ASO is often described as SEO for mobile apps. That’s a useful comparison, but an incomplete one. Keywords matter, but it’s a different animal. There’s a lot more that goes into it, especially if you consider the CRO element of it as well.
Your listing decides whether your app shows up when people search the App Store and Google Play, and whether the people who find it go on to download. Get both right, and the stores become a steady source of new users.
This guide covers how ASO works on the App Store and Google Play, the step-by-step process for getting found and downloaded, from choosing keywords to earning reviews, how to measure and test your listing, and the latest store changes, with a quick checklist at the end.
What Is App Store Optimization?
App Store Optimization (ASO) is the ongoing work of improving how an app is discovered and presented inside an app store. It has two connected goals:
- Improve discovery. Help the app appear for relevant searches, categories, recommendations and featured placements.
- Improve conversions. Turn more product-page visitors into downloads with a clear listing, strong visuals, good ratings and a credible app experience.
ASO starts with understanding what potential users are looking for. You then align your app listing with those needs, using accurate metadata and creative assets that make the app easy to find and easy to understand.
A typical ASO program includes:
- Researching relevant search terms
- Optimizing the app name or title and supporting metadata
- Writing a clear description
- Designing the icon, screenshots, preview video and other creative assets
- Choosing the right category
- Localizing the listing for important markets
- Encouraging honest ratings and reviews
- Building campaign pages for different audiences and search terms
- Measuring impressions, product-page views, downloads and conversion rate
- Testing changes and improving the listing over time
Apple and Google don’t publish every detail of their ranking systems.
Apple does say that App Store search considers text relevance, meaning matches in your app’s title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, along with user behavior such as downloads, ratings and reviews. Google Play has no keyword field, so its metadata works differently.
The practical takeaway is simple: make your listing relevant to the right searches, persuasive to the people who see it, and accurate to the experience users get after downloading.
How Is ASO Different on the App Store and Google Play?
The same broad ASO strategy works on the App Store and Google Play, but you shouldn’t copy the same metadata into each one and expect identical results.
Here are the main differences to account for:
| Element | Apple App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|
| App name/title | Up to 30 characters | Up to 30 characters |
| Supporting summary | Subtitle of up to 30 characters | Short description of up to 80 characters |
| Keyword field | Dedicated keyword field, limited to 100 characters | No dedicated keyword field |
| Full description | Important for converting visitors; Apple doesn't list it among the text it uses for search | Up to 4,000 characters, and, with no keyword field, the main text you control for search |
| Text you can change any time | Promotional text of up to 170 characters, above the description | Store listing text can be updated in Play Console |
| Product-page testing | Product Page Optimization: up to three treatments of the icon, screenshots and previews | Store Listing Experiments: up to two variants, including descriptions in localized tests |
| Alternative pages | Up to 70 custom product pages, each with its own URL, keywords and deep link | Up to 50 custom store listings, targeted by country, audience, ads traffic or search terms |
| Timely promotions | In-App Events | Promotional content |
These limits change from time to time. Check Apple’s product page guidance and Google Play’s store listing best practices before you prepare your final assets.
How to Build an App Store Optimization Strategy
Strong ASO is a cycle, not a one-time checklist before launch. Start with the audience, build a clear listing, measure what happens, and use the results to decide what to improve next.
1. Understand Who You Want to Reach
Before choosing keywords or redesigning screenshots, define the audience and the reason they would download your app.
Ask:
- Who is the app for?
- What problem are they trying to solve?
- What would they search for if they didn’t know the app’s name?
- Which feature or outcome matters most to them?
- What might stop them from downloading?
For an ecommerce app, the answer may not be “people looking for a shopping app.” Many of the people who download it will already know your brand. The listing may need to emphasize benefits such as app-only offers, faster checkout, early access, loyalty features or easier reordering.
If you have several distinct audiences, write them down now. Each one is a candidate for its own custom product page or custom store listing later.
This positioning becomes the thread that connects your keywords, description, screenshots and campaigns.
2. Research Relevant Keywords
Keyword research helps you understand how people describe the need your app serves.
Start from the audience you defined in step 1, not from a keyword tool. A tool can tell you a term is popular, but only you know whether your app answers that search.
Where to Find Keyword Ideas
Begin with terms related to:
- The app’s main function
- The problem it solves
- Important features
- The audience or use case
- Your category
- Your brand and product names
If your app is already live, add what your store data shows. Play Console’s store performance reports list the search terms people used before visiting your listing, and App Analytics in App Store Connect shows how many downloads came from App Store search.
