App Store Optimization, with Jimmy Hagelfors

In this episode of Datadrivet, Joni Lindgren and Jasmin Yaya talk to Jimmy Hagelfors, COO at Brick, the powerbank sharing app, about how to succeed in the app stores. The question came from Jenny Rydebrink at Gardenize, who asked on LinkedIn how to do well on the App Store and Google Play. The episode works through it: how do you win in the stores, when should you ask for reviews, and can you A/B test in the stores at all?

Jimmy walks through the elements you can optimize: the app icon, title, descriptive text, images, video, ratings, reviews, and the call to action. On iOS you also get a subtitle and keyword field. A key point for anyone who thinks the store listing is fixed: A/B/C testing has been available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play since 2021, so you can test variants rather than guess.

His practical tips:

1. Make the first view impressive, since that screenshot or video carries the first impression.
2. Get retention solid before you spend on traffic, so you are not pouring users into a leaky product.
3. Then start optimizing the store listing.
4. Test in small steps with A/B testing. As Jimmy puts it, “Testa, testa, testa!”
5. Ask for reviews at the user’s happy moment, when they have just had a good experience.
6. Adapt content for different markets, including imagery, environment, and language.

The thread running through it is sequence. Retention first, then store optimization, then paid traffic, with testing at every step so the listing earns its installs instead of relying on a hunch.

Listen to the full episode of Datadrivet for Jimmy’s full walkthrough of App Store Optimization.