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App Store Keyword Research: The Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Keywords That Rank
Find high-impact app store keywords with this step-by-step guide. Covers iOS keyword field, Google Play indexing, and difficulty analysis.
Understanding Keyword Metrics: Volume, Difficulty, and Relevance
Step 3: Use Autocomplete and Suggest Tools for Long-Tail Ideas
How long does it take for keyword ranking changes to take effect?
What is the difference between keyword volume and difficulty?
Should I use the same keywords for both App Store and Google Play?
How often should I update my app store keywords?
Keyword research is the foundation of every successful App Store Optimization (ASO) strategy. No matter how beautiful your screenshots are or how compelling your description reads, none of it matters if users cannot find your app in the first place. Over 65% of app downloads begin with a search query in the App Store or Google Play[1], which means ranking for the right keywords is not optional — it is essential for growth.
Yet most developers approach keyword research as an afterthought. They pick a handful of obvious terms, paste them into their metadata, and wonder why downloads stay flat. The truth is that effective keyword research is a systematic, data-driven process that requires understanding search behavior, analyzing competition, and continuously iterating based on real ranking data.
This guide walks you through the complete keyword research process, from brainstorming your first seed keywords to mapping them across your metadata fields and tracking your rankings over time. Whether you are optimizing for the Apple App Store, Google Play, or both, you will leave with a repeatable framework for finding keywords that actually rank.
Why Keyword Research Is the Foundation of ASO
Think of keyword research as the compass that guides every other ASO decision you make. Your app title, subtitle, description, and even your screenshot text should all be informed by the keywords your target users are actually searching for.
Here is why keywords matter so much:
Search is the #1 discovery channel: App Store data consistently shows that search drives the majority of organic installs on both platforms. If you are not ranking for relevant terms, you are invisible to the users who need your app most.
Keywords drive qualified traffic: Unlike paid ads or social media, search users have high intent. Someone searching "budget tracker" is actively looking for a budgeting app. Ranking for that term puts you in front of ready-to-install users.
Keywords inform your entire listing: The keywords you research should shape your title, subtitle, description, and even your visual assets. A cohesive keyword strategy makes every element of your listing work harder.
Keyword rankings compound over time: Unlike paid campaigns that stop the moment you stop spending, strong organic keyword rankings generate downloads around the clock. Investing in keyword research pays dividends for months or even years.
The bottom line: if you skip keyword research, you are building your entire ASO strategy on guesswork. And guesswork does not scale.
How App Store Search Works: Apple vs Google Play
Before diving into keyword research tactics, you need to understand how each platform's search algorithm differs. Apple and Google take fundamentally different approaches to indexing and ranking apps, and your keyword strategy must account for these differences.
Apple App Store Search
Apple's search algorithm is relatively straightforward in terms of which metadata fields it indexes[2]:
App Name (Title): 30 characters. Carries the highest keyword weight. Words in your title have the strongest influence on search rankings.
Subtitle: 30 characters. Also indexed for search with slightly less weight than the title.
Keyword Field: 100 characters. A hidden backend field where you list additional keywords separated by commas (no spaces needed).
Crucially, Apple does not index your app description for search. This means every keyword you want to rank for must appear in your title, subtitle, or keyword field. Apple's algorithm also automatically considers plurals and some common misspellings, so you generally do not need to include both "tracker" and "trackers" — one will suffice.
The golden rule for Apple: never duplicate keywords across your title, subtitle, and keyword field. Apple treats all three fields as a combined set. If "budget" appears in your title, there is zero benefit to repeating it in your keyword field. That repetition wastes characters you could use for a completely different keyword.
Google Play Search
Google Play uses a more web-like approach to indexing, drawing heavily from Google's search expertise:
App Title: 30 characters. Carries the strongest keyword weight, similar to Apple.
Short Description: 80 characters. Indexed and carries moderate weight.
Full Description: 4,000 characters. Fully indexed using natural language processing. Keyword placement and density matter here.
Unlike Apple, Google Play does not have a hidden keyword field. Instead, Google analyzes your full description to determine what your app is about. This means your Google Play description needs to naturally incorporate your target keywords — repeating important terms 3-5 times without keyword stuffing.
Google also considers additional signals like backlinks to your Play Store listing, user reviews and their content, engagement metrics (install rate, retention), and even your developer name. This makes Google Play SEO more complex but also gives you more levers to pull for improving rankings.
Understanding Keyword Metrics: Volume, Difficulty, and Relevance
Not all keywords are created equal. Before you commit a keyword to your metadata, you need to evaluate it across three critical dimensions.
Search Volume
Search volume measures how many times users search for a specific term within the app store each month. A keyword with zero volume is worthless no matter how relevant it is — nobody is searching for it. Conversely, extremely high-volume keywords like "game" or "social media" may have millions of searches but are nearly impossible to rank for.
