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Screenshot A/B tests — themes to test and published results

What to A/B test on App Store screenshots (order, design, seasonality, orientation, callouts, video) and results from cited cases — +30%, +13.8%, +45%/+61% in two phases, Angry Birds seasonal loss.

Updated 2026-10-23·2 sources·asoscreenshotsab-testingproduct-page-optimizationconversion-rate

Screenshot A/B tests — themes to test and published results

TL;DR

  • Screenshots and icon are the ASO lever that raises downloads without touching keywords.1
  • Test themes: branded design, seasonality, screenshot order, orientation (portrait vs landscape), text callouts, video vs no video.2
  • Video: usually helps games; for non-games it’s often unnecessary and has sometimes hurt conversion.2
  • Run one test at a time unless you have massive download volume.3
  • Small wins compound: +15% on 10,000 downloads = 1,500 extra downloads for free.4

Details

Results cited by Steve P. Young (Sept 2026):

CaseChangeResult
CBT anxiety app (App Masters client)Lead with keyword + USPs + Editor’s Choice+30% downloads5
Another App Masters clientRedesigned, prettier screenshots+13.8% downloads6
Case via SplitMetrics/AppScreens blog, phase 1Sporty background vs plain blue+10–13%6
Same case, phase 2Close-up feature/screen highlights, same headlines+45%; +61% installs overall vs original7
Angry Birds (Apple-published)Seasonal vs standard screenshotsStandard won — seasonal did worse6
Steve’s Paraphrase appReordered: “Speak or write” feature moved ahead of “Rewrite in your style”Small uplift, kept89

Lessons Steve draws: subtle changes can matter a lot; showing more of the actual app tends to raise downloads; faces in the first three screenshots increase conversion.17

Testing sequence he follows: find the winning order → then test social proof (rating stars/laurels or a testimonial) vs base → then human-in-front vs screen-only, each as its own single-treatment test.1011

What to test first: the first three screenshots, because only they show in search results and Apple Ads.12

Disagreements / caveats

  • Seasonal creative is popular advice, but the Angry Birds test contradicted it.6
  • Several results are vendor case studies (SplitMetrics, AppScreens — Steve’s sponsor) or anonymised clients; sample sizes aren’t given.
  • Steve’s own Paraphrase uplift was “relatively small”; don’t expect 30% every time.9

See also

Footnotes

  1. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 00:51 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  2. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 04:33 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  3. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 03:43 — Steve P. Young ↩

  4. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 14:19 — Steve P. Young ↩

  5. How to Create App Store Screenshots That Get More Downloads @ 01:52 — Steve P. Young ↩

  6. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 02:11 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 03:43 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  8. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 08:47 — Steve P. Young ↩

  9. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 09:50 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  10. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 10:41 — Steve P. Young ↩

  11. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 11:40 — Steve P. Young ↩

  12. How to Increase Organic Downloads Without Changing Keywords @ 05:56 — Steve P. Young ↩