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In 2025, paying for growth might get you installed, but few of them will stick. According to the Business of Apps UA Costs 2025 report, the average cost per install has reached $4.70 on iOS and $3.40 on Android, making paid user acquisition increasingly expensive.
As the app space becomes more competitive, paid ads aren’t enough anymore. After all, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. That’s where organic app installs come in, the kind driven by more innovative, search-based discovery. To increase app installs, mobile SEO optimization helps your app show up where your users are, on the web or in the store, and keeps growth affordable.Â
This article will show you how to increase app downloads organically through App SEO, Android app SEO, and App Store SEO, where every view counts, and every search leads to growth.
Why Paid Installs Alone Aren’t Sustainable?
Paid ads can give your app a short burst of visibility but rarely lead to lasting growth. Each year, the cost of acquiring users through ads keeps rising, while many of those users uninstall the app soon after downloading it. This assortment of high spend and low retention often weakens your overall return and lowers your chances of ranking in app stores.
Meanwhile, apps that rely on organic app installs benefit from higher engagement and more substantial lifetime value. These users find your app through genuine interest, not ads, meaning they’re more likely to stay.Â
In short, paid ads buy traffic, but they are often devoid of a loyal audience. If you want to grow beyond the first burst of installs, you need a mobile SEO framework that delivers long after the campaign ends.
What Is Mobile SEO and How Does It Differ from ASO?
Many businesses confuse mobile SEO with ASO (App Store Optimization), but they serve different, complementary purposes.
ASO sweetens your app’s visibility inside app stores by optimizing titles, descriptions, screenshots, and reviews. Mobile SEO, on the other hand, ensures your app can be discovered outside app stores, such as through Google, Bing, or other search engines.
Think of it this way: ASO helps your app win attention inside the store, while mobile SEO ensures people searching on the web can also find and install it. They create a common approach that increases visibility and trust.
Elements of an Effective Mobile SEO Strategy
An effective mobile SEO strategy combines technical precision with user-centered design to enhance visibility and engagement on mobile devices. Here are a few key elements that form the foundation of such a strategy.
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1. Keyword Optimization for App Discovery
The foundation of App SEO is selecting and naturally blending keywords that users search for. Do you know how to increase Android app installs? Start with intent-based phrases like “increase app downloads,” “get more app downloads,” “Mobile app installs,” or “organic app installs.”
Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, App Radar, or Sensor Tower to find high-volume, low-competition terms. Then, strategically place them across your website, app page, and metadata. Avoid keyword stuffing, as relevance and readability always come first.
An attentive keyword strategy improves web rankings and store visibility, helping your app appear where your audience is already searching.
2. Deep Linking and App Indexing
Search engines prefer apps that link their in-app content to the web. Deep linking helps users open specific pages inside your app directly from search results, which makes their experience more seamless.
You can use iOS Universal Links or Firebase App Indexing to make your app content visible to Google. This helps your app appear as a trusted source for specific topics.
So, when someone searches for something your app offers, a deep link can take them straight from Google’s results into your app without any extra steps.
3. Optimized Landing Pages
Every app should have its own SEO friendly landing page. It’s like a digital handshake between your app and the people who might use it.
A good landing page should have:
- A clear and catchy headline with App SEO keywords
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- Short, simple text that explains what your app does and why it’s useful
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- Easy-to-find buttons like “Download on App Store” or “Get it on Google Play”
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- Reviews, ratings, or testimonials to build trust
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This helps you get more organic app downloads but also helps search engines understand your brand and your app’s intent.
4. Quality Content and Backlinks
Even the best apps can struggle to grow organically without building authority. Getting backlinks from trusted blogs, directories, or tech publications helps search engines see your app as credible.Â
You can publish guest posts on niche websites, collaborate with industry influencers, or create shareable case studies and tutorials. Each high-quality backlink strengthens your app search engine optimization, helping your landing pages and app listings rank higher in search results.
