New ASO guidelines coming to the Play Retailer – Apptamin

[ad_1]

Adjustments are coming to the Google Play Retailer! Whereas Apple made some massive bulletins for its App Retailer coming within the second a part of 2021, Google’s been leaving clues and updates in its wake. Google Play Retailer’s adjustments vary from new metadata guidelines to up to date tips for preview property and even a brand new obligatory security part.

New guidelines on your app’s title!

Earlier this yr Google introduced a coverage change for app metadata. Efficient on September 29, 2021, this replace (tips obtainable on Android Builders Weblog) will convey fairly the adjustment to apps’ titles and logos:

  • The primary massive shift is the variety of characters allowed within the app title. Presently, the app title on the Play Retailer may be as much as 50 characters. Quickly, will probably be shortened to solely 30 characters (similar to on the App Retailer). 
  • Key phrases that recommend retailer efficiency (similar to “prime”, “finest” or “#1” for instance) is not going to be allowed anymore within the title, icon, and developer title
  • Deceptive graphic parts (parts indicating rating or Play program, selling deal) will likely be forbidden
  • Emojis and particular characters can even be banned
supply: Google

App titles, icons, and developer names that don’t meet the brand new tips gained’t be allowed on the Play Retailer. Some key phrases like prime, #1, finest, free, no advertisements, ad-free, replace now and obtain now gained’t be usable within the metadata both. Even the usage of caps will likely be monitored: you possibly can’t use caps until your model is capitalized.

Builders must be extra cautious in selecting the key phrases that make it within the remaining title. Be certain these you select are essentially the most related on your app.

The character restrict would be the similar for each language however it can significantly have an effect on languages that require more room (like Arabic, German or French for instance). These languages might even lose extra key phrase alternatives.

With these new tips, the Play Retailer goals to match the person expertise of the App Retailer: the title size would be the similar, and so will likely be their place on deceptive key phrases.

Up to date tips for retailer itemizing preview property

Along with their coverage change for app metadata, Google can also be introducing new tips on Retailer itemizing preview property. Throughout their Google for Video games Developer Summit that occurred on July twelfth/thirteenth, the Mountain View agency printed an official video to share the information.

Following the launch of a Discovery expertise on Video games Dwelling, Google determined to replace the rules for preview property. Apps whose property don’t meet the brand new tips could also be ineligible for promotion and advice on Google Play.

When these adjustments have been first pre-announced in April, the primary focus was to make sure property present an correct illustration of the app or sport, freed from buzzwords (similar to “free” or “finest), and intention to showcase related details about the app as a substitute whereas being simple to learn.

supply: Google

In response to these new tips, preview movies needs to be optimized for the 30 seconds autoplay (solely the primary 30 seconds of movies play mechanically on the Play Retailer). You need to restrict title screens, logos, cutscenes, and pre-rendered promotional content material to spotlight precise in-game footage. Different “extremely beneficial” tips (which means they gained’t influence your retailer itemizing web page however might change how your preview property seem on Google Play or restrict promotional alternatives) embody:

  • Don’t embody folks interacting with the machine (like fingers/palms) until the core gameplay is off-device (which means that the guts of your sport is to make your person work together with its environment like Pokemon Go for instance)
  • Be certain your preview video is in panorama format
  • Be sure that your video is of top quality, correctly localized and that the textual content is legible
  • Don’t embody vocabulary suggesting rating like “Greatest”, “#1”, “High”, “Low cost”, “Sale”, “Million Downloads” (Awards from Google Play are allowed to be displayed) or call-to-actions like “Obtain now”, “Set up now”, “Play now” or “Strive now”.
supply: Google

Similar to preview movies, screenshots should reveal precise in-game expertise. Google Play recommends the utilization of large-format fusing screenshots for video games which suggests offering not less than 3 (for video games) or 4 (for apps) screenshots, both in 16:9 panorama (min. 1920x1080px) or 9:16 portrait (minimal 1080x1920px). Right here, the brand new tips embody: 

  • Don’t embody vocabulary suggesting rating like “Greatest”, “#1”, “High”, “Low cost”, “Sale”, “Million Downloads” (Awards from Google Play are allowed to be displayed) and keep away from call-to-actions like “Obtain now”, “Set up now”, “Play now” or “Strive now”
  • Use high-quality photos, correct localization, keep away from time-sensitive tagline and don’t present extra parts within the notification bar (no service suppliers or notifications, and the battery, WiFi and cell service logos needs to be full)
  • Concentrate on the core options and the sport expertise and keep away from together with folks interacting with the machine (like fingers/palms) until the core gameplay is off-device
  • Keep away from inappropriate or repetitive picture parts
supply: Google

