Quick process
Brainstorm 30 candidate terms → expand with competitor mining → filter by volume/difficulty → pick 15 high-intent keywords → distribute across iOS title/subtitle/keyword field and Play title/description → iterate quarterly based on ranking data.
Free tools that are enough at MVP stage
- App Store Connect > Analytics: search terms users actually typed to find your app. Gold data, free.
- Google Play Console > Acquisition: search queries and install paths. Similar to Apple’s data.
- AppTweak free keyword tool: limited free lookups for volume estimates.
- Google Trends & Google autocomplete: map broader interest around your category terms.
- Reddit / niche community search: users describe problems in their own words — that’s your long-tail goldmine.
- Manual search in the Apple/Play apps: type your candidate terms and see which competitors surface.
The research process, step by step
- Brainstorm 30 candidate terms. Include the obvious ones (“habit tracker,” “task app”) and the feature angles (“streak,” “reminder,” “ADHD”).
- Expand with competitor mining. Open 5 competitor listings. Note every word in their title + subtitle. Search each of those and see what comes up.
- Filter by intent. Drop terms that look high-volume but low-intent — “productivity” brings browsers, “ADHD task app” brings buyers.
- Score by difficulty. If the top 5 search results are Apple, Google, and Microsoft apps, that term is unwinnable — skip it.
- Pick 15 to deploy. 2–3 in title, 2–3 in subtitle, 7–10 in keyword field (iOS) or long description (Play).
Volume vs difficulty: the indie matrix
Ignore vanity high-volume keywords. Target the intersection of moderate volume and winnable difficulty:
- Long-tail wins. “Habit tracker for ADHD” is winnable; “habits” is not.
- Niche modifiers are your edge. Profession (“for teachers”), audience (“for couples”), method (“Pomodoro”), use case (“for sobriety”).
- Ship your niche in the subtitle. Users scanning the store can see they’re in the right place at a glance.
iOS keyword field optimization
100 characters, hidden, comma-separated. Rules:
- Never repeat words already in your title or subtitle.
- Don’t use plurals — iOS auto-matches (“task” covers “tasks”).
- Separate with commas, no spaces after (saves characters).
- Skip stop words — “and,” “the,” “of” are ignored.
- Prefer single words when possible — iOS recombines them with title/subtitle automatically.
Example for a habit tracker for ADHD: streak,reminder,focus,pomodoro,routine,mindfulness,journal,planner
Google Play long description strategy
Play extracts keywords from the long description. Best practices:
- Primary keyword 4–6x density across 4000 chars. Natural reads, not stuffing.
- Secondary keywords 2–3x each.
- Front-load the most important terms — first 170 chars are the short description.
- Use bullet points for feature lists with keywords.
- Include niche modifiers (“for students,” “offline”) where they naturally fit.
Iteration cadence
- Weekly: check the search terms report in App Store Connect. New phrases = new candidates.
- Monthly: one A/B test of the subtitle via Apple’s Product Page Optimization.
- Quarterly: full refresh of the iOS keyword field. Drop zero-install terms, add new candidates.
- Annually: reconsider the app title only if a major strategic shift. Title changes reset some search-ranking signals temporarily.
Common mistakes
- Optimizing for head terms you can’t win (“notes,” “tasks”).
- Repeating words across title, subtitle, and keyword field — wasted real estate.
- Ignoring the search terms report and guessing instead.
- Changing everything at once — you’ll never know what worked.
- Never updating. Competitor keyword moves quietly erode your ranking.