Most ASO tools score volume on a scale of 0-100, where higher numbers indicate more monthly searches. A score of 50+ generally indicates meaningful search traffic worth pursuing, though the exact threshold depends on your app's category and competitive landscape.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty measures how competitive a term is — how hard it will be to break into the top results. Difficulty is determined by the number and strength of apps already ranking for that keyword. If the top 10 results for "photo editor" are dominated by apps with millions of downloads and thousands of ratings, a new app will struggle to crack that list.
The sweet spot is keywords with moderate-to-high volume and low-to-moderate difficulty. These are the hidden gems that can drive meaningful downloads without requiring a massive existing user base to compete. Tools like AppDrift's keyword tracking provide difficulty scores that help you identify these opportunities quickly.
Relevance
Relevance is the most overlooked metric, yet it might be the most important. A keyword can have massive volume and low difficulty, but if it does not accurately describe what your app does, the users who find you through that keyword will bounce immediately. High bounce rates (users who install then quickly uninstall) send negative signals to the algorithm and can actually hurt your rankings across the board.
Always ask: "If someone searches for this keyword and finds my app, will they be satisfied with what they download?" If the answer is not a confident yes, skip the keyword and find a more relevant alternative.
Step 1: Brainstorm Seed Keywords
Every keyword research process starts with seed keywords — the broad, foundational terms that describe your app's core functionality. These seeds will branch into dozens of more specific keyword opportunities through the research process.
Think Like Your Users
The most common mistake developers make is brainstorming keywords from their own perspective rather than their users'. You might think of your app as a "personal finance management platform" but your users are searching for "budget tracker," "expense app," or "money manager."
Start by answering these questions:
What problem does your app solve? (e.g., "track spending," "learn Spanish," "edit photos")
What category does it belong to? (e.g., "fitness app," "recipe app," "meditation app")
What features differentiate it? (e.g., "AI workout planner," "offline maps," "calorie counter")
What would a non-technical user type into the search bar?
Mine Your Reviews and Support Tickets
Your existing users are a goldmine for keyword ideas. Read through your app reviews and support tickets to find the exact language people use when describing your app. If multiple users describe your app as a "habit tracker" but your metadata never mentions that phrase, you are missing a keyword opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Use AppDrift's Free Keyword Suggestion Tool
Once you have a list of 10-15 seed keywords, expand them using AppDrift's free keyword suggestion tool. Enter each seed keyword and the tool will return related terms, long-tail variations, and trending alternatives that you might not have considered. This can quickly turn 15 seed keywords into 50-100 candidates for evaluation.
Step 2: Analyze Competitor Keywords
Your competitors have already done a significant amount of keyword testing. By analyzing which keywords your top competitors rank for, you can shortcut your own research and discover proven opportunities.
Identify Your Real Competitors
Your keyword competitors are not necessarily your business competitors. A small meditation app might compete for keywords with Headspace and Calm, but it also competes with sleep sound apps, breathing exercise tools, and yoga timer apps. Search for your primary keywords and note every app that appears in the top 10 — those are your keyword competitors.
Their app title and subtitle: What keywords are they prioritizing in their most valuable real estate?
Their keyword field (iOS): While you cannot see this directly, tools like AppDrift's competitor analysis can reveal which keywords competitors rank for.
Their description (Google Play): Look for repeated phrases and prominent terms in their Play Store description.
Their recent changes: If a competitor recently changed their title, they likely tested and found a better keyword strategy. Pay attention to these shifts.
Find Gaps and Opportunities
The real gold in competitor analysis is finding keywords that your competitors rank for but you do not — and vice versa. Look for terms where competitors have weak rankings (positions 10-30) because these represent opportunities where you could potentially outrank them with focused optimization.
Step 3: Use Autocomplete and Suggest Tools for Long-Tail Ideas
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases that typically have lower volume but also lower competition. For many apps, long-tail keywords drive the majority of quality installs because they capture highly specific user intent.
App Store Autocomplete
The simplest long-tail research method is free and built right into the stores. Start typing your seed keywords into the App Store or Google Play search bar and note the autocomplete suggestions. These suggestions are based on actual user search behavior, making them extremely valuable signals of what real people are looking for.
For example, typing "budget" might reveal autocomplete suggestions like:
Each of these represents a specific user need that you could potentially target with your metadata.
Systematic Long-Tail Expansion
Use the alphabet technique: type your seed keyword followed by each letter of the alphabet (e.g., "fitness a," "fitness b," "fitness c") and record every autocomplete suggestion. This systematic approach ensures you do not miss valuable long-tail opportunities.
Now that you have a large list of keyword candidates, it is time to separate the winners from the time-wasters. This evaluation phase is where data-driven decisions replace gut instincts.
Search Volume Score: How many people search for this term monthly (0-100 scale)
Difficulty Score: How competitive the top results are (0-100 scale)
Relevance Score: How well this keyword matches your app's core value (1-10 scale, scored manually)
Current Ranking: Where you currently rank for this term, if at all
The ideal keywords are those that