6 Tips to Optimize iTunes App Store Search (iTunes SEO) • Clever Twist - iPhone application design & development in Atlanta, Georgia.

So you've designed and developed a great iPhone app. You've read our Top 5 Tips for iPhone App Icon Design and have a killer icon, and you've made it through Apple's lengthy approval process. Congratulations! Your app is now listed along with more than 50,000 others in the iTunes App Store. So...now what? What else can you do to help your ideal customers find your app among all the others?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) isn't a new idea. In fact, smart online merchants have been using it for almost as long as there have been search engines. The idea is fairly simple: use keywords and phrases to help search engines find your webpage/ company site/ online store/ product. Well, the search engine that powers the "Search" feature in iTunes is no different!

Optimizing the App Store's search feature takes a little work and lot of finesse, so without further ado, here are Clever Twist's 6 Tips to Optimize App Store Search.

Tip #1: Learn the Basics

SEO is SEO is... well, you get the picture. Although we're talking about the iTunes store and not the entire google search algorithm (or yahoo! or Bing or whatever else you please), the principles of search engine optimization are exactly the same. There are hundreds of blogs, books and other resources out there on the basic concept of SEO. One of my personal favorites is the 97th Floor Blog, coming from 97th Floor, a company that specializes in SEO and Social Media. So get reading, and learn the basics of what SEO is all about!

Tip #2: Learn to Love Keywords

Keywords, the words that people actually type into the "search" bar in iTunes are the secret to any effective SEO attempt. If you've already developed your app, figure out which keywords people might type in to find it and then make sure that those keywords appear in as many places within your app's page as possible.

From the Invisible Idea blog, "Results whether they be in Google or iTunes are based on Relevancy and Authority. Within iTunes, relevancy works much the same way as in other search engines - how relevant is your content to the searched keyword. Using your keywords in your title, name, summary, and keyword tags make you relevant. All of these are indexed and searchable by iTunes."

Tip #3: Don't Waste Your Time or Money on Google Search

This is a big one. One of the things we have learned from our ongoing study of successful app developers is that paying money to optimize your keywords in Google Search does NOT yeild any kind of noticeable results. From developers we have spoken with personally, to threads on message boards, the verdict is pretty clear when it comes to spending your time optimizing keywords on google.

The fact is, customers looking for an iPhone app will first check the app store on their iphone. If that fails, they are most likely to check iTunes on their computers. Trying to sell your iPhone app via google search keywords is like selling your Amazon.com-listed book on Youtube: you're just in the wrong place.

Tip #4: Give Your App a Descriptive Name

This is probably the single most important thing you can do to optimize your search results in the iTunes Store. If your app is a first-person shooter game, don't try and call it "Rumble in the Jungle" or some such nonsense! Call it "Shooter" or, better yet, "Jungle Shooter". Really, you can call it whatever you like, but use the words "shoot" or "shooter" or some equally descriptive keywords somewhere in your title. Most of the top apps in the apps store have relatively straight forward names, such as "Camera Zoom" or "iFitness". Anyone searching for "Fitness" will certainly see "iFitness" at the top of their search results, just like anyone searching "Zoom" or "Camera Zoom" will get to the "Camera Zoom" app right away!

Tip #5: Study the Successes

Although it may not always seem like it, most of the apps at the top of the iTunes list are there for some reason. Either they struck a chord (or perhaps a nerve) with fans, or they hit upon and idea that is genuinely popular, even if its only for the moment. Either way, see what they did. What keywords are in their titles? Descriptions?

From the excellent blog, Search Engine Land, "Apple makes no secret which of its applications are most popular. Savvy app developers can understand what types of content are popular among app store users simply by browsing the top 50 apps in iTunes on a regular basis. Having similar or better content than a popular iPhone app could help the app piggyback off of traffic for a related app...Understanding what keywords and content Apple is trying to promote can help marketers get a sense of whether the app that they’re building will make the top 50 eventually."

Tip #6: Piggyback on the Successes

Once you've studied the successes and compared your own app to make sure it is relevant and appealing, what next? Use those successes in your own app description! If you have a great game that is somewhat similar to a game in the top 10 of the iTunes store, there's no shame in writing a description that reads something like, "For fans of [successful app], we present [your app]." This way, anyone searching for the first app will come across yours too.