App store optimization: the indie guide, with a metadata checker.
How App Store and Google Play search ranks apps as of October 2026, a free checker for your title, subtitle and keyword field, and the part most ASO guides skip: what a TikTok post does to your rankings.
Search traffic grows when people hear about your app first. Type your app's App Store name and get three TikTok slideshow ideas for it, free.
Updated 26 October 2026
The short answer. App store optimization (ASO) is making your listing rank in store search and turn views into installs. On the App Store, Apple searches your name (30 characters), subtitle (30), keyword field (100) and category, then weighs downloads, ratings and reviews. On Google Play, the title (30), short description (80) and full description (4,000) carry the words, and quality signals like crash rate count too.
For a small app: fix the metadata once (use the checker below), make the first screenshots convert, ask for ratings at a good moment, then bring in outside traffic. That last lever is the one most indie apps lack.
How ranking works, store by store.
Two kinds of signals decide where you show up: the words in your listing (text relevance) and what people do with it (behaviour). The words get you into the results. Behaviour decides your position.
| Field | App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|
| Name or title | 30 characters, indexed, the strongest field. | 30 characters, indexed. No "#1", "best" or "free" claims. |
| Subtitle or short description | Subtitle, 30 characters, indexed. | Short description, 80 characters, shown in search results. |
| Keywords | Hidden keyword field, 100 characters, commas, no spaces needed. | No keyword field. Play reads your text instead. |
| Description | Up to 4,000 characters, not used for search. Write it for people. | Full description, 4,000 characters, indexed. Use key phrases naturally, never stuffed. |
| Promotional text | 170 characters above the description, editable without a new version, no effect on ranking. | No direct equivalent. Promotional content cards cover events and offers. |
Downloads and their pace
Apple names downloads as a ranking input. A burst of installs tends to lift you for related keywords too.
Ratings and reviews
Apple says ratings "can influence how your app ranks in App Store search". They also sit next to your icon in results, so they move conversion as much as rank.
Quality and retention
Google Play may cut the visibility of apps over its bad behaviour thresholds: a 1.09% user-perceived crash rate or 0.47% ANR rate, averaged over 28 days.
Sources, read on 26 October 2026: Apple's App Store search guidance and app information reference; Google's store listing best practices, metadata policy and Android vitals thresholds.
Check your App Store metadata before you submit.
It opens with a messy example listing. Clear it and paste your own name, subtitle and keyword field. The checker counts characters, finds words you've paid for twice, flags the words Apple tells you to skip, and scores the listing. Nothing leaves your browser.
Loading the example…
The checks follow Apple's own rules: commas without spaces, no words repeated from the name, subtitle or category, no plurals, filler or broad terms like "app". Apple combines words across the three fields, so "water" in the name and "tracker" in the keyword field still match "water tracker".
Keyword research without paid ASO tools.
Paid tools estimate volume. For a new app, you mostly need to know which terms real people type and which ones you can win. That takes an afternoon and no subscription.
Type into the store search bar
Type what your app does in two words and read the autocomplete on both stores. Suggestions only appear for terms people search, so they're a free popularity filter. Long phrases are easier to win.
Read the top five competitors
Their names and subtitles show which words they chose. Their one- and two-star reviews show the words users use for the problem.
Check search popularity in Apple Ads
Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) shows a search popularity score and keyword suggestions when you build a campaign. See our Apple Search Ads guide.
Borrow from TikTok search
The phrases people search on TikTok for your niche are demand too. Creator Search Insights lists them, and our TikTok SEO guide covers how to read them.
Place the words by weight
Your best keyword goes in the name next to the brand, the second in the subtitle, the rest in the keyword field as single words. Two weeks after each release, swap out words that never moved.
Conversion: rank higher by getting tapped more.
The share of people who see your listing and install it feeds back into ranking. These are the parts of the page that decide it.
Icon
It shows in every result and chart. One shape, high contrast, no words. Test it with product page optimization on iOS or a store listing experiment on Play.
The first screenshots
Most visitors see two or three frames and decide. Lead with the outcome, not the feature list. Sizes, limits and what converts are in our App Store screenshots guide.
Preview video
On iOS it plays before the screenshots and replaces the first frame, so a slow video can hide your best screenshot. Show the app working in the first seconds or leave it out.
Ratings, asked at the right moment
Apple's review prompt appears at most three times a year per user, so call it after a win (a finished workout, a saved budget), never on launch. On Play, the in-app review API works the same way.
