How to Update App Keywords for App Store Optimization (ASO)

In the competitive landscape of app stores, simply having a great app isn’t enough. To reach your target audience and drive organic downloads, your app needs to be discoverable. This is where App Store Optimization (ASO) comes into play, and at its heart lies effective App Store keyword research and strategically updating your app’s metadata. Let’s learn how you can master this crucial process for both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

Why Should You Update App Keywords?

Think of your app keywords as the signposts that guide potential users to your digital doorstep. Regularly updating app keywords is not just a good practice; it’s essential for several reasons:

• Evolving Search Trends: User search behavior changes over time. New trends emerge, popular terms shift, and what worked last year might not be as effective today. Keeping your app keywords fresh ensures you’re tapping into current search patterns.
• Algorithm Updates: Both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store frequently tweak their algorithms. Staying informed and adapting your current keywords in App Store helps maintain or improve your app’s ranking.  
• Expanding Reach: Identifying and incorporating relevant, although less obvious, ASO keywords can unlock new user segments you might have been missing.
• Competitive Landscape: Your competitors are also optimizing their listings. Analyze keywords present in your competitors’ metadata regularly and you’ll be identifying opportunities that can give you a crucial edge.
• Improved Conversion Rates: By targeting the right keywords, you attract users who are genuinely interested in what your app offers, leading to higher conversion rates (installs).
• Seasonal Relevance: If your app has features or content related to specific seasons or events, updating app keywords accordingly can significantly boost visibility during those times.You can read more about the impact of seasonal marketing for your app here.

ASO Keyword Research (an essential previous step)

Before you even think about tweaking your app’s title, subtitle, or keyword fields, you need a solid foundation of app keyword research. This process involves identifying the terms users are actually searching for when looking for apps like yours. Without this crucial step, you’ll be shooting in the dark, potentially missing out on valuable organic traffic. Effective app store keyword research informs every aspect of your ASO strategy, ensuring your metadata resonates with your target audience and the app store algorithms when you update app keywords.

How To Conduct App Keyword Research

App keyword research is a multi stage process that involves a blend of creativity, analytical thinking, and the use of specialized tools. Let’s break down some key steps: 

Brainstorming is usually the first step, but this also means you need to be intimately involved with the app you’re doing research for. Being aware of your app’s main features and unique selling points already puts you in the right path to work on keywords app store optimization. At the same time, you shouldn’t limit yourself to what’s already there, and this is where creativity comes in. ASO keyword research will require you to think outside the box, and come up with new possibilities. 

And how will you know whether your new ideas are good app store optimization keywords?  Leveraging an app store keyword research tool is a must here, as it will allow you to make informed decisions based on app keyword volume, relevancy and other factors on which we will expand upon further below.

Analyze keywords discovered and choose the best candidates to update app keywords, the ones that show strong performance data and at the same time fit your messaging and marketing strategy. This is, at its core, how you conduct ASO keyword research. Let’s dig deeper on each of the steps.

Begin By Brainstorming Keywords

Start broad and think like your target user. What words or phrases would someone type into the app store search bar to find an app like yours? Consider:

• Core Features: What are the primary functions of your app? (e.g., “photo editor,” “fitness tracker,” “language learning”)
• Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? What language do they use? (e.g., “students,” “travelers,” “beginners”)
• Problem Solving: What pain points does your app address? (e.g., “reduce stress,” “manage finances,” “learn Spanish”)
• Category Keywords: What general categories does your app fall under? (e.g., “productivity,” “health & fitness,” “education”)
• Brand Keywords: Include your app’s name and your company name.
• Long-Tail Keywords: These are longer, more specific phrases that often have lower search volume but higher intent (e.g., “photo editor for portraits,” “workout app with personalized plans”).  

Don’t filter yourself at this stage. You can start this step on a blank page or with the help of an app keyword suggestion tool. The goal is to generate a comprehensive app store optimization keywords initial list.

Build Your Semantic Core With ASO Keywords

Once you have a substantial list of initial app keywords, it’s time to build your semantic core. This involves grouping related keywords and identifying the underlying themes. Think about synonyms, variations, and related concepts. For example, if “photo editor” is a key term, related keywords might include “image editor”, “picture editor”, “edit photos,”, and “photo effects”. Understanding these semantic connections helps you target a wider range of relevant searches.

Analyze Keywords According To Multiple Criteria

Not all keywords have the same value. To prioritize effectively, you need to analyze your list based on several factors:

• App Store Keyword Search Volume: How often are users searching for this term? Higher search volume generally means more potential traffic, but also higher competition.  
• Competition: How many other apps are ranking for this keyword? High competition makes it harder to rank, especially for new or less established apps.
• Relevance: How closely does the keyword match your app’s features and target audience? High relevance ensures you attract users who are likely to engage with your app.
• Difficulty: Many app keyword suggestion tools provide a difficulty score that estimates how challenging it would be to rank for a particular keyword.  
• Intent: What is the user’s goal when searching for this keyword? Are they looking for a specific app, a general type of app, or information? Targeting keywords with high purchase or download intent is crucial.