Then search the stores the way your customers would. Note the words in the names and subtitles of the apps that rank, and the needs their reviews keep coming back to. Use them to learn how people describe your category, not as metadata to copy.
The suggestions that appear as you type in the store’s search bar show common phrasing. So do your customer reviews, support tickets, your website’s search logs and the terms in your paid search campaigns.
Apple Ads can help too. When it recommends keywords for a search results campaign, it rates each one’s search popularity from 1 to 5, based on App Store searches.
How to Prioritize ASO Keywords
Weigh each term on four things, in this order:
- Relevance: your app genuinely answers the search. If it doesn’t, drop the term, whatever its volume.
- Intent: the apps that already rank serve the same need as yours. A high-volume term isn’t useful if the search results reveal a different intent from what your app provides.
- Demand: enough people search for the term to justify the space. Specific terms with less volume often have clearer intent.
- Competition: your app can realistically earn a place. Look at the ratings, reviews and brand strength of the apps at the top.
Apple puts the trade-off between demand and competition simply: popular terms bring more traffic but are highly competitive, especially for a newer or smaller app, while less common terms bring less of both.
Aim for a mix of a few broad terms and more specific ones, and shift the balance as your app earns visibility.
Where to Put Keywords on the App Store
On the App Store, your app name, subtitle and keyword field all carry search terms, and Apple recommends specific terms that describe your app’s features and functionality. Apple also searches your company name and categories.
Put your brand and your most important descriptive phrase in the name, and a specific benefit in the subtitle (step 3 covers both). Everything else goes in the keyword field.
Here’s how the name, subtitle, keyword field and category fit together for a made-up vitamins brand:
The keyword field doesn’t appear on your listing and holds up to 100 characters. Separate terms with commas and no spaces, though a phrase keeps its own spaces, as in Apple’s example “Property,House,Real Estate”.
To fit more in, Apple’s advice is to leave out:
- Words already in your app name, subtitle or company name
- Plurals of words you’ve already included, which count as duplicates
- Category names and the word “app”
- Filler words such as “the” and “to”
- Special characters such as # or @, unless they’re part of your brand
Some keywords can get your app rejected. Don’t use trademarks or celebrity names you aren’t authorized to use, the names of competing apps or terms that aren’t relevant to your app.
Promotional text doesn’t affect search ranking, according to Apple, so keep it for your current message rather than keywords.
Where to Put Keywords on Google Play
Google Play doesn’t have a keyword field. Google says the text in your store listing helps people find your app, so your title, short description and full description carry your search terms.
Use important terms naturally in those fields, but write for people first. Google’s own advice is to describe your app “using everyday language, not a list of keywords,” and its policy bans repetitive or unrelated keywords.
Don’t aim for a set number of mentions. If your copy explains the app precisely, the words people search for will show up on their own.
3. Optimize the App Name, Subtitle and Short Description
Your app name or title is one of the most prominent pieces of metadata in search results. It needs to identify the app clearly while leaving room for a useful descriptive phrase where appropriate.
Both Apple and Google limit app names or titles to 30 characters.
Don’t fill that space with a list of loosely related keywords. Use a recognizable name and, when it reads naturally, one phrase that explains the app’s purpose.
Sephora’s names follow that pattern on both stores: the brand, then what the app is for. On the App Store, it’s “Sephora US: Makeup & Skincare”, with the subtitle “Shop Inclusive Beauty Brands” underneath.
On Google Play, it’s “Sephora: Buy Makeup & Skincare”.
The supporting text gives you another chance to clarify the value:
- On Apple, the subtitle can contain up to 30 characters.
- On Google Play, the short description can contain up to 80 characters.
Use the subtitle and short description to communicate a specific benefit, feature or use case that your name doesn’t already cover.
Generic claims such as “the best shopping app” give users little reason to care. On Google Play they also break the metadata policy, which doesn’t allow “best,” “#1” or “Popular” style claims, or emojis in the title.
4. Write a Clear App Description
The full description should help a potential user decide whether the app is right for them.
Lead with the most important value, because many people won’t read the whole listing.
Explain what the app does, who it is for and why it is worth downloading. Then cover the main features and any information users need before installing.
