App Store Optimization (ASO) Checklist for D2C Brands
Your app is a storefront on two crowded shelves — Google Play and the Apple App Store. This is the 30-line checklist we run against a D2C app’s store page: keywords, visuals, reviews, engagement and measurement. Tick it as you go, then download it for your team.
- Title uses the primary keyword + brand, under the store limit
- Subtitle/secondary field adds a keyword and a measurable promise
- Description: keyword-rich first line, then feature bullets, then story
- Keyword bank covers category, competitor and long-tail variants
- Metadata localized for every storefront you operate
- Icon legible at 32px — one concept, no tiny text
- First screenshot answers “what is this / why me” in 3 seconds
- Screenshot captions sell the outcome, not the UI
- Hero screenshot matches the top keyword’s intent
- Preview video under 30s with the strongest 2 seconds first
- Assets match the brand system used on the website
- Post-purchase review ask built into the app flow
- Review response workflow with a 24–48h SLA
- Complaints routed to support before the review
- Rating gate shown to satisfied users only
- In-app events configured (Play) / purchases surfaced (iOS)
- Regular update cadence — store algorithms reward freshness
- Deep links from campaigns land on the right in-app screen
- App-install ads point to the store page, not a dead web link
- Impressions → product-page view → installs tracked in consoles
- UTMs on all store-page links for install source
- Impressions-to-install conversion logged monthly
- D1 / D7 / D30 retention reviewed against category benchmark
- Monthly ASO review — what moved, what to test next
Checks are for guidance — every store is different. The download is a markdown file you can drop into Notion, a team doc or a repo.
Common questions
What is ASO?
App Store Optimization — making your app discoverable and convertable in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store: keyword placement, icon and screenshots, ratings, reviews and in-app events.
Is ASO the same as web SEO?
Mechanically similar, but the surfaces differ: app stores rank on installs, conversion and engagement signals, and a published app title/URL cannot be edited like a web page. Treat it as its own channel.
When should a D2C brand care about ASO?
Once the app is live and the channel matters — pair store visibility with paid app-install ads from Meta/Google. Most D2C apps under-index because the store page was set up once and never optimized.
App Live? Get The Audit
We audit your store page against this checklist and the ad setup feeding it — one conversation, no jargon.