Best ASO Strategies for Dating Apps

Love is in the air for the best dating app optimization ASO strategies. Dating and relationship apps are a large segment of the mobile market, namely the segment of social applications. In the era of self-isolation, these applications were not just a way to have fun, and their popularity around the world was at the level of video calling apps. And in the post-COVID era, the issue of relationships has not become less popular, and dating applications have become the initial step before meeting offline.

Dating apps are now a popular and convenient way to meet people. They have gone much further than being a relationship app and have now become a socialization tool. Moving to a new city and finding friends, tourism, communication - all this can now be part of the functionality of dating apps.

Dating apps market overview

Top 5 dating apps 2023:

1. Tinder
2. Bumble
3. OkCupid
4. Hinge
5. Match.com

What can I say? Look at the Top keywords in the US (iOS):

Tinder got 6th position!

And if we talk not only about popularity but also about profit, then at the end of 2022, among iOS apps, Tinder was second only to YouTube.

The US Android Dating App Sector is as follows:

And for iOS, the US market has the following metrics in the Lifestyle category:

Store Benchmarks for dating apps

The impression-to-install ratio is highly platform dependent. If for Android apps, on average, it is 30% (US); that is, almost a third of users will install the app after the show. But on the App Store, the Lifestyle category has a rate of only 1.45% (USA).

ASO optimization for dating apps

ASO optimization for dating apps

Optimization of dating applications has its own specifics due precisely to the features of this type of app. Let's start from the very beginning - let's talk about the features of the target audience.

1. Definition of the target audience

The portrait of the end user will depend on their needs and how the latter can be covered by our dating app. Namely, if the app offers easy online flirting and nothing more, then it is unlikely that our target audience will be people who are looking for a life partner for a long and strong relationship. People may look for a dating app for a variety of reasons (from boredom to loneliness), plus it is worth considering the cultural and social differences of the countries and regions in which our application will be presented. We think it is not difficult to imagine the cultural characteristics of some Spanish or Latin countries in comparison with Asian countries.

2. Strategy for optimizing your application.

After determining the target audience, it is worth understanding what exactly your development strategy will be and how flexible and quickly you are ready to make changes under external factors. The initial hypotheses of your metadata and visual elements should change because the target audience also does not stand still - being ready for many iterations is part of our strategy.

3. Keywords vs. visuals.

In no case should you forget about text optimization. Of course, the number of impressions for the widest possible pool of relevant keywords will not affect the conversion in any way. It is for the latter that our creatives are responsible. But let's think, there will be no impressions in the search results; we definitely won't see installations. Therefore, we will act gradually and not skip steps because dating applications here are no different from others - first impressions, then installations.

4. Hypotheses and tests

As mentioned, hypothesis testing will be an important step in developing your strategy. Dating apps are a category of apps that require more attention to hypotheses and their testing, namely, the analysis of creatives, feedback from users, and following market trends.

In general, an effective dating app ASO strategy includes keyword and visual optimization, as well as a compelling app description (if we're talking about Google Play). Using this tactic, you can improve the visibility of your app and attract more potential users who will respond to our creatives in the only right way - installs.

Top Tips for Optimizing Dating Apps

• Market and competitor analysis

  This segment of the mobile market is characterized by an increased level of competition, like other highly profitable niches. But a feature of the dating app market is a very wide range of functionality. Dating applications can be in the same category but not compete with each other - focus on different user needs, different target audiences, and different functions. That is why it is necessary to pay due attention to the study of our direct competitors, not necessarily the leaders of the niche.

Dating app category segmentation can look like this, which will help in the correct assessment of competitors:

1. Apps for finding serious relationships, life partners, and creating a family.
2. Apps for flirting, short-term romantic relationships.

Using Top Charts, you can see who our competitors are (in the paid / free category), and then these lists can be divided into the categories indicated above.

For Google Play Top Charts looks like this:

The App Store has a slightly different picture, but more because of the difference in categories. In the iOS store, dating apps are part of the larger Lifestyle category.

• Assess our uniqueness and peculiarity.

A clear understanding of how we differ from competitors and what makes us special will help us build a successful optimization strategy (from metadata to creatives). The portrait of our target users can also be attributed to the specifics of the app - for example, if we focus only on men, or only on religious people, or we suggest looking for a life partner only in the yoga community. This will immediately be reflected in visual elements and text optimization, but even earlier - it will affect the very functionality of our app.

• Combine our uniqueness and optimization.

Features of the app and users should be reflected on the app page on the store. Focused inscriptions, screenshots, and icons are our main channel of appeal to the user, we do not miss the opportunity to immediately show what our app is aimed at and how we differ from competitors.

Text optimization of dating applications

The basic steps for text optimization will be the same as for any other type of app:

1. Keywords - review of competitors, collection of relevant keywords according to all the rules, formation of the semantic core of the application.
2. App metadata. It is worth stopping here in more detail. The name of the dating app must contain the brand part. Naming is everything in this category! As a reminder - tips for creating a name can be found here. Do not forget about the description, although it is not so popular for users to read, it is very popular as a Google Play ranking factor.
3. Seasonality. Dating apps have a very strong social factor, namely, solving the needs of users in an emotional way. Following seasonal changes in needs, you can, or rather, you can guess and get a bonus in the form of installations.

Visual optimization of dating applications

Visual elements in the form of icons and screenshots (do not forget about the possibility of promo videos) are the foundation of our success in the field of dating applications. As we wrote above, the combination of naming, our features, and the portrait of the target user all forms our hypotheses regarding the design of the application page.

Icons

Icons for dating apps are distinguished by the active use of symbols of love and relationships - all possible interpretations of hearts, lights, and astrological symbols of Venus and Mars. But it is worth noting that almost all icons are quite contrasting and concise images, often, the logo and the icon have something in common (and sometimes they are the same).

Screenshots

With screenshots, the story is a little different - some of them can be divided into two groups: those that demonstrate the way of life itself, people and their interaction, and those that display the functionality of the app and its features. It is worth noting that the screenshots of most dating apps are designed in high quality, aesthetically pleasing, and painstakingly.

It is definitely worth developing visual elements, especially screenshots, taking into account the features of our application. If there is something in the functionality that is strikingly different from competitors, you should immediately take it to the screenshots!

Seasonality of visual elements

Seasonal tracking is a very powerful ASO optimization strategy that works across almost all app categories. But for dating, seasons and holidays are more than just a good step to increase conversions - they are fluctuations in demand, and at times.

Remember that during the Christmas holidays, everything around is permeated with the spirit of the holiday, family, and care. Spring brings lightness and romance to our lives, which should be followed in the visual elements of our application page. And February 14th is a day X for dating.

What is the success of ASO dating apps?

In short, you need to understand that the category of dating applications is the category of big players. But a multi-million audience can become ours partially with a competent combination of organic and paid promotion methods. The foundation laid by text optimization will allow us to meet our users, and visual elements will help win their favor. The correct presentation of the uniqueness of our application, taking into account the cultural and geographical characteristics of users, will lead to the fact that our dating application will have “they lived happily ever after.”

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