A useful description usually includes:
- A short opening that states the app’s purpose
- The main user benefits
- A scannable summary of key features
- Relevant trust signals or proof
- Important requirements, limitations or subscription details
On Google Play, the description runs up to 4,000 characters and, with no keyword field, it’s the main text you control for search, so use priority terms naturally. On Apple, treat the description mainly as conversion copy, since Apple names the title, subtitle, keyword field and primary category as its text-relevance signals.
Apple’s promotional text deserves its own plan. It sits at the top of your description, holds up to 170 characters, and can be changed at any time without a new app version.
That makes it the place for a current sale, a new collection or a seasonal message.
Learn more about writing a great App Store description
5. Design Screenshots That Tell a Story
Screenshots shouldn’t be a random gallery of app screens. Together, they should explain why someone would want the app.
Start with the strongest reason to download. Then use the remaining screenshots, up to 10 on the App Store, to show the most important features, outcomes and differentiators in a logical sequence.
Keep each frame focused on one point. Short captions can help, but the app interface should remain clear and believable.
Make sure the first screenshots work at the smaller size people see in search results, not just when opened at full size.
Sephora’s Google Play screenshots work this way. Each one leads with a single benefit in a short caption: same-day delivery, app-only products, a free birthday gift, and pickup in store or curbside.
Match the first screenshots to the searches you most want to win. If people find your app by searching for loyalty rewards, show the rewards early, so the listing confirms they’ve found what they were looking for.
If your app serves several distinct audiences or campaigns, consider creating alternative product pages rather than forcing every message into one generic sequence.
Learn more about App Store screenshot sizes and design
6. Use Preview Video Selectively
A short preview can show interactions or workflows that still screenshots don’t communicate well.
Apple allows up to three app previews on a product page, each up to 30 seconds long. The footage needs to reflect the actual app experience.
Design it to work without sound, since users may encounter it on mute. On Google Play, Google suggests a YouTube video trailer for your most compelling features.
Video isn’t automatically better. A weak or slow preview can make the value less clear.
Use it when movement, navigation or a before-and-after experience is genuinely important, and test its effect where you can.
7. Choose Accurate Categories and Localize the Listing
Choose the category that best represents the app. Categories help users browse, and your primary category is one of the text-relevance signals Apple uses for search.
Selecting a less relevant category because it looks less competitive can confuse users and may lead to rejection.
Localization is more than translating the same copy word for word. Search language, feature priorities, screenshots, promotions and cultural context can vary between markets.
The same goes for keywords. Research the words people use in each market rather than translating your keyword list, since a literal translation may not match how people there search.
On the App Store, people can search with your localized keywords in every country or region where the App Store supports that language. Canada’s App Store, for example, supports English and Canadian French, so a Canadian French localization gives French speakers there keywords in their own language.
For Google Play, Google says a professional translation of your description can lead to better search results than the automatic translation it shows by default.
It also recommends separate screenshots and promotional videos for each language you support if they contain much text.
Start with the countries that already generate meaningful traffic or revenue. Localize the visible metadata and creative assets, then compare conversion and acquisition performance by territory.
8. Improve Ratings, Reviews and the App Experience
Ratings and reviews influence trust, conversion and discovery. Apple lists them among the user behavior signals behind App Store search, and your summary rating appears right in search results.
On Sephora’s App Store page, a 4.9 rating from 426K ratings sits above a selection of written reviews.
The best way to earn better reviews is to deliver a stable, useful app.
Prompt users after a positive moment, such as completing an order, reaching a milestone or returning several times. On iPhone, the system rating prompt can appear up to three times in a 365-day period, so don’t spend it during onboarding or before the user has experienced the value.
Respond to reviews when a reply can help. On the App Store, the reviewer is notified and can update their review.
Repeated complaints can reveal problems with crashes, login, checkout, subscription terms, navigation or expectations created by the listing.
This is where ASO reaches beyond metadata. If the listing promises one experience and the app delivers another, better keywords won’t solve the underlying problem.
How Do You Measure ASO Success?
Rankings alone don’t tell you whether ASO is working. Look at the full path from visibility to sustained use:
Impressions → product page views → downloads → active users
Your keywords, name, subtitle and category decide how often your app is seen. Your icon, screenshots, ratings and description decide how many of those people download it.
After that, the app itself decides whether they keep using it.
