ASO
App Store Optimization: what actually moves rankings
ASO is the work of making your app easy to find and easy to choose in the store. Most of it is unglamorous: picking the right words, putting them in the right fields, testing your visuals, and keeping the app itself healthy. Here is how we approach it.
Two stores, two rule books
Google Play and the App Store look similar from the outside, but they read your listing differently. Before writing a single word, it helps to know which fields each store actually uses for search.
| Field | Google Play | App Store |
|---|---|---|
| App name / title | 30 characters, used for search | 30 characters, used for search |
| Short description / subtitle | Short description, 80 characters, used for search | Subtitle, 30 characters, used for search |
| Keyword field | None | 100 characters, hidden from users, used for search |
| Long description | Up to 4,000 characters, used for search | Up to 4,000 characters, not used for search ranking |
| Listing tests | Store listing experiments | Product page optimization |
The practical difference: on Google Play, your full description matters for ranking. On the App Store, the name, subtitle and keyword field do most of the work, and the description is written for people, not the algorithm.
Start with the words people actually type
Good keyword research starts with your users, not a tool. Write down how a real person would describe the problem your app solves, in their own words and languages. Then:
- Type those phrases into each store's search bar and note the suggestions that appear.
- Look at the titles and short descriptions of the apps that rank for them.
- Pick terms that are relevant first and popular second. Ranking for a big keyword that doesn't match your app brings installs that uninstall the next day.
- Track your position for 15–30 core terms every week, so you can see what each change actually did.
Put the words in the right places
On Google Play, the title and short description carry the most weight. Use your most important keyword naturally in the title, and the next one or two in the short description. In the long description, write clearly for people and mention your key phrases where they fit. Repeating a word ten times does not help and can count against you.
Google Play's metadata policy also matters here. Titles, icons and developer names should not include words that imply ranking or promotion, such as "best", "#1", "top" or "free", and should not use emoji or ALL CAPS for emphasis (unless it's part of your brand name). Listings that break these rules can be rejected or removed.
On the App Store, avoid repeating the same word across the name, subtitle and keyword field, since it gains you nothing. Separate keywords in the keyword field with commas, without spaces, and don't use competitors' brand names.
Words get you ranked. Visuals get you installed.
Once people see your listing, the icon and the first two or three screenshots decide most installs. A few rules we follow:
- Each screenshot should show one clear benefit, with a short caption readable on a small phone.
- Test one thing at a time: the icon, or the first screenshot, or the order. Testing everything at once tells you nothing.
- Let tests run at least a full week, so weekday and weekend users are both counted.
Google Play's store listing experiments and the App Store's product page optimization both let you compare versions with real store traffic. Use them before making big design changes.
The app itself is part of ASO
Stores want to show apps that people keep using. That means quality signals affect visibility:
- Ratings and reviews. Ask for a rating at a good moment, for example after a user completes a task, using the official in-app review prompts on Android and iOS. Reply to reviews, especially negative ones.
- Stability. Google Play's Android vitals tracks crashes and "app not responding" errors. Google has said that apps above its bad-behaviour thresholds (a user-perceived crash rate of 1.09% or an ANR rate of 0.47%) may be shown less often, and may get a warning on their store listing.
- Retention. If people install and quickly uninstall, no amount of keyword work will hold your ranking.
Localize where your users are
If many of your users are outside the English-speaking world, translate your listing, and translate the screenshots too, not only the text. In India, a Hindi listing (and other regional languages for the right apps) can reach people who skip English listings. Google Play's custom store listings also let you show a different listing to specific countries.
What to expect, honestly
ASO is steady, monthly work, not a one-time fix. Metadata changes usually take days to a few weeks to show an effect, and results depend on your category and competition. Anyone promising a guaranteed top rank is guessing.
At IWS Software we run our ASO process on our own Google Play apps first. If you'd like a second opinion on your listing, we offer a free ASO review: we'll look at your keywords, copy and screenshots and send you a short list of changes worth testing.