App Store Keyword Research: How to Pick Terms People Actually Search

Getting listed is the first half of a launch. Getting found is the second. The App Store indexes your app name, your subtitle and a hidden 100-character keyword field — and almost nothing else. Those three fields are the whole of your keyword strategy, so they are worth an hour of proper research.

What Apple actually indexes

• App name — up to 30 characters. Carries the most weight.
• Subtitle — up to 30 characters. Indexed, and shown under the name.
• Keyword field — 100 characters, comma separated, never shown to users.
• In-app purchase names — indexed, and often forgotten.

Your long description is not indexed on the App Store (it is on Google Play). Writing keywords into it does nothing for App Store search.

Step 1 — Write down how a person would describe your app

Not your positioning, their words. A habit tracker is searched as "habit tracker", "daily routine", "streak app" — not "behavioural change platform". Ask five people who have never seen it to describe it in three words and write down exactly what they say.

Step 2 — Mine the App Store itself

Type each phrase into App Store search and note the autocomplete suggestions. Those suggestions are ordered by real search demand on Apple's own data, which makes them the single best free source you have. Do the same on a fresh device so your own history does not skew it.

Step 3 — Read your competitors' subtitles

Open the ten apps that rank for your main phrase. Their names and subtitles are a free list of the terms the category has already validated. Overlap between several competitors usually signals a term with real volume.

Step 4 — Choose by realism, not volume

A new app with no downloads will not rank for a one-word head term. Ranking is heavily influenced by download velocity and engagement, so a brand new listing competes best on longer, more specific phrases. "Meditation" is out of reach in week one; "sleep meditation for anxiety" is not.

Step 5 — Pack the keyword field properly

• No spaces after commas — every character counts.
• No plurals of words you already used; Apple handles those.
• No repeats of words already in your name or subtitle.
• No competitor brand names — that is a metadata rejection.
• Apple combines your terms, so "sleep,timer,sound" can match "sleep sound timer".

Step 6 — Change one thing at a time

Keyword changes ship with an app update, so you get a natural test cycle. Change the keyword field on one release and the subtitle on the next, and give each a fortnight before judging. Changing both at once tells you nothing.

A note on localisation

Adding a second localisation (for example UK English alongside US English) gives you another 100-character keyword field that also applies in your home market. It is the cheapest extra indexing you can buy.

We do this research as part of every managed launch — the listing goes live with a researched name, subtitle and keyword set rather than a placeholder. Book a free launch review and we will draft yours.

Keywords bring people to the page; the listing converts them. Pair this with App Store listing optimisation and the right screenshot sizes, and see how placement affects App Store ranking. If you want keywords, listing and launch handled together, see the managed launch offer.