273: How ASO and paid ads feed each other with Stephanie Ino, Client Services Manager at Gummicube

In this episode, we're talking about app store visibility - and about the fact that organic and paid aren't two separate budgets.

Every channel you run, no matter where it starts, ends up on the same product page. And the platforms are watching what happens there.

To cover all this, we've got Stephanie Ino, Client Services Manager at Gummicube, about how ASO and paid search feed each other on the App Store and Google Play.

Stephanie explains why ASO is the home base every channel returns to, how Apple Ads and Google Ads send relevance signals back into the organic algorithm, and why the right split between the two depends on budget, app maturity, and how much relevance you've already built. She also covers Custom Product Pages and Custom Store Listings as a way to align paid traffic with the right creative, and why a younger app should build its ASO foundation before pushing paid spend through.

If you work in app store optimization, user acquisition, or app growth, this is a clear look at how the paid and organic sides of the store actually connect.

Today’s topics include:

• ASO as home base - metadata and creative work together because almost every channel routes users back to the product page or store listing
• Paid feeding organic - Apple Ads SERP placements and Google Ads Play Store placements both send relevance signals into the algorithm for the terms you're targeting
• Striking the balance - there's no blanket answer, it comes down to available budget, app size, and maturity in the storefront
• Younger apps first build relevance - get the ASO foundation and keyword rankings in place, then push paid traffic through at a lower acquisition cost
• Custom Product Pages and Custom Store Listings - matching store assets to each paid campaign's strategy so the traffic you buy actually converts

Links and Resources:

• Stephanie Ino on LinkedIn
• Gummicube website
• Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry

Quotes from Stephanie Ino

“ASO is where everything comes back to, kind of home base. Most of any channel will come back into that product page or that store listing.”

"When we're running Apple Ads, particularly for those SERP results, it gives that boost in relevance so that Apple understands that we have better potential to then rank organically for those terms."

“If we're working with a younger app in the storefront, we don't have that relevance built out yet within the algorithm. So we really want to focus on our organic and our ASO performance first.”

Host

Business Of Apps - connecting the app industry since 2012