ASO Expert Interview: Brian Egerup Kjærulff

This week we’re introducing you to Brian Egerup Kjærulff, founder and CEO at Mobtimizers. In this interview, Brian explains his digital space background and experience. He also gives out some precious tips on ASO localization.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your company?

I’ve always worked with a particular passion for digital strategy and optimization. Together with a partner, who is a creative analytics expert, I founded Mobtimizers in 2014 in order to focus on offering highly specialised ASO and App Marketing services. Today, we have offices in New York City and Copenhagen, Denmark, and work with a number of respected national and international clients. Among our areas of expertise, and most sought after services, are business strategy, optimization, CPI campaigns, experiments, and comparative analysis.

2. For how long have you been involved in ASO or app marketing?

I have worked with ebusiness and digital marketing since the turn of the century (wow, I sound old!), gradually shifting my focus more towards social media, digital strategy, analytics and optimization of digital channels – more or less in the same time span where mobile media really took off. So my journey towards an ASO and app marketing focus has been continuous and I am looking forward to being part of the development within mobile and app marketing in the future.

3. What was it about this industry that made you choose it as a primary job?

I worked in a leading European bank for almost 5 years. In that period, I optimized the bank’s web and mobile web portals by applying analytics methods like SEO, A/B testing and personalization. I realized that the way most companies manage and develop mobile apps was lacking this fundamental approach. And that is still the case, today. This is the foundation for Mobtimizers. In regards to ASO and Mobile SEO, there is still a huge need for more knowledge and experience to get the best possible business value out of mobile apps. Especially within App Store Optimization and building app loyalty.

4. How do you see the world of ASO and app marketing evolving?

I see the App Stores becoming even more competitive and therefore App Store Optimization will gain more importance. More data and analytics tools will emerge in this field, and will become more complex – hence the demand for specialised knowledge will grow as well. The algorithms will be more advanced and will take more factors into account. Uninstall rates and app loyalty will have a heavier weight in the algorithms in the future.

If we look a bit broader than ASO, we expect to see that influencer marketing will be more integrated into the marketing mix. And we’ll see content marketing approaches to increase downloads and retention. I also believe that we will see aspects of app marketing being automated.

iOS Search Ads is a new feature that we have been working with and it should have an interesting impact on the evolution of app marketing.

5. What should be the biggest focus for app developers and marketers in 2017?

The profusion of ASO has become worldwide and most corporations are utilizing it or getting on board now. The next big focus would be engagement and retention. App developers and brands really need to think about the audiences for their apps, their business objectives and the business model behind the app.

6. What was your favourite app in 2016?

Uber impresses me again and again.

7. Tell us about your most challenging ASO “experiment”

Working with a leading global brand in a highly competitive field with a large number of markets and multitude effort with localisation. It is crucial to focus on localisation of your app efforts. If you just translate the title, keywords and descriptions, you will not tap into local search behavior, and not get the full benefit of your App Store Optimization. We carried out an optimization of all elements in both Google Play and Apple App Store (title, descriptions, keywords, screens, video) and carried out multiple iterations and ongoing experiments to optimize screenshots, keywords and conversion. We have seen lift of 40% in downloads with this specific project.

8. Tell us about your experience with AppTweak and give us your favorite feature.

I really enjoy working with the integration of iOS Search Ads data. It is the first time we get access to real search volumes in an ASO tool. It is still only available in the US market, but this is a game changer for ASO. Not only will the first results in the Apple App Store be paid, but the learnings that we get from this can bring App Store Optimization to a new level.

9. Do you have any “masterchef” ASO tips?

A/B testing and experiments. Specifically for Google Play sorting of screenshots and using App Store Video. If you use these techniques, you will better understand what triggers your audience and conversions. As for iOS, experiments can be done using external tools and certain methods.

Use the improved analytics sections in both iTunes Connect and Google Play Development Console. Look at the impressions, conversion rates and more metrics to really understand your app performance.

Brian has been using AppTweak intensively since a few months now for his clients such as ARLA and LEGO. We were happy to have the opportunity to meet him in person last year, at the App Promotion Summit Berlin. Brian has quickly joined the ASO Experts directory and would be happy to help you set up your Search Ads campaigns, increase your app’s visibility and boost your organic downloads.

Want to contact Brian? Find all details on his ASO Expert profile page.