Before You Optimize: How to Run Market & Competitor Research That Powers Real ASO Growth

You Can’t Optimize in a Vacuum

Why every winning ASO strategy starts with research, not metadata.

The worst way to start your ASO?
Opening a keyword tool, typing your app name, and blindly editing metadata.

If you don’t understand how your category behaves, what users are searching for, or how competitors are positioning, your efforts won’t stick.

At OtherWayAround, every growth plan starts with one thing: a market and competitor audit built to uncover opportunity and avoid guesswork.

The 5 Pillars of ASO Market & Competitor Research

Before we write a single line of metadata, we answer these five questions:

1. Downloads & Revenue by Country

• Where are your installs coming from?
  
  
• Where is monetization strongest?
  
  
• Are you growing organically or relying on paid?
  
  

This tells us where the real growth potential is (and whether ASO can unlock it).

2. EN-Speaking vs. Localized Market Performance

• Do Canada, the UK, or Australia convert like the US?
  
  
• Are non-English markets underperforming due to a lack of localization?
  
  
• Could a basic localization boost retention and ranking?
  
  

We separate poor market fit from poor communication, and fix what’s fixable.

3. Category Behavior

• Is your category seasonal?
  
  
• Who’s getting featured, and how often?
  
  
• Are the top charts dominated by brands or breakout indies?
  
  

Understanding category dynamics helps you choose the right timing and targeting for every move.

4. Organic vs. Paid Visibility

• Who’s dominating ASA or Play Ads?
  
  
• What keywords are they bidding on?
  
  
• Are there blind spots you can win with CPPs or creative testing?
  
  

If competitors are outspending you, you’ll need to outsmart them. That starts with visibility data.

5. Creative & Keyword Benchmarks

• What visuals dominate your category?
  
  
• What captions, color systems, and proof points are working?
  
  
• Which keywords consistently rank Top 5?
  
  

Every successful app follows patterns, and great ones know when (and how) to break them.

How to Spot Your Best Market Opportunities

We score each market across five dimensions:

• Download potential
  
  
• Revenue opportunity
  
  
• Localization impact
  
  
• Competition intensity
  
  
• Metadata lift required
  
  

A few patterns we look for:

• High downloads, no localization = low-hanging fruit
  
  
• Localized but underperforming = metadata upgrade zone
  
  
• Strong competitors, weak creative = screenshot opportunity
  
  

These insights help us build a prioritized ASO roadmap per market.

How to Audit Competitors Like a CRO Pro

We don’t just look at the top apps; we dissect what makes them convert:

Direct Competitors

Apps solving the same problem with similar features.

Close Competitors

Apps targeting the same user with different solutions (e.g., meditation vs. productivity).

Broad Category Leaders

Apps with strong ASO/ASA presence, even if they aren’t your direct rivals.

We analyze:

• Screenshot flow and visual hierarchy
  
  
• ASA share of voice + keyword overlap
  
  
• Ratings, reviews, and velocity
  
  
• Featuring frequency
  
  
• In-app event usage
  
  

Pro tip: Screenshot your top 5 competitors. Compare layouts, captions, tone, and color schemes. Patterns always emerge.

From Audit to Action: Turning Research Into Growth

Once the research is done, here’s how we activate it:

• Build a keyword pool by performance + relevance

• Identify CPP themes for top keyword clusters

• Localize creative for high-potential, low-performing markets

• Run keyword optimization waves monthly: 1 per store

• Launch screenshot tests in the top 2–3 opportunity markets

Every asset, every test, every update is driven by insight, not instinct.

Want to see what a real audit looks like?

Let us run one for you. Book a free Market Opportunity Review and get a research-based roadmap for your next growth move.