Short answer: Not usually, and directly, no. App Store Optimization is a genuinely distinct discipline that an aso consultant or app store optimization consultant specializes in, while a generalist digital marketing consultant typically does not directly own in-store keyword optimization, creative testing, or review management, though a broader growth consultant's paid user acquisition and funnel skills do overlap heavily with the user acquisition consultant and app growth strategist side of app growth.
1. What ASO actually is, and why it's a separate discipline
App Store Optimization covers in-store keyword optimization tuned to how the App Store and Google Play ranking algorithms actually work, screenshot and creative testing specific to store listing conversion, and review and rating management, since ratings directly affect visibility inside the store. Each of these depends on platform-specific mechanics that don't overlap with general web marketing skills, an app store's keyword field behaves nothing like a webpage's SEO, and a store listing's screenshot carousel behaves nothing like a landing page. This is genuinely specialized work, and it's honest to say most generalist digital marketing consultants, including broad growth consultants, do not directly specialize in it.
2. Where a broader marketing or growth consultant's skills genuinely do overlap
The overlap sits in two specific places. First, paid user acquisition campaigns driving app installs, running Google App campaigns, Meta app-install ads, or programmatic UA, are a direct extension of paid media skills a growth consultant already applies to web conversion campaigns, just pointed at a different conversion event. Second, funnel and conversion optimization thinking applied to onboarding flows once a user has installed the app follows the same underlying logic as web CRO: identify where users drop off, test changes to reduce that drop-off, and measure against a clear conversion definition. A user acquisition consultant or app growth strategist role sits almost entirely inside skills a competent growth consultant already has.
| Work | Who typically owns it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| In-store keyword optimization | ASO consultant / app store optimization consultant | Platform-specific ranking mechanics, not general SEO |
| Screenshot and creative testing for the store listing | ASO consultant | Store-specific conversion behavior, distinct from landing page testing |
| Review and rating management | ASO consultant | Direct impact on in-store visibility, a specialized workflow |
| Paid UA campaigns driving installs | Growth consultant / user acquisition consultant | Direct extension of existing paid media skills |
| Onboarding funnel optimization | Growth consultant / app growth strategist | CRO thinking applied to a different surface, not a new discipline |
3. When a business needs a dedicated ASO specialist versus a broader growth consultant
If the core problem is visibility inside the app stores themselves, keyword rankings, conversion rate on the store listing page, or a rating problem suppressing downloads, that calls for a dedicated aso consultant with direct experience in those specific mechanics. If the core problem is driving qualified installs through paid channels or improving what happens after someone opens the app for the first time, a broader growth marketing consultant with strong paid media and funnel experience can competently own that work without needing ASO-specific credentials.
4. Why these two roles usually need to run in parallel, not sequentially
A common mistake is treating this as a single hire when it's really two coordinated efforts. An ASO specialist optimizing the store listing and a growth consultant running paid UA campaigns and onboarding tests are working on different surfaces that both feed the same install-to-active-user funnel, and results improve fastest when both run at the same time rather than one waiting on the other. Store listing improvements raise organic conversion on traffic the growth consultant's paid media campaigns are already sending, and onboarding improvements make every install, organic or paid, more likely to stick.
5. An honest scoping guide for who to actually hire
The clearest way to scope this correctly is to separate the store listing from everything around it. The store listing itself, keywords, screenshots, ratings, belongs with a dedicated ASO consultant. Everything driving traffic to the app and shaping what happens after install belongs with a broader growth marketing consultant. A business hiring one generalist and expecting them to also own competitive ASO work is usually setting that person up to underperform on a discipline they were never positioned to specialize in, not because generalist consultants lack skill, but because ASO genuinely sits outside the scope most digital marketing consulting engagements are built around.
Bottom line
Hire a dedicated ASO consultant for the store listing itself, and let a broader growth or marketing consultant own paid user acquisition and onboarding funnel work in parallel. Expecting one generalist hire to competently cover both is the scoping mistake that leads to underwhelming results on the ASO side specifically.
FAQ
Can a generalist digital marketing consultant do app store optimization directly?
Usually not to a competitive standard. In-store keyword optimization, screenshot and creative testing, and review and rating management are specialized skills built around each app store's specific ranking mechanics, and a generalist consultant typically doesn't specialize in them directly. The honest answer for most businesses is a dedicated ASO consultant for that piece, working alongside broader marketing support for everything around it.
- In-store keyword optimization and creative testing are specialized skills most generalists don't directly practice.
- A dedicated ASO consultant is usually the right call for the store listing itself.
What app-related work can a broader growth or marketing consultant competently own?
Paid user acquisition campaigns driving app installs, and funnel or conversion optimization thinking applied to onboarding flows once a user is inside the app. Both are extensions of skills a broader growth consultant already has from web and paid media work, they don't require ASO-specific expertise the way store listing optimization does.
- Paid UA campaigns driving installs overlap directly with existing paid media and growth skills.
- Onboarding funnel optimization is CRO thinking applied to a different surface, not a new discipline.