ASO Review #3: Match vs Bumble

Welcome to another ASO Review. In November 2020, we started a series where we compare the ASO efforts of two industry leaders from the same category or functionality and challenge them to a head-to-head ASO matchup.

Check out our last ASO review on two top Health and Fitness apps here

Since February is all about Valentines Day and finding someone to celebrate with, we decided to compare two top dating apps. In this head-to-head matchup, we will be comparing the ASO efforts of Match and Bumble both of which are leading apps when it comes to mobile dating. For both of these apps there are free features available with optional paid features or subscriptions.

In this ASO review, we will focus on the app power, estimated downloads, current metadata and creatives, recent metadata/creatives updates, keyword growth and ratings & reviews of both iOS apps, and try to declare a winner on each criteria. One of the main differences between these two apps is that Match is currently in the Social Networking category and Bumble is currently in the Lifestyle category.

App power & download estimates

The App Power is an indicator of the authority an app has in the app stores. The higher the App Power, the more authority the app has, and the easier it will be to rank on certain keywords. The App Power, a metric developed by AppTweak, takes into account daily downloads, overall category ranking, and competitiveness between different categories.

For the past year, Bumble has been incredibly consistent with an App Power between 94 and 97. Match on the other hand has seen a bit more fluctuation. Match was affected by the changes in user behavior due to Covid 19 in March 2020 and saw a 10% drop in its App Power but it did recover by May 2020 and has stayed between a score of 77 and 83 since then.

Comparing App Power for Match and Bumble in the US Apple App Store.

While Match saw a drop in App Power from March to May, we estimate that their installs remained quite steady during that time and was not the cause of the drop in app power. This app power decline seems to be caused by the social apps that saw a surge in users during the beginning of stay at home restrictions moving into better ranked positions in the category. Both competitors saw an increase in installs at the start of 2021 but only Bumble has managed to continue their install growth to the Valentine’s Day season. Match returned to average install values by the end of January and did not see a boost in installs leading up to the holiday.

Therefore, Bumble is the winner of this round!

Comparing daily download estimates for Match and Bumble in the US Apple App Store.

Metadata & creative updates

Next, we will consider the ASO efforts these apps have made to increase their organic installs. Looking more closely, we can dig into the metadata changes for both apps in the last twelve months, with our Timeline tool, to learn more about their ASO strategy.

Metadata update frequency for Match and Bumble in the US Apple App Store.

Both Match and Bumble have made updates to their metadata in the past year, but Bumble has made 14 more updates than Match. Looking first at keywords, Match made an update to its subtitle but Bumble updated both its title and subtitle 3 times each. Remember we are not able to see the hidden keyword field so it is possible there were also keyword field updates made for each app.

Match

Textual metadata updates for Match in the US Apple App Store in the last 12 months.

Over the past year the previous and updated subtitles are both keyword focused. In May, Match removed “Meet Real Singles” and replaced it with “Chat.” Since Match is the title and brand its likely they would rank #1 regardless and Apple’s best practices state repeating keywords in the metadata does not increase ranking outcomes, repeating Match in the subtitle does not currently bring additional value. Fortunately, despite removing “Meet Real Singles”, Match still ranks #1 for “Meet Singles” but the addition of “Chat” has not provided top rankings.

Match’s ranking on keywords included in the subtitle.

Although the title has not been updated in the past year, let’s take a look at the keywords targeted. “Dating App” is a very popular search term in the US Apple App Store. “Dating” is also a great term to target in the title as it is very relevant and has a high search volume. In terms of ASO “#1” does not provide any benefit to the title but it is possible it contributes to conversion.

Textual metadata for Match in the US Apple App Store in the last 12 months.

Match’s ranking on keywords included in the title.

Bumble

Textual metadata updates for Bumble in the US Apple App Store in the last 12 months.

Now let’s look at the updates Bumble has made in the last 12 months. Interestingly, Bumble updated it’s title with almost identical keywords to Match’s Subtitle following Match’s May subtitle change. It has since been updated two more times but with each update the keyword “Dating” remains.

Bumble’s ranking on keywords included in the title.

As we saw with Match, “Dating” is a high volume term and is relevant to target in the title, and the same can be said for “Meet People.”

Textual metadata updates for Bumble in the US Apple App Store in the last 12 months.

Looking at Bumble’s subtitle updates, they began targeting “Match” in their subtitle in August 2020 while this seems like they are targeting the brand, it is also a relevant generic keyword. They also include top searched terms in “Make New Friends.” Bumble was already targeting “Date” and it has remained in the subtitle. Each of these terms have a high volume and high relevance.

Bumble’s ranking on keywords included in the subtitle.

Bumble has made more updates in the last year and is targeting more high volume keywords, therefore Bumble wins this round!

Screenshots

Both apps have made updates to their screenshots in the last year so let’s compare what they have currently on their app page.

Match’s latest screenshots in the US App Store taken from AppTweak.

Bumble’s latest screenshots in the US App Store taken from AppTweak.

Each app is highlighting the user interface and shows at least one in-app feature. Match is using less screenshot cards but this doesn’t automatically mean that Bumble’s are better. Both apps are including text with effective messaging that is concise and clear and both apps screenshots feel “on brand.” In this case we will declare Bumble the winner, not because they are using more screenshots but because in the first four screenshot cards users can already better understand the exact process of dating through their app.

Ratings and reviews

In order to determine which app has experienced a greater impact through their ASO efforts, we can look back to one year ago, February 2020, and compare keyword install growth since then.

Ratings & Reviews for Match and Bumble in the US Apple App Store in the past 12 Months.

Currently Bumble has a decent rating score of 4.2 and far more ratings overall. Match has a moderate score but falls below 4.0. Reviews, however, have a low score for both apps and Bumble’s score is lower than Match’s at only 1.88. Having positive reviews is an important aspect of conversion and neither app is performing well with reviews.

Because of Bumble’s rating score of 4.20 we will declare them the winner of this section.

Keyword rankings

In order to determine which app has experienced a greater impact through their ASO efforts, we can look back to one year ago, February 2020, and compare keyword install growth since then.

Daily Organic Installs from keywords for Match & Bumble

Since February 2020, there have been lots of changes in how people meet, date, and use mobile devices due to Covid 19.

Comparing each app’s growth over the last 12 months, we can see that Match is seeing installs from far fewer keywords when compared to Bumble, but they have increased their organic installs by over 1,000 and are ranked for 369 new keywords. Bumble has far more installs from organic keywords and total ranked terms and they have also seen a growth in both installs and total ranked keywords. It’s notable that Match was able to increase their installs more than Bumble by seeing ranking improvements in fewer keywords however, Bumble is again the winner because despite already being ranked for so many keywords, they were able to see growth in this area.

Learn more about AppTweak’s All Ranked Keywords Performance feature

Conclusion

It’s clear that each app is very powerful and well-positioned in the overall market. Both apps have put forth the effort to include generic keywords in the title and make updates to their app pages. Match has updated keywords that have high search volumes but there is still room to target more effectively. They have seen growth in organic keyword installs and rank for more terms but have a moderate rating score and make less updates overall. Bumble has focused on targeting many high volume generic keywords in the visible metadata, making routine updates and has a rating score of 4.2. Therefore, Bumble is the winner of this ASO matchup!

Stay tuned for the next edition of AppTweak’s ASO review series, where we’ll take a deeper look into two more apps to measure the effectiveness of ASO and how industry leaders update their store listings.