ASO Keywords

Your entire search surface lives in 160 indexed characters per locale: 30 (Name) + 30 (Subtitle) + 100 (Keywords field).

Indexing rules

• Don't repeat words between Name/Subtitle/Keyword field — Apple deduplicates
• Comma-separated, no spaces in Keywords (fitness,workout,health not fitness, workout, health) — every space wasted
• No hashtags, no plurals if singular present — Apple stems both
• Promotional Text not indexed but editable any time (use for launches, sales)
• Description not indexed since 2017 (but converts; first 3 lines do 80%)
• Screenshot caption text indexed since mid-2025 (use real keywords)

Free keyword research stack

• Apple Search Ads keyword recommendations — actual search volume from ASA dashboard (most underused free tool)
• App Store autocomplete — type seed word into App Store search, harvest dropdown. KeywordTool.io and AppTweak free suggester automate
• RapidNative — free, no signup, AI-suggested low-competition keywords
• Reddit — site:reddit.com [your category] reveals user language
• X/Twitter search — competitor complaints in user's exact phrases