The itemizing web page’s brief description ought to give attention to conveying the core expertise of your app and offering info on key facets (gameplay, social options, connectivity, and so forth.). The brand new and improved suggestions embody:

  • Don’t embody vocabulary suggesting rating like “Greatest”, “#1”, “High”, “Low cost”, “Sale”, “Million Downloads” (Awards from Google Play are allowed to be displayed) and keep away from call-to-actions like “Obtain now”, “Set up now”, “Play now” or “Strive now”
  • Keep away from the usage of all caps and don’t use particular characters, emojis, and emoticons
  • Be certain your brief description is correctly localized

These new property tips solely influence the eligibility of apps and video games for promotion and advice inside Google Play and can come into impact within the second half of 2021. In case your property don’t adjust to these, your app can nonetheless be printed on the Play Retailer and your retailer itemizing web page gained’t be impacted.

The Play Retailer’s new security part

Unsurprisingly, security is the large discuss of the yr. After the launch of iOS 14.5 and Apple’s announcement at WWDC, Google is becoming a member of the combat. Whereas the Mountain View agency is already engaged on its Privateness Sandbox, they lately introduced that their give attention to customers’ privateness can even convey adjustments to the Play Retailer.

Certainly, with a view to “give customers extra transparency into knowledge privateness and safety” they may add a security part in Google Play (alongside extra info like knowledge definitions).

The brand new security part will assist builders show their privateness and safety practices proper on the app itemizing web page. Due to that new device, customers can perceive what knowledge will likely be collected and why. It’ll be obligatory for all Play Retailer apps.

It’ll seem on the itemizing web page as a abstract highlighting security particulars similar to:

  • if the app complies with Google’s households coverage
  • if it makes use of practices like knowledge encryption

For extra info, customers can click on on any subsection to entry extra detailed info.

supply

With the arrival of the protection part, all builders must present a privateness coverage. Beforehand, solely the apps that collected private and delicate person knowledge wanted one. In response to Google, builders can even be held answerable for offering correct and full info of their security part (together with SDKs and knowledge utilized by the app’s third-party libraries).

These adjustments will happen over the following few months, to assist everybody prepare for it Google shared their official timeline (topic to future adjustments).

supply: Google

Beginning in October, builders can begin submitting info within the Google Play Console for evaluate. They’ll have till April 2022 to get this part accredited for his or her apps, with out it, new app submission or replace may be rejected. Accepted security sections ought to begin showing in apps’ itemizing pages of the Play Retailer in Q1 2022.

Google is massive on making privateness a central theme in its new insurance policies, the brand new security part is only one device within the midst of different adjustments:

  • the disappearance of the promoting ID when customers opt-out of interest-based promoting or advertisements personalization (efficient October 4, 2021)
  • a brand new function that notifies builders of customers’ opt-out preferences, for instance, they may obtain a notification when a person deletes their promoting ID to allow them to erase IDs which are not in use
  • the interdiction of linking persistent machine identifiers to private person knowledge or resettable machine identifiers (efficient October 28, 2021)
  • a developer preview of app set ID (for analytics and fraud prevention), app set ID can’t be used for advertisements personalization or advertisements measurement (efficient September 1, 2021)

Furthermore, apps primarily directed to youngsters can not transmit identifiers. If an app’s viewers is each adults and youngsters, it must do its finest to not transmit the identifiers of its underaged customers. 

Google additionally introduced they might shut dormant accounts (accounts which were inactive or deserted for not less than a yr) together with developer accounts that haven’t uploaded an app or accessed Google Play Console in a yr. Nevertheless, the accounts whose apps have 1000+ installs or in-app purchases within the final 90 days gained’t be closed. As soon as a developer account is closed, you possibly can create a brand new one however you gained’t have the ability to reactivate previous accounts, apps, or knowledge.

Each these adjustments will take impact on September 1st, 2021.

Let’s recap!

Beginning in September 2021, builders must replace their app’s title and subtitle to adjust to the brand new metadata rules. And in October, will probably be time to begin submitting info for the brand new privateness part. 

The revealed tips are much like what’s already in place within the App Retailer (particularly on titles and property tips), to not point out Apple arrange privateness labels on the App Retailer in December 2020. The 2 app shops are already two sides of the identical coin, it appears to be like prefer it’s going to develop into tougher to tell apart them from one another as time goes by. 

What do you concentrate on all these adjustments? Feeling overwhelmed with these adjustments? We may help you streamline the inventive course of!

Marine Nozerand

Marine Nozerand

Hello there, I am Marine (she/her), I am a Content material Supervisor at Apptamin. Apptamin is a inventive company specialised in app movies (video advertisements, app retailer movies, and so forth.).

Marine Nozerand

Newest posts by Marine Nozerand (see all)



Supply www.apptamin.com