The Algorithm Excuse Is a Distraction
When downloads drop, many teams point immediately to algorithm changes. It is an invisible, external cause that demands no follow-up action. The truth is less convenient: most download drops are diagnostic problems, not algorithmic ones.
We are seeing the same pattern across channels—traffic sources change, browse placements shift, competitors launch new campaigns, or another app in the category repositions entirely. These are findable causes if you look. Split the data by country, by traffic source, by channel. If browse traffic fell, you may have lost a placement. If conversion dropped, that is a different problem entirely and needs a different response. Pointing at the algorithm and leaving it there changes nothing.
Retention Is Now a Ranking Factor
Apple's own transparency data shows 1.9 billion weekly redownloads versus 839 million new installs—redownloads outpace new installs by more than 2x. Both Apple and Google noticed, and both responded.
Google made wiki:retention-metrics the center of its 2025 strategy. The You tab surfaces content from installed apps. Collections delivers personalized recommendations directly on the Android home screen. The Level Up program for games gives additional store visibility to apps that hit engagement benchmarks. In practice, this means acquisition and retention can no longer be optimized separately.
If users leave quickly, the algorithm notices. In-App Events on iOS and promotional content on Google Play simultaneously attract new users and bring back those who left. Organic performance and retention now directly affect each other.
Custom Product Pages Entered Organic Search
Until July 2025, Apple's wiki:custom-product-pages only worked for paid campaigns. After the keyword linking update, CPPs appear in organic search results: keywords from the keyword field are tied to specific CPPs, and users searching those terms see the CPP instead of the default page.
This enables intent matching at the organic level. A fitness app can show running-focused screenshots for the query "run tracker" and strength training screenshots for "workout log." Different users, different queries, different pages—all in organic search. The limit increased from 35 to 70 CPPs per app.
Several questions still require testing: how Apple handles keyword overlaps between CPPs, whether query combinations work or only single tokens, how CPPs compete with the default listing for the same queries. But the strategic implication is clear: CPPs are no longer a paid-traffic tool—they are a full part of ASO strategy.
Screenshot Tests That Keep Losing
Super Unlimited VPN ran years of screenshot A/B tests. Modern layouts, updated colors, new content arrangements, contemporary design trends—80% of the time, the new version lost. Users preferred what they were already used to seeing. The team went back to the original screenshots.
This finding cuts against one of the most common instincts in app growth: that better design means better conversion. For an app sitting at the top of App Store search, the risk of a major visual overhaul is asymmetric. Disrupting a proven asset is more dangerous than the upside of a marginal lift. The data is the authority, not aesthetic judgment.
According to AppTweak, 57% of top games on Google Play tested screenshots at least twice per year. Most apps on the App Store tested fewer than four times. That gap is exploitable. Teams that test screenshots more frequently, run tests long enough to cover a full week of days, and verify results with two weeks of real data after rollout have a structural advantage over teams that do not.
Keyword Strategy Is a Cycle, Not a Project
Keywords determine which queries an app appears for in search. In 2026, the focus has shifted toward wiki:long-tail-keywords: longer, more specific phrases face less competition and bring more targeted traffic. "Remove background from photo" converts better than "photo editor" because a person searching that already knows what they need.
Text optimization is built around metadata:
- App Store: Title, Subtitle, hidden Keywords field
- Google Play: Title, Short Description, Full Description
Keywords probably need revisiting at least quarterly to check whether something has shifted. Screenshots and other creative elements can be tested more frequently. The cycle does not have to be intense, but there should be a cycle. Teams that treat ASO as something that runs continuously tend to be in a better position than teams that treat it as a project with an end date.
The word "optimization" is sitting right there in the name.
Apple Search Ads and ASO Are Not Separate Budgets
Most teams perceive Apple Search Ads and ASO as two separate budgets with different owners. Both tools work on the same page in the same store. When there is no connection between them, both lose efficiency.
Apple Search Ads provides data on which keywords drive high tap-through rate and which convert into installs. Keywords with high conversion in paid campaigns are candidates for inclusion in the Title, Subtitle, or Keywords field. Keywords with low conversion signal that the page does not match user expectations for that query. This is faster and more precise than waiting for organic effect over 2–4 weeks.
