App SEO, also referred to as app store SEO or ASO, is important for reaching more users—but you’re on a mission to help others thrive, grow, and heal. That means you need to be present where your audience is: online search. Not only is Google the top-used website every year, but consumers are turning to search for all things mental health and wellness.
At the end of 2021, Google found that searches for “affirmations,” “how to maintain mental health,” and “women’s health,” among others, reached an all-time high worldwide. Their data also shows that searches around healing and healthy balance have continued to rise into 2022.
If you’re not ranking in search—Google, Bing, etc.—you’re missing a significant opportunity to connect with potential users. The good news is, intentional content creation, I.E. high-value blog content, can help you start ranking in search.
This puts you in front of the people who need what you have to offer but aren’t searching for YOU just yet. Bonus, you build thought leadership, brand awareness, and authority in your space at the same time.
The goal is not to ignore app SEO, but to remember that it’s part of a larger strategy: to impact more people. An important part of that strategy? Intentional content creation. Here’s how to do it.
Get Niche With Your Topics
Speaking to your specific ideal customer is critical in the mental wellness space. Great content goes beyond “the millennial with anxiety.” It’s written for “the single millennial who’s new to meditation and mindfulness but wants to see if it can help ease their anxiety.”
While app SEO can help you get in front of these users, content can help you truly engage with them and show them that they’re seen and heard. Any aspect of our health is personal and consumers want content that refers to their challenges directly. In fact, the data shows that consumers prefer brands they can relate to and connect with. If you can create this connection, you’re more likely to win them over when they’re debating between you and a competitor.
This is why topic ideation is so important. You can create great content and rank for it. To get people to click through, however, your topics need to resonate enough to catch the attention of the searcher in an instant.
Write Based on SEO Keywords
App SEO is helpful and actually works similarly to search engine SEO. You target specific keywords that your ideal users might be searching for so you can get in front of them. This, however, is only creating visibility for you in one place, with a different tier of users: those who already know they need an app like yours.
Keywords for your website and blog content do the same thing but on a much larger scale. They’re also the main piece of the SEO strategy that’s allowed my clients to see massive increases in organic search ranking and traffic and as a result customers and clients.
The Benefit of Keyword-Based SEO Content
The value of creating content based on keywords is twofold.
The first benefit is that keywords validate your assumptions about what your ideal customers are actually searching for. For example, you might think they’re searching “therapy for millennials” but, when you research the keyword it either has very few searches, so it’s not being searched, or it has a high search volume but is also highly competitive. That means you want to find another keyword and probably a more niche and relevant topic.
Secondly, as the Search Engine Journal suggests, keywords matter because they indicate search intent. Google wants to match the searcher with the best possible content for their query. When you optimize your content based on this search intent and follow the best practices shared in the next section, you increase your chances of getting in front of your target audience who are searching those terms.
As you do your keyword research, remember that a great keyword is:
- Low in competition but high in search volume
- Hyper relevant to your target audience
- Being used by your competitors (so ideally, you can outrank them)
Follow SEO Best Practices
Great SEO-optimized content doesn’t start and end with a good topic and great keywords. The content itself needs to be formatted following best practices so you can start ranking for the terms you’re focused on. Luckily, on-page SEO has a few simple best practices that are easy to implement, including:
- Follow the proper content structure. Google wants to see you break up long blocks of text with H2s and H3s.
- Optimize the metadata, including alt tags and meta descriptions.
- Use your keyword in all the right places to signal what this content is about, and in turn, rank for that term.
- Link to high-quality, relevant, and reliable external content.
- Link to relevant internal content.
Get Expert Strategy and Support
Invest in app SEO, absolutely, but don’t forget about your website and general search engine optimization. As you get started, remember that creating great content takes time and resources. Developing a strategy takes strong knowledge and expertise.
Most importantly, ranking in Google on page 10 or 20 doesn’t do anything for your website traffic and ROI. The further away you rank from that number one spot, the lower your potential for click-throughs. Getting into the top three spots is critical.
You’re not an SEO expert but I am. Let me help you make your mission a reality and get in front of the people who need what you have to offer—but don’t know it yet. With more than a decade of experience and a deep passion and understanding of the mental wellness space, I’ll help you create an entirely new stream of customers.