Most of this information (app keyword volume, rank, difficulty, and so on) will be readily available to you on app store keyword research tools. Many such tools are available on the market, and your choice will depend on their features and your budget. The most important thing is that they allow you to make informed decisions when it’s time to update app keywords.

Evaluate Your Competitors’ App Keywords

Taking note of the keywords your competitors are using can provide valuable insights, a better understanding of their strategy, and even lead you to discover new ASO keywords. Analyze their app titles, subtitles (on iOS), short and long descriptions (on Google Play), and also the terms employed in their screenshot captions. This can reveal keywords you might have overlooked on your app keyword research or confirm the importance of terms you’ve already identified. However, don’t blindly copy your competitors; focus on finding your own unique opportunities. Updating app keywords will be much easier if you understand your competitors’ keyword strategy, the ways in which they are similar to yours, and also the differences that give you an edge over them.

Refine & Clean Your ASO Keyword Research (highlight your main App Store optimization keywords)

After analyzing your initial list, it’s time to refine and clean it. Remove irrelevant, overly broad, or very low-volume keywords that are unlikely to drive significant traffic. Focus on the sweet spot: keywords with a good balance of search volume, relevance, and manageable competition.

At this stage, you should be able to identify your main App Store optimization keywords – the core terms that are most important for your app’s visibility. These will likely be incorporated into your app’s title and subtitle (iOS) or short description (Google Play), as these metadata fields carry the most weight in the app store algorithms.

Leverage AI & App Keyword Suggestion Tools

Fortunately, you don’t have to do all this manually. As we mentioned before, there are numerous ASO tools out there. There are also AI-powered platforms that can significantly streamline your app keyword research process, saving you time and effort. These tools can help you:  

• Discover new keyword ideas: Based on your initial keywords or your competitors’ apps.
• Analyze app keyword volume and difficulty: Providing valuable data-driven insights.
• Track keyword rankings: Monitor your app’s performance for your target keywords.
• Identify long-tail keyword opportunities: Uncovering less competitive but highly relevant phrases.
• Draft different metadata combinations: If your keywords are proving challenging to put together into a phrase, these tools can help you with that as well. However, be sure to check and adjust the most promising ones, as they are likely to contain errors or exceed the character limits. And how can you check this? Let’s go over the basics.

Draft Your Metadata (with App Store Keyword Search volume in mind)

Finally, it’s time to put your ASO keyword research into action and update your app’s metadata. Remember that the weight given to different metadata fields varies between the App Store and Google Play:

Apple App Store

• App Title (up to 30 characters): This is the most crucial field. Include your most important, high-volume, and relevant app keywords here. Naturally, your app’s name will be included here as a branded keyword, which makes it challenging to add keywords given the limited character space.
• Subtitle (up to 30 characters): Use this to include secondary keywords that further describe your app’s core functionality and target audience. You should not repeat ASO keywords on iOS, including them just once in either the title or subtitle is enough.
• Keywords Field (up to 100 characters): This is where you list your remaining important keywords, separated by commas (no spaces). This keyword list is not visible on your product page, it is hidden. Focus on different variations and long-tail keywords not included in the title or subtitle.

Google Play Store

• App Title (up to 30 characters): Similar to the App Store, include your primary app keywords here.
• Short Description (up to 80 characters): Use compelling language that incorporates your key ASO keywords and entices users to learn more. As the short description is longer than a subtitle, it allows you to leverage longtail keywords.
• Long Description (up to 4000 characters): The long description doesn’t carry as much weight as the titles, but it’s still indexed for keyword ranking on Google Play. It provides an opportunity to naturally weave in relevant keywords and explain your app’s features in detail, which can also improve visibility and conversion. Aim to add relevant ASO keywords you were not able to include in the title or the short description, ideally towards the beginning, the first or second paragraphs of your text.

Key Considerations for Both Stores

• Relevance is essential: Always prioritize keywords that accurately describe your app and target the right users.
• Avoid keyword stuffing: Don’t cram ASO keywords unnaturally into your metadata. Focus on clear, concise, and user-friendly language.
• Localize your keywords: If your app targets multiple regions, translate and adapt your app keywords for each language and cultural context. Pro tips on how to fully localize your app here.
• Test and iterate: Monitor your app’s performance after updating your metadata. Track keyword rankings, organic installs, and conversion rates. Based on the results, refine your keywords and iterate on your strategy. Not sure on how to measure performance? We’ve got you covered.

By conducting thorough ASO keyword research and strategically updating your app’s metadata with search volume in mind, you can significantly improve your app’s organic visibility, attract more relevant users, and ultimately drive more downloads on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. 

Naturally, even with powerful app store keyword research tools at your side, this is a time consuming process. If it proves to be overwhelming, reach out! We would be happy to help you!