Tool for searching keywords on Google Play?

[avradu1984]

Hi,

Is there a tool to see how many searches have been made on Google Play for a particular keyword?

What is the best way to optimize the description for Google Play?

[mind]

Only Google knows what is searched for. And they don't seem to be telling.

If you think about it, there are two parts to this puzzle:
1) search queries from user
2) and data Google has to work with (existing app descriptions)

Since you cannot know (1), that leaves (2) as an 'attack vector' for you. So just optimize against the existing keywords in all the existing apps that are your competition.

[avradu1984]

Only Google knows what is searched for. And they don't seem to be telling.

If you think about it, there are two parts to this puzzle:
1) search queries from user
2) and data Google has to work with (existing app descriptions)

Since you cannot know (1), that leaves (2) as an 'attack vector' for you. So just optimize against the existing keywords in all the existing apps that are your competition.

I couldn't find a game like mine on Google Play so I don't know the competition. Maybe the competition is the other apps that use similar keywords to mine then, even if some of them are apps, not games?

The name of my game is "Fire Ball Escape" (released 48 hours ago). Searching for "fire ball" or "fireball" returns my game in the first 15 positions. However, it doesn't look like there are a lot of searches for these words because so far I have only seen downloads that are driven by my campaign with appbrain. So I couldn't spot any organic downloads.

Maybe going up in rankings for "fire", "ball" or "escape" will help but my game description is already optimized for those words (or so I think).

[javaexp]

you can also use the instant search suggestions as keywords as those are keywords being searched for.

[mind]

The name of my game is "Fire Ball Escape" (released 48 hours ago). Searching for "fire ball" or "fireball" returns my game in the first 15 positions. However, it doesn't look like there are a lot of searches for these words because so far I have only seen downloads that are driven by my campaign with appbrain. So I couldn't spot any organic downloads.

You are thinking about it wrong. People don't already know the name of your game and are searching for it. People will search for a 'best puzzle game' or something similar. THAT is what you need to optimize against.

Btw, I would change your screenshots. 1st = main menu on the game and 2nd shows lots of levels.... SO WHAT ? There is zero gameplay shown or anything interesting to get the user to download it!

[avradu1984]

You are thinking about it wrong. People don't already know the name of your game and are searching for it. People will search for a 'best puzzle game' or something similar. THAT is what you need to optimize against.

I read somewhere that, if there is a lot of competition for a keyword, it might be better to optimize for less popular searches. That way you would have better chances to appear on the top even if it is for less popular keywords. So I am trying to follow that as it makes sense.

With only 48 hours since the release, optimizing for 'best puzzle game' or something similar wouldn't get me anywhere because there are tons of apps out there that are extremely popular and have exploited these keywords to the maximum.

Maybe in the future, if the game will be a success and have high ratings and lots of downloads, I will attempt to optimize for more popular keywords.

Is there something wrong in my logic?

Btw, I would change your screenshots. 1st = main menu on the game and 2nd shows lots of levels.... SO WHAT ? There is zero gameplay shown or anything interesting to get the user to download it!

Thanks, I moved the home and levels screen in the end of the list so the gameplay screenshots appear first now.

[mind]

I read somewhere that, if there is a lot of competition for a keyword, it might be better to optimize for less popular searches. That way you would have better chances to appear on the top even if it is for less popular keywords. So I am trying to follow that as it makes sense.

With only 48 hours since the release, optimizing for 'best puzzle game' or something similar wouldn't get me anywhere because there are tons of apps out there that are extremely popular and have exploited these keywords to the maximum.

Maybe in the future, if the game will be a success and have high ratings and lots of downloads, I will attempt to optimize for more popular keywords.

Is there something wrong in my logic?

No... but I think you don't appreciate what the advice implied. What it meant was "don't try competing with the big guys, because your app will be so far down the list, it won't show up... so if you want any downloads, you could TRY optimizing for keywords that the big guys don't care about because only a few users search for them. IF you can get those users to install.... well, a small number of users is better than no users".

[avradu1984]

No... but I think you don't appreciate what the advice implied. What it meant was "don't try competing with the big guys, because your app will be so far down the list, it won't show up... so if you want any downloads, you could TRY optimizing for keywords that the big guys don't care about because only a few users search for them. IF you can get those users to install.... well, a small number of users is better than no users".

Yes, that is exactly what I am thinking. However, I don't see any organic installs coming my way.

Do you think I should try to optimize for more popular keywords where competition is high now or should I keep doing what I am doing and optimize for more popular later?

I am trying to figure out what is better to do right now, when the game is 2 days old.

[mind]

That is the difficult part.... the million dollar question that nobody really knows the answer to: "How do I make people download my app more, so it goes up the charts?"

My advice: ensure your graphics on Google Play "Sell the dream".... not the reality of your game. Yes, they should show gameplay. But look at the TOP APPS. How many of them have screenshots ? ZERO. They have all been modified to tell a story to convince the user they need to install the app!

If you speak to a advertising company, they will tell you that you need to 'buy your way to the top, so you can get organic downloads"
And if you speak to a graphics company, they will tell you that your graphics need to be better...
And if you speak to a coding company, they will tell you that your games needs more (something)...
And if you speak to an analytics company, they will tell you that you need to include their analytics so you can 'make better business decisions'

Each only knows their speciality... and tries to sell you what they know.

As an Indie, you need to figure out how to take just enough from each to make your app successful. Also, you might need some luck

[Magnesus]

I personally hat the lack of proper screenshots, but mind is right - big players do this, so should we, because it seems to work.