The Name Game

Naming stuff is hard.  If you're like me, you can't start an RPG until you've stared at the "name" input on the character creator for at least an hour.  We've got to call this app something.  I managed to name two actual humans, so how bad can this be?  

Today, we're going to talk naming strategies and App Store Optimization -- how to tailor your name to get the most out of App Store search results.

Just Pound the Keyboard

We could go the creative route, and name the app like it's a car, or maybe a prescription drug.  Something like Xeljanz:  a real drug somebody wants you to pay to ingest.  I'm not sure what it does, but ask your doctor if it's right for you.  

Names like these arise from the fact that every reasonable English verb, noun, and combination thereof is a) copyrighted, b) trademarked, and c) unavailable for domain purchase.  They are memorable, easy to search, and impossible to confuse with another brand, but they convey very little about your product.

You can always dodge the issue by modifying the words you want into someone that's not trademarked (or technically a word anymore).  Tech startups have been removing vowels for what seems like forever, and the lack of available names and has lately inspired an absolute rash of names ending in -ly.  

Unfortunately, as much fun as it might be to get creative, none of that is going to help you with App Store Optimization.

App Store Optimization

I'm a big fan of the iPhreaks podcast -- now there's a name that could use some workshopping.  It shares a host with one of my favorite developer podcasts, Ruby Rogues (whose theme song is a dead ringer for Kryptonite for some reason), and it's got a huge archive of highly listenable, informative episodes.

A recent cast highlighting best practices for improving your App Store search ranking has given me a lot to consider.

Optimizing your listing for the App Store comes down to basically two things:

• the name field
• the metadata field

Every word in those two fields will be indexed and factored into search results.  It's a bit simplistic, really, but it means you don't have to worry about much.

App Name
 
For purposes of search ranking, it's much more desirable to make your name descriptive, rather than creative.  At the very least, give your app name a caption that incorporates descriptive words.  Something like BeetBuddy -- The Beet Farmer's Tool for Growing Delicious Beets.  Man, I am just full of good ideas today.  That title has both a "catchy" name and several key words that someone might want to search.  Note that "beet" and "beets" will be indexed separately.

Metadata

You'll want to take a similar approach with the metadata field, which is similar to the HTML <meta> tag, in that it's the place to stuff random words and phrases that you want to associate with your app.  Think of every variation of the words someone might use to search your app, and pack as many of them in as you can.

The podcast also highlights the importance of localizing your app, not only to give it greater market reach, but to improve the number of metadata fields available to you.  Some are shared across regions, so doing a Spanish-language version of your English-language app basically doubles your metadata space.

Other Factors

The podcast points out a couple of other factors that influence search rank.  Apparently you get a temporary boost from simply being a new app in the App Store, while app updates get you nothing.  A surge in app download velocity will also goose your ranking in a positive way.

Peeking at the Competition

I said I wouldn't search the store for similar apps, but in light of the above, I think it's appropriate.  I need to come up for a name for this app that works.  Plus, I like my xcode project file to match the actual app name, so I'd better start early.

I went to the App Store on my phone.  My primary searches were attendance and roll call.  Let's see what I got.

 

So there are a few things to notice here:

• search completion suggestions -- many containing an app's exact name
• actual search results, where apps are directly ranked
• related terms (along the top under the search bar) -- giving guidance on keywords that might be good to associate

Looking at these results, my first impression is that while this particular niche is certainly not unoccupied, there is also no clear standout winner. There may be an opportunity for someone to come along and do it better.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

I also realize that I'm judging quality entirely on screenshots.  Rather than making an attempt to be less superficial, this lets me know that visual design is something I should really focus on later.  I should to get a designer involved to prepare assets and advise on color pallete, iconography, etc.

If I'm honest, I make this kind of snap judgement a lot.  Doing this, sometimes you end up with a stinker:  an app that looks good but just doesn't work the way you expect.  Often, though, strong visual design is an indicator of good software quality in general.  It means the creator put some care into crafting the user experience.

Keyword Soup

Anyway, I digress.  What kinds of names and keywords am I seeing here?

• attendance
• tracker
• class
• school
• student
• roll call
• k12
• seating
• gradebook

It had occurred to me that a student list could be adapted into a gradebook, but I don't want to go trying to recreate Sakai here.  Remember to focus on MVP!  Remind me to add a seating chart feature to Phase 2, though, because that really helps with learning student names (see? scope creep is everywhere!).  The second-ranked attendance app is called Attendance!, presumably to sidestep an existing app with a jaunty bit of punctuation.

A few other words that might be relevant:

• attend
• absent
• absence
• classroom
• instructor
• room
• event
• track
• seating 
• seating chart

These are more likely to end up in the metadata section.

Use Adjectives

There also seems to be a trend of app makers putting in some qualitative adjectives like "easy" and "pro."  I like "pro," because it implies (true or not!) that you are offering functionality above and beyond your competitors.

Front-load Key Words
 
Also note that long titles get truncated in the search results.  At this point, we should forget the ASO and consider the human element.  Front-load the most important words in the title.

Introducing...

Okay, so let's not etch this in stone or anything, but based on the above, I think a good name might be something like Teacher's Attendance Tracker Pro: Classroom Roll Call Aide.  Yikes.  That is wordy and generic, but it meets the requirements of ASO, clearly communicates what the app does, and calls out to the target audience with the first word.  

Though, I might consider moving "Teacher's" to "for Teachers," if only because it currently sounds like we are tracking the attendances of teachers.

It's a start.  My thinking may evolve, but throw in a good mix of all the above keywords in the metadata, and we should be good to go.  It's about time to start designing this app.  Next time, I put pencil to paper and start thinking about user experience flow.