With Apple's expansion of additional ad slots in Search Results across all markets in March 2026, the risk of cannibalization has grown. If an app organically ranks in the top 1–3 for a query, aggressive bidding on that same keyword requires explicit justification—brand defense, blocking a competitor, testing a CPP. If the organic position is below top-10, paid coverage likely delivers real incremental volume. Tracking organic ranking and paid activity on the same keywords together, not separately, is now required.
Foldables and the Device Ecosystem Shift
Apple's entry into the foldable market in September 2026 is projected to capture 46% of the North American foldable market. Samsung is expected to drop from 51% to 29%, Motorola from 44% to 23%, and Google Pixel from 5% to 3%. The iPhone's dominance in the US means many users have been waiting to see Apple's first attempt at a foldable before giving the form factor serious consideration.
For ASO practitioners, this means visual assets need to account for new display sizes and aspect ratios. Screenshots and preview videos optimized for 6.5" and 12.9" displays will need variants for foldable form factors. Teams that prepare foldable-specific wiki:custom-product-pages ahead of the September launch will have a conversion advantage over teams that do not.
Localization Is Not Translation
Localization in ASO is not translation. It is adaptation of the listing to the language and culture of a specific market. The difference is measurable in conversion rates.
In the App Store, each country can have multiple locales that are indexed in parallel. In the US, you can use English, Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, and others—this significantly expands semantics without additional budget. Combinations are formed only within one locale, so keywords need to be distributed so that each locale provides new combinations.
In Google Play, locale equals the device interface language. There are no additional language variants as on iOS. Here, custom store listings work for different countries or segments.
The most common mistake: teams translate text but leave screenshots in English. For markets with low English proficiency, this noticeably reduces conversion. Localize not only text—translate CTAs on screenshots, adapt date and currency formats, check cultural references.
The Gap Between Adequate and Excellent ASO
There is a version of ASO work that looks fine from the outside. Keywords are in, screenshots exist, the app is live, and whoever is responsible for it can point to a ranked keyword chart and call it a day. But many teams are running on assumptions that do not really hold up when you look at them, and the gap between doing ASO adequately and doing it well is bigger than most people realize.
Ranking for more keywords is easy to show and hard to justify. If the keywords have low traffic and conversion through them is thin, the number is just a number. It demonstrates activity more than results. Relevance is what determines whether a keyword is worth having. A more grounded way to track keyword performance is to look at impressions alongside installs and conversion rate.
Creative testing is only useful if you know what you are trying to learn. Running screenshot tests without a clear idea of what you are testing is common, particularly on teams newer to ASO. Before running a test, it is worth knowing what specifically you are trying to find out, what a good result looks like, and what you would do with a negative result. Testing whether showing a new feature in the first few screenshots improves conversion is a testable idea with a clear output. Testing whether the screenshots look nicer is not.
What Changed in 2025–2026
Custom Product Pages entered organic search. July 2025. Apple introduced keyword linking for CPPs—they now appear in organic search results, not just through paid campaigns. This fundamentally changes the role of CPPs: previously a paid traffic tool, now a full part of ASO strategy. The CPP limit increased from 35 to 70.
Google bet on engagement. The Engage SDK expanded to the Play Store, Collections arrived on the Android home screen, the You tab for personalized re-engagement launched, along with hero carousels and YouTube playlist carousels in listings.
Redownloads outpace new downloads. According to the Apple App Store Transparency Report, 839 million new downloads per week versus 1.9 billion redownloads. Redownloads outpace new downloads by more than 2x. That signals where platform priorities have shifted.
Guided Search on Google Play. Users type a goal rather than a keyword—the algorithm sorts apps into categories. Optimization now needs to think about user intent, not just specific query strings.
Portrait video on Google Play—according to Google: +7% watch time, +9% video completions, and +5% conversion.
AI in the stores. At WWDC 2025, Apple announced AI-generated App Store Tags—labels created from app metadata that affect browse placements. Google uses Gemini in Play Console for translations. The ChatGPT Directory has started influencing app choices before users even open the store.
What This Means in Practice
Apple and Google are moving in the same direction by different paths. Apple deepens personalization through CPPs and contextual search. Google is building a re-engagement ecosystem—the store is becoming not just a download point, but a persistent touchpoint. The shared signal from both platforms: new installs matter, but user retention matters more.
The teams that succeed in 2026 are not those with the biggest budgets—they are those who test the most, learn the fastest, and iterate relentlessly.