App Store keywords: how to fill the 100-character field

Apple says search results are based on a number of factors, including text relevance, meaning matches for your app’s title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, and user behaviour, such as downloads, ratings and reviews. The keyword field is the part of that text only search sees. It is limited to 100 characters in total, with terms separated by commas and no spaces; spaces are fine inside a phrase, as in Apple’s own example “Property,House,Real Estate”. The full field limits for every part of the listing are in our ASO checklist.

Apple lists what to leave out so more real terms fit: plurals of words you already have in singular form, names of categories or the word “app”, duplicate words, and special characters such as # or @ unless they are part of your brand, since special characters carry no extra weight in search. Choose words your audience would type to find an app like yours, and be specific about features and functionality. Apple also points out the trade-off: popular functional terms such as “jobs” or “social” can bring a lot of traffic but are highly competitive, while less common terms bring less traffic and less competition.

Apple says improper use of keywords is a common reason for App Store rejections, and lists what not to use: trademarked terms, celebrity names and other protected words without authorization, terms not relevant to the app, competing app names, and irrelevant, inappropriate, offensive or objectionable terms. Apple also advises against adding unnecessary keywords to your description to improve search results. Promotional text does not affect search ranking, so use it for news and offers rather than keywords.

If your app is available in several languages, Apple advises localizing the description, keywords, app previews and screenshots for each market, and you can translate the app name as well, so each storefront gets its own 100 characters in its own language. You can also assign keywords to a custom product page, so that page, rather than your default one, shows up in search results for those keywords; Apple asks that the keywords match the page’s intent and that each keyword combination belongs to a single page. How custom product pages work is covered in how to promote an iOS app.

Google Play has no hidden keyword field, so the words live in your app name, short description and full description. Google warns that repetitive or irrelevant use of keywords in the app name, description or promotional description can create a poor user experience and lead to the app being suspended, and gives an example of what not to write, a string like “Car racing, car driving, race cars, car races, race track”. Its best practices also rule out text about store performance, such as “#1”, “Best” or “Popular”, and prices or deals such as “free for a limited time”, in the title, text and images. Describe what the app does in plain sentences that use the words people search for, once, where they fit naturally. For the Play Console tools that come after the listing, see how to promote an app on Google Play.

Store keywords bring people who search inside the store; Censuus ranks apps by the real visit traffic they draw on the web. Adding your app is free on the submit page, and it can rise on the visits it earns. Sponsorship raises placement and adds a followed link to your website; details are on the sponsor page. We do not promise store rankings.