In-app events and promotional text
Events get their own cards in search and on your page. Promotional text can change any day without a review, handy during a TikTok spike.
Custom product pages
Apple lets you tie custom pages to keywords and link them from ads or your bio. Google's custom store listings do the same for audiences.
The TikTok part most ASO guides miss.
Metadata decides which searches you're eligible for. For generic keywords, ranking follows downloads and how often searchers pick you. Organic TikTok is how a small app gets both without a budget.
- Step 1
A post shows the app
A viewer sees your app on the phone in a slideshow, then reads the comments for its name.
- Step 2
Branded searches
They type the name into the App Store. Branded searches convert far better than generic ones, because the searcher already wants you.
- Step 3
A download spike
Installs arrive in a burst over a few days, from search, which the store reads as demand.
- Step 4
Generic rankings move
With more installs and a better tap rate, you climb for the category words in your metadata, which brings installs after the post fades.
Make your name easy to search
In ClonBot's library of 1,332 viral TikTok slideshows, only a handful ask viewers to download or search for an app. Three question-game posts end with a slide that says, in effect, "search our name on the App Store for more questions", and they reached 5.0M, 11.3M and 17.2M views. Most posts leave the app on a screen and let the comments ask.
Either way, the viewer has to find you by typing. A name that's easy to spell, matches your icon and appears first for its own search is part of ASO now. Search your own name on a phone after every release.
Protect the search you created
Competitors can bid on your brand name in Apple Ads and take the top slot exactly when your post is driving searches. A small exact-match campaign on your own name keeps that slot yours, and it tends to be cheap, because few others bid on a new app's name. Plan it with our Apple Search Ads guide.
Then post every day. One viral post is a spike; daily posts keep branded searches steady. More in how to market an app and TikTok slideshows for apps.
Three real viral slideshows from our library. Tap one to see every slide, including the last one that sends viewers to the store.
This is the loop ClonBot is built for. It starts from 1,332 slideshows that already went viral, keeps their hook and rhythm, and writes a new story where your app shows up on the phone with its real App Store screens, so the store page a viewer lands on matches the post. Autopilot makes the posts every night for you to approve, and Results compares each one with your account's usual views. Plans start at $99 a month for 30 posts; see pricing.
Localization: more countries, more keyword fields.
Each App Store localization has its own name, subtitle, keyword field and screenshots. Translate the metadata first: it's cheap and goes straight into search. Pick markets where your TikTok audience already is.
Some storefronts support more than one language. Apple's localization table lists nine extra languages for the US store, including Spanish (Mexico). Many ASO teams use those extra keyword fields for more US terms. Apple doesn't document how they're weighted, so add them, then measure. On Google Play, translate the title and both descriptions per language.
Source: Apple's App Store localizations reference, read 26 October 2026.
App store optimization questions.
What does ASO stand for?
App store optimization: improving an app's listing so it ranks higher in App Store and Google Play search and more of the people who see it install it. It covers the text (name, subtitle, keywords, descriptions) and the visuals and ratings that drive conversion.
How do I do ASO for a new app?
Pick one main keyword for the name and one for the subtitle, fill the 100-character keyword field without repeats, make the first two screenshots show the outcome, prompt for ratings after a success moment, and send outside traffic. Recheck rankings two weeks after each release and swap words that didn't move.
What is the best ASO tool?
For a new app, the free stack covers most needs: store autocomplete, competitor listings, Apple Ads search popularity, App Store Connect and Play Console analytics, and the checker on this page. Paid tools like AppTweak or Sensor Tower add volume estimates and rank tracking.
How much does ASO cost?
The metadata work is free and takes a day. Agencies and paid ASO tools charge monthly; most indie apps don't need either at first.
How long does ASO take to work?
New metadata is usually indexed within days of a release, but rank changes for competitive keywords take weeks and depend on installs. That's why outside traffic, from TikTok or ads, speeds ASO up.
Does the App Store description help ranking?
On the App Store, no: Apple indexes the name, subtitle, keyword field and category, not the description or promotional text. On Google Play, the full description is read for search, so use your key phrases there naturally.
Should I put "app" or "free" in my keywords?
No. Apple calls "app" and "game" too broad and says to skip filler words; Google's metadata policy rejects claims like "best" or "#1". Those characters are better spent on a specific term.
Keep reading
Your listing is optimized. Now give people a reason to search for it.
Daily TikTok slideshows with your real App Store screens in them. Setup is free; plans from $99 a month for 30 posts.