App Store Keywords: How to Research and Pick the Right Ones

Key rules:

• •100 characters total, including commas
• •Comma-separated (no spaces needed after commas)
• •No duplicate words (Apple ignores repeats)
• •No other app names or trademarks
• •No category names (Apple already knows your category)
• •No generic terms like 'app' or 'game'
• •Single words are combined: 'sleep,tracker' matches 'sleep tracker'
• •Plurals are handled: 'task' matches 'tasks' (don't include both)
• •Don't repeat words from your app name (Apple already indexes those)

The 100-character limit is tight. Every character matters. The goal is maximum coverage with minimum redundancy.

Free sources:

• •App Store search suggestions: type a word and see what Apple suggests
• •Competitor analysis: look at top-ranking apps in your category — what words appear in their titles and subtitles?
• •Google Trends: see search volume trends for app-related terms
• •Reddit and forums: what language do users use when describing their problems?
• •Your own reviews: what words do users use to describe your app?
• •Apple's auto-complete: start typing in App Store search and note suggestions

Paid sources (for serious ASO):

• •AppTweak: keyword research with search volume and difficulty scores
• •Sensor Tower: keyword tracking and competitor analysis
• •Mobile Action: keyword optimization suggestions
• •AppFollow: keyword rank tracking

Start with free sources. Once you have traffic data from App Store Connect, invest in paid tools to refine your strategy.

1. 1.Relevance: does the keyword accurately describe what your app does? Irrelevant keywords don't convert even if they rank.

1. 2.Search volume: how many people search for this term? Higher volume = more potential traffic.

1. 3.Difficulty: how competitive is this keyword? If the top results are from big apps with millions of installs, you won't rank. Target keywords where you can realistically compete.

1. 4.Intent: does the searcher want what your app offers? 'Free budget app' has clear intent; 'budget' alone is ambiguous.

1. 5.Long-tail vs short-tail: 'sleep tracker' is short-tail (high volume, high competition). 'sleep tracker for apple watch' is long-tail (lower volume, lower competition, higher intent). Mix both.

The sweet spot: keywords with decent search volume, low-to-medium competition, and high relevance to your app. These are easier to rank for and convert better.

1. 1.Start with your 3-5 most important keywords (highest relevance + achievable competition)
2. 2.Add 5-10 long-tail keywords (lower competition, specific intent)
3. 3.Fill remaining space with related terms and synonyms
4. 4.Remove any words already in your app name or subtitle (Apple indexes those separately)
5. 5.Remove plurals (Apple handles them automatically)
6. 6.Remove duplicates (Apple ignores repeated words)
7. 7.Count characters and trim if over 100

Example for a meditation app named 'Calm Mind':

• •App name: Calm Mind (already indexes 'calm' and 'mind')
• •Keywords: meditation,sleep,anxiety,breathing,mindfulness,relax,stress,guided,session,beginner
• •This is 92 characters — 8 to spare for one more keyword

Don't waste characters on:

• •'app' or 'game' (Apple ignores these)
• •Your category name (Apple knows it)
• •Words in your app name (already indexed)
• •Plurals (handled automatically)
• •Competitor names (against rules and can get rejected)

This is a major opportunity: while the keyword field is limited to 100 characters, your screenshots can contain up to 10 captions with keyword-rich text.

How to leverage screenshot text for ASO:

• •Include your target keywords naturally in screenshot captions
• •Use the exact phrases people search for ('Track Sleep Patterns' not 'Somnolent Analytics')
• •Keep captions readable: 3-8 words, high contrast, clear typography
• •Use all 10 screenshot slots: each is an opportunity to target a keyword theme
• •Ensure text is legible at thumbnail size: Apple's OCR needs to read it
• •Reinforce keywords across metadata: if 'sleep tracker' is in your keywords, also use it in a screenshot caption

This dual approach — keyword field + screenshot captions — gives you significantly more keyword surface area than the 100-character field alone.

• •Keyword stuffing: cramming unrelated keywords. Apple may penalize this and it hurts conversion.
• •Using competitor names: against Apple's rules and can cause rejection.
• •Repeating app name words: wastes characters (Apple already indexes them).
• •Including plurals: 'task,tasks' wastes characters (Apple handles plurals).
• •Using spaces after commas: 'sleep, tracker' wastes a character. Use 'sleep,tracker'.
• •Targeting only high-volume keywords: you won't rank against established apps. Mix in long-tail.
• •Ignoring localization: keywords that work in English may not work in other languages. Localize.
• •Never updating keywords: search behavior changes. Review and update quarterly.
• •Using generic terms: 'app', 'game', 'free' don't help — Apple ignores them.
• •Not testing: use App Store Connect analytics to see which keywords drive impressions and installs.

• •App Store Connect → Analytics → Discovery: see which keywords drive impressions
• •Look at 'Impressions' vs 'Product Page Views' vs 'Installs' for each keyword
• •High impressions, low page views: your keyword ranks but your icon/screenshots don't attract clicks
• •High page views, low installs: your listing attracts clicks but doesn't convert — fix screenshots and description
• •High installs: this keyword works — double down on it

Update your keywords based on performance data. Apple allows keyword updates without a new build submission (it's metadata), so you can iterate quickly.

Review your keyword strategy monthly. Search trends shift, new competitors enter, and Apple's algorithm evolves. What worked last quarter may not work this quarter.