App Store Keyword Research: A Step-by-Step Method
Keyword research for an app is a loop: collect phrases people might type, check how much they are searched and how hard they are to win, put the good ones in your listing, then watch what happens. Here is the method, step by step.
Start with what you are trying to do
Most apps are found in two ways: people search for a phrase ("habit tracker") or browse and see a chart or featured slot. Keyword research is about the first. The goal is a short list of phrases that are relevant to your app, searched by enough people, and winnable for an app your size.
A phrase that fails any of the three is a poor choice. A hugely popular phrase you cannot rank for brings no installs; a phrase nobody searches brings none either; and a phrase that does not describe your app brings people who uninstall at once.
Step 1: write down seed phrases
Start with words that describe what your app does and who it is for. Write the way a stranger would talk, not the way you talk about your own product.
- What the app does: "workout log", "budget planner", "tournament bracket".
- The problem it solves: "track expenses", "split bills", "run a league".
- Who it is for: "for teachers", "for runners", "for coaches".
- What people use today: spreadsheets, paper, another app's category.
Step 2: expand with search suggestions
When someone types in the App Store search box, Apple suggests completions. Those suggestions come from what people really search for, so they are free ideas that you could not guess alone. Type each seed phrase and note the completions, then try the next letter, and the next.
Do the same for the spoken-language variants of your market. A phrase that is common in one country can be rare in another, even when both speak English: the same thing has different names in different places.
Step 3: look at who ranks
Search your best phrases and read the top results. Which apps are there, and what do they put in their name and subtitle? Phrases your competitors share are usually the core of the market. Phrases only one of them uses can be gaps you can fill.
Also look at how strong the top results are. A phrase where the top ten are apps with hundreds of thousands of ratings is hard for a new app. A phrase where small apps with a few ratings rank near the top is open.
Step 4: judge each phrase
Give every candidate three checks.
- Relevance: would a person who searched this be happy to find your app? If not, drop it, whatever the numbers say.
- Demand: how many people search for it. Exact search counts are not public, so tools estimate it. Use the estimate to compare phrases with each other, not as a promise.
- Difficulty: how strong the apps already ranking are. Lower is easier. A middling-demand phrase you can rank for is worth more than a huge one you cannot.
Step 5: choose your storefronts and languages
The App Store ranks separately in each country (a storefront). The same phrase can be a top-10 win in one and invisible in another. Pick the storefronts where your app is available and where you want users, and research the phrases people use in that language. A direct translation of an English keyword is often not what people actually type.
Step 6: put the phrases where Apple reads them
Apple reads your app name, your subtitle and the hidden keyword field. Put your most important phrase in the name, a second phrase in the subtitle, and the rest in the keyword field without repeating words. The next two guides cover each in detail: the name and subtitle and the 100-character keyword field.
Step 7: track, then repeat
Keyword research is never finished. Rankings move when you change your listing, when competitors change theirs, and when people's search habits shift. Track where you rank for each phrase every day, see what moved after each change, and replace phrases that do not earn their place. How to track keyword rankings covers what the numbers mean.
Where MetricNudge fits
MetricNudge's Keywords tool does the collecting and checking for you. It finds ideas from Apple's suggestions, your competitors, the top apps for a seed and your own listing; checks each one for volume, difficulty and who ranks; then tracks your rank in every storefront you choose and flags the opportunities. The free plan tracks 25 keywords, which is enough to run this method on a first app.
Try it on your own app
MetricNudge tracks your keyword rankings in every storefront, shows your app's analytics, and writes a plain-words plan of what to do next. The free plan needs no card.