James Bott and Thomas Twigg: ASO Co

James Bott, 34 and Thomas Twigg, 35
Company: The ASO Co
Web: www.theaso.co

With around two million apps in the App Store and over three million on Google Play, the mobile app marketplace has become one of the toughest in the world.

This ruthless environment has fostered a new marketing specialism: App Store Optimisation, the art of improving an app’s organic search visibility and conversion rate by maximising keywords, creative execution, reviews and other key assets.

The ASO Co is the world’s largest agency in this field, with 30 employees and counting.

The company, founded by James Bott and Thomas Twigg has no external funding, a point the founders are extremely proud of.  They employ a diverse range of specialists including seven data scientists and developers who focus on reverse-engineering the App Store algorithms – in other words, working out the process by which apps are ranked, and integrating these tactics into their clients’ app store listings.

The ASO Co has also built proprietary tools to measure an app’s performance, and optimise it. In addition to its core analytics offering, the company runs paid media via products like Apple Search Ads, and provides a broader mobile consultancy, advising clients on how to craft killer mobile growth strategies.

Bott and Twigg say their unique service increases clients’ organic installs by 50% on average, and the company has built an impressive roster of clients including eBay, Spotify, Twitter, Walmart, Pinterest, Hotels.com and many others.

The founders predict further expansion in 2018; they expect their staff roster will grow from 30 to 50 over the next year, with tech development and international client services being the key focus.

Named among our ‘Five to Watch’ last year, Bott and Twigg again make the Young Guns list in 2018. Keep up the great work guys – and if we ever roll out a Startups app, we’ll be in touch!

Update

Just days after inclusion in the Young Guns 2018 index, The ASO Co announced that it had been acquired by digital agency Jellyfish. App Store Optimisation will now be added to Jellyfish’s client offering as the two agencies combine resources to facilitate their ongoing growth. Jellyfish will only take 75% of the business for the time being, with an agreement to take the remaining 25% at the end of a 21-month period.

Bott commented: “From the very first meeting with the team at Jellyfish, we knew instinctively that this could be an excellent fit for us. Our shared experiences as independent, entrepreneurial agencies with a vision for continued growth, gave us an instant connection. Jellyfish hold a unique place in the market and we wouldn’t have partnered with anybody else.”