competition and enough traffic to promote the app.
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