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5. User Signals and Ratings
App store algorithms look at how users interact with your app. Good ratings, longer usage times, and regular engagement show that your app is trustworthy.
Encourage users to leave reviews after a good experience, like finishing an important task. Respond quickly to feedback and fix any reported problems.
By doing this, you can not only help more people find your app but also increase the chances that new visitors will use it, after all, word of mouth is worth its weight in gold.
Moreover, an app with solid SEO but poor engagement will still struggle. The goal is to create a loop of discovery, download, retention, visibility, and ultimately, more organic installs.
Mistakes That Damage Organic Growth
It’s common for experienced teams to make errors that hinder their app’s growth potential:
- Keyword stuffing that makes content unreadable.
- Ignoring page speed or a poor mobile experience on the landing page.
- Treating SEO and ASO as separate instead of connected efforts.
- Overlooking analytics, guessing instead of measuring.
- Neglecting web presence entirely and relying only on app stores.
Avoiding these pitfalls improves ranking and builds trust with users and algorithms, while also setting the stage for sustained long-term mobile app metrics for growth marketing and higher organic installs.
Tools and Metrics to Measure Success
Understanding some basic metrics can help you evaluate the performance of your app. Tracking performance helps refine your mobile marketing strategy over time. Key metrics include:
First, the organic install ratio measures the percentage of app installs without paid advertising. A higher organic install ratio means more users discover and download your app through search results or recommendations, rather than ads. This suggests your app is appealing and visible to users.
Next is keyword ranking. This tells you how well your app ranks for specific search terms, like “increase app downloads” or “organic app downloads.” A good keyword ranking means that your app is easier to find in the app store, which can lead to more downloads. Focusing on relevant keywords in your app description can help improve this ranking.
The retention rate is another critical metric. It shows how many users continue to use your app after their first download. A high retention rate indicates that users are satisfied with the app and find it helpful. Keeping users engaged with regular updates and good features can help improve this rate.
Finally, the conversion rate measures the percentage of people visiting your app’s page and downloading it. A high conversion rate means that your app’s listing is attractive and persuasive. Improving the visuals and descriptions can lead to more users installing the app.
You have to monitor these metrics to see how well your app is doing and identify areas for improvement.
Track performance using tools like Google Play Console, App Store Connect, and Firebase Analytics, while platforms like Adjust and AppFollow provide deeper attribution insights.
Building a Long-Term Growth Engine
Sustainable growth comes from consistency. Treat mobile SEO services as an ongoing system and not a one-time campaign. Keep updating metadata, refreshing content, and testing creative assets.
For startups and larger enterprises, it’s essential to incorporate App Store SEO into your overall marketing strategy. Aligning product updates, content, and user engagement initiatives around one goal increases organic reach tremendously. Â
At OpenForge, we help teams design and develop apps with built-in scalability and SEO readiness by ensuring that every feature and release supports long-term discoverability.
The final word:
Search engines favor apps that link their content to the web. Deep linking lets users jump straight to a specific page inside your app from search results, which makes the whole experience quicker and easier.
For your app to be seen, it needs to show up where people are searching and connect easily with the web. At OpenForge, we build with that in mind, making apps easy to find and trust and built for steady growth.
Thus, in this article, you learned how to increase app downloads in the Play Store, resulting in many mobile app installs. When someone searches for something your app provides, a deep link can guide them directly from Google’s results into your app with no extra clicks and no headache.
Frequently Asked Questions
ASO focuses on improving visibility inside app stores by optimizing titles, keywords, and visuals. Mobile SEO optimization makes your app discoverable outside app stores on the web, driving traffic to your app’s landing page or store listing.
Use relevant keywords in your headline, keep the copy short and precise, add download buttons, display ratings or reviews, and ensure fast load times for mobile visitors.
To gauge your SEO effectiveness, focus on metrics like organic install ratio, keyword rankings, retention rate, conversion rate, and engagement duration.
