Restyle: Achieving Higher Organic Rankings through ASO and Apple Search Ads Synergy

Publisher
Reface
Category
Photo & Video
Restyle is a new AI-based app from Reface – a company and app of the same name with over 250 million users worldwide. 
Reface is a developer & publisher specializing in generative AI tools for content creation. Its apps have been downloaded more than 250 million times worldwide.
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Challenge

Restyle: AI Video Generator is a Photo & Video app that transforms users’ photos and videos into mesmerizing artworks via different AI filters.

As CR and TTR are traditionally high on Apple Search Ads, the Client tapped into the channel to acquire strongly motivated users. The Client was looking for a way to enhance Apple Search Ads’ native interface and manage their campaigns more effectively with a third-party solution — and, therefore, get CR and TTR uplifts.  

Solution 

The app adopted the SplitMetrics Acquire platform. This decision was driven by its optimization capabilities and user-friendly interface, offering a solution to manage, automate, and streamline Apple Search Ads campaigns. The team found the data visualization and automation rules features particularly helpful. 

At the same time, the Client was using SplitMetrics Optimize to validate their hypotheses in dynamics and check whether they have a positive impact on their Apple Search Ads metrics.

“Testing creatives with SplitMetrics Optimize has been an exceptional experience. The platform is very comfortable to work with and we can always rely on it to try out new ideas”.

Tania Ratushniak, ASO & ASA Marketing Manager at Reface

The Client aimed to verify whether mentioning the keyword “cartoon” in the title would enhance conversion. The Top Charts was deemed the most suitable option for testing this hypothesis for app’s icon and title. 

Testing on the Top Charts offers distinct advantages by utilizing a neutral advertisement banner to prepare users for the subsequent list of apps. This approach optimizes small elements like Title, Subtitle, and Icon in an environment that minimizes distractions and mirrors real decision-making scenarios. Whether for pre-launch or live apps, this strategy is extremely helpful, resulting in improved app performance and discoverability.

The client also carried out experiments for screenshots:

And video previews:

Many publishers skip testing video preview without understanding its true value. An app’s video preview can be very significant when it comes to the conversation rate. Up to 40% of iPhone users have Power Mode ON. With this energy-saving mode enabled, videos on iOS do not autoplay automatically. However, when users are on the product page, videos autoplay after a delay of 3 seconds. Consequently, if publishers do not utilize video thumbnails for showcasing screenshots and highlighting main features, this could lead to low conversion rates.

On April 7, the Client updated the following elements on the app’s product page:

  • Title
  • Video Preview (Thumbnail)
  • Screenshots

And this is where the synergy of ASO and Apple Search Ads came into play.

ASO Results

Following the updates to the title, video preview, and screenshots, the ASO-driven improvements are evident through the following key metrics:

  • Browse: PP Views to Downloads – Relative Growth (+8%): The ASO-driven changes contributed to an 8% increase in conversions from page views to app downloads in the Browse section.
  • Search: Impressions to Views – Relative Growth (+40%): Notably, the app experienced a substantial 40% relative growth in the transition from search impressions to app page views.
  • Search: Impression to Downloads – Relative Growth (+62%): The most impressive achievement emerged in the Search section, with a remarkable 62% relative growth in conversions from search impressions to app downloads.
  • Search: PP Views to Downloads – Relative Growth (+10%): The ASO-focused updates also led to a 10% relative growth in conversions from search page views to app downloads in the Search section.

Particularly noteworthy is the Search: Impression to Downloads metric. Users were enticed by the engaging preview, leading them to make quick and informed downloads without the need to explore the product page further.

Apple Search Ads Results

By leveraging SplitMetrics Acquire and optimizing the product page, the app achieved remarkable results:

  • Organic Ranking Improvement: Great ASO results boosted organic positions for the keyword the Client added to the title and actively started bidding on.
  • CR and TTR Increases: The app saw significant uplifts in CR and TTR. The TTR improved by +35.26% and the CR increased by +6.47%. 

The results are impacted by the Client using both SplitMetrics Acquire and SplitMetrics Optimize. 

SplitMetrics Optimize enabled the app to test hypotheses and experiment with various strategies, leading to favorable outcomes on Apple Search Ads metrics. And SplitMetrics Acquire helped the Client navigate fine-tune their campaigns and observe as well as react to the changes regarding the keywords in dynamics.

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