How to Write App Store Keywords That Actually Rank

You built the app. You launched it. And then — nothing. No downloads from people who don’t already know you. For most founders, the App Store search algorithm is a black box, and most advice online is either too vague (“use relevant keywords!”) or locked behind a $200/month ASO tool subscription. This guide walks you through a practical App Store keyword research process you can complete today, mostly for free. No agency required.

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Why App Store Keywords Matter More Than Most Founders Think

The App Store is a search engine. Apple reports that the majority of new app installs start with a direct search — not an ad, not a social post, and not a friend’s recommendation. That means most people who will ever download your app will find it by typing something into a search bar.

Apple indexes three fields when deciding where your app ranks:

Field	Character Limit	Ranking Weight	Visible to Users?
App Name	30 characters	Highest	Yes
Subtitle	30 characters	High	Yes
Keyword Field	100 characters	Medium	No

Everything else — your description, screenshots, reviews — affects whether someone downloads after they find you. But it does not determine whether they find you at all. That is why the 100-character keyword field in App Store Connect is one of the highest-leverage spots in your entire product.

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Step 1 — Seed Your List in Your Users’ Words

Before opening any tool, write down every phrase a potential user might type when they feel the problem your app solves — not when they already know your app exists.

Three prompts that force the right perspective:

• “What would someone search before they knew a product like mine existed?”
• “What is the pain or outcome they want, not the feature?” — “track grocery spending” instead of “budget app”
• “How would a non-technical person describe this app to a friend?”

Aim for 40–60 raw phrases at this stage. Do not filter yet.

Free sources for seeds:

• App Store autocomplete — type a partial query in the search bar and note every suggestion Apple shows. Each suggestion is a real query real users are submitting.
• Competitor names and subtitles — the top-ranking apps in your category have already validated their keywords. Their visible metadata is public.
• Your own reviews — real users describe your app in their own language. If three reviewers call it “the best habit streak app,” and you are not ranking for “habit streak,” that is a gap.
• Related searches — Apple surfaces these at the bottom of search results after you tap any listing.

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Step 2 — Evaluate Volume and Difficulty (Without Paying for a Tool)

Every keyword has two properties that matter: search volume (how many people are searching) and difficulty (how many well-rated apps already rank for it).

You want the sweet spot — meaningful demand, manageable competition. The biggest trap is targeting your category’s most obvious keyword (“photo editor,” “fitness tracker”). Those are dominated by apps with hundreds of thousands of ratings.

Judge difficulty for free:

1. Search the keyword in the App Store.
2. Look at the top 3–5 results — how many ratings do they have?
3. Top apps with 50,000+ ratings = very high competition, skip for now.
4. Top apps with under 5,000 ratings = realistic entry point.

Judge volume with proxy signals:

• How many autocomplete suggestions appear when you type the first two letters?
• Is the word used in the title or subtitle of multiple established apps? If they claimed it, they found it worth targeting.
• Run a brief Apple Search Ads campaign with a $1–2 daily budget. The “Search Match” relevance score tells you whether Apple considers your app a candidate for that query.

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Step 3 — Go Long-Tail, Not Broad

A short-tail keyword is one or two generic words. A long-tail keyword is a specific phrase describing a distinct use case.

Long-tail keywords almost always beat broad ones for early-stage apps:

• Less competition across the board
• They attract users who know exactly what they want — meaning higher install rates after they find you
• They add up: ten mid-volume long-tail terms often outperform one high-volume broad term in total downloads

When we refined the metadata for Launchcast, our premium space launch tracker, targeting “space launch tracker” performed significantly better than the broader “space app” — the specificity brought in exactly the right audience. You can see the same pattern across the apps we have shipped.

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Step 4 — Pack Your 100 Characters Wisely

The keyword field is 100 characters including commas. Every character counts.

Rules Apple enforces:

• No spaces after commas — use rocket,launch,tracker not rocket, launch, tracker (spaces eat into your 100 characters)
• No repetition — if a word is already in your app name or subtitle, do not put it in the keyword field; Apple already indexes it
• No competitor brand names — Apple’s guidelines prohibit this and can result in rejection
• No irrelevant keywords — reviewers check for stuffing and can reject your metadata update

A practical packing method:

1. List your top 20 prioritized keywords.
2. Remove any word already in your title or subtitle — those are already indexed.
3. Break remaining phrases into root words where possible. Apple combines your individual terms algorithmically, so habit,daily,streak,routine can match “daily habit streak” and “routine tracker” without you writing the full phrase.
4. Fill to 100 characters, ordering highest-priority roots first.

Example: instead of space,launches,rocket,launch,tracker,iss,nasa, try space,launches,rocket,iss,nasa,countdown,astronaut,orbit — you fit more root terms that Apple will combine into dozens of real phrases.

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Step 5 — Put Your Best Keywords in the Title and Subtitle

The keyword field is the weakest of the three indexed fields. If a keyword genuinely matters for your app, it belongs in your app name or subtitle — not buried in the invisible field.

Your title should lead with your brand name, but a short descriptive extension helps: “Launchcast — Space Launch Tracker” serves both as a brand story and a keyword signal. Your subtitle has 30 characters to add one high-value keyword cluster that did not fit in the name.

One mistake to avoid: wasting subtitle characters on a tagline like “Your pocket rocket companion.” Taglines do not rank. Keywords do.

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Step 6 — Iterate Every Release Cycle

App Store metadata can be updated with every new app version — and metadata-only updates are also allowed without a new binary. After 4–6 weeks on a keyword set:

• Check which keywords moved your app into the top 20 results for that query.
• Identify keywords with no ranking traction after six weeks despite a healthy install rate.
• Swap underperformers for new candidates from your seed list.

This is why maintaining a list of 50+ seed terms matters. You always have replacements ready without starting over.

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Common Questions

Do I need a paid ASO tool to do this? No. App Store autocomplete, competitor metadata inspection, and Apple Search Ads relevance signals give you most of what you need for free. Tools like AppFollow, AppTweak, or Sensor Tower speed up the process and add historical data — but they are not required for an early-stage app’s first several keyword iterations.

How often should I update keywords? Once per app release is a reasonable cadence — roughly every 4–8 weeks for most active products. Avoid changing everything at once. Replace 30–40% of your keyword field per cycle so you can isolate what actually moved.

Does the app description affect App Store ranking? On iOS, the description does not affect keyword ranking. It affects conversion — whether someone who lands on your page decides to download. On Google Play the description is fully indexed and matters more. Write your iOS description for human readers, not the algorithm.

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The Bigger Picture

App Store keyword research is not a one-afternoon task — it is a growth discipline that compounds over months. The iOS apps in our portfolio that rank consistently share a few traits: their names say exactly what the app does, their subtitles address the core use case, and their keyword fields are packed with high-intent, non-overlapping terms. That combination is not accidental.

We apply the same process to Clove AI — our AI kitchen assistant — and to every client app we ship across the US, Europe, and Central Asia.

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Ready to Build an App Worth Optimizing?

Strong ASO only pays off if the app is worth downloading. If you are at the idea stage or early build, take a look at our services and past work to see how we build iOS apps designed for growth from day one — not as an afterthought after launch.

When you are ready to talk through your project, get in touch. We work with founders at every stage, from product strategy to post-launch growth.

Browse more growth guides on our blog.