Useful measures include:
- Impressions: how often the app or listing appears
- Product-page views: how many people open the full listing
- First-time downloads or acquisitions: how many new users install
- Conversion rate: the percentage of listing visitors who download
- Traffic source: search, browse, referral, campaign or another discovery path
- Page performance: results for each custom product page or custom store listing, compared with your default page
- Keyword visibility: where the app appears for priority searches
- Ratings and review trends: the average and the themes that keep coming up
- Post-install quality: activation, retention, crashes, uninstalls and revenue where relevant
Use App Analytics in App Store Connect and the acquisition reports in Play Console as the source of truth for store performance. Third-party ASO tools can help with keyword and competitor research, but their traffic and difficulty figures are estimates, not store data.
Judge each keyword by the downloads it brings rather than its rank. A term can climb the rankings and bring few visitors, while a lower-ranked term with clearer intent can bring more downloads.
Change keywords when you have a reason: a priority term that isn’t gaining visibility, a new market or a listing that’s seen often but rarely downloaded. Note what you changed and when, so you can compare before and after without reacting to ordinary daily swings.
On the App Store, the keyword field belongs to each app version, so keyword changes go live with your next update.
How Do You A/B Test Your App Store Listing?
Once your listing has enough traffic, A/B tests show which icon, screenshots or video turn more visitors into downloads.
On the App Store, Product Page Optimization lets you test up to three treatments against your original page, with different app icons, screenshots and app previews. You can run one test at a time, for up to 90 days.
On Google Play, Store Listing Experiments let you test up to two variants of your icon, feature graphic and screenshots. Localized experiments can also test your descriptions, in up to five languages at once.
Start with changes that could make a meaningful difference. A completely different first-screenshot message is more informative than a small color adjustment.
Keep the audience and traffic source in mind, and avoid changing several overlapping elements if you need to understand what caused the result.
Apple recommends waiting until a treatment has been declared better or worse than the original with at least 90% confidence. Low-traffic apps may need more time or a bigger creative difference to produce a useful result.
When you find a clear winner, apply it and use the improved page as the baseline for the next test.
How to Use Custom Product Pages and In-App Events
Your default listing has to work for everyone who finds it. Both stores let you build extra versions of your page for particular audiences, searches and campaigns, and promote timely events.
Use these features when there’s a real difference in intent. They’re most valuable when the page and the screen it opens in your app continue the same message, rather than acting as superficial variations.
Custom Product Pages (App Store)
A custom product page is an extra version of your App Store page, with its own screenshots, app previews and promotional text. Apple allows up to 70 per app, and each one has its own URL for ads, email, social and your website.
You can also give each page its own keywords. When someone searches one of those terms, the App Store shows them that page in place of your default one.
A “gift ideas” search, for example, could land on a page that leads with gifting screenshots. Each keyword combination can only belong to one page, so plan which searches should land where.
You can add a deep link too, so someone who taps Open lands on the matching screen in your app, on iOS 18 or later. A page for a sale campaign could open straight to the sale.
For an established brand, the website customers already visit is a natural source of downloads. A smart app banner, QR code or app-only offer that links to the right page can do as much for your downloads as store search.
Custom Store Listings (Google Play)
Google Play’s version of a custom product page is the custom store listing, with up to 50 per app. You can target them by country, pre-registration, lapsed or churned users, ads traffic or your own custom audiences.
You can also target users who find your app with specific search terms, much like keywords on a custom product page. When you pick search terms, Play Console can suggest new descriptions written with Gemini, which you can edit or discard.
In-App Events (App Store)
In-App Events promote something happening in your app, like a sale, a launch or a new season. They appear on your product page, in search results and in editorial and personalized selections.
You can have up to 10 events published at a time. Each event can last up to 31 days and be promoted up to 14 days before it starts, with a badge such as Special Event, Major Update or Live Event.
Sephora has used one for its Savings Event, which showed on its App Store page under Events with the New Season badge.
Promotional Content (Google Play)
Google Play’s promotional content covers offers, time-limited events, major updates and pre-registration announcements. It can appear in search results and on your store listing.
What Changed in ASO in 2025 and 2026?
If your listing hasn’t been touched in a year or more, the App Store and Google Play have added several features worth catching up on.
| Change | Store | What it means for your listing |
|---|---|---|
| AI review summaries | App Store (iOS 18.4+, 2025), Google Play (rolling out since late 2025) | A short AI-written paragraph sums up what reviewers say, so recurring complaints are easier to spot |
| More In-App Events | App Store (April 2025) | Up to 10 events can be live at once, with 15 approved in App Store Connect |
| LLM-generated app tags | App Store | Search results can show tags written from your metadata, so vague metadata makes for vague tags |
| 70 custom product pages, with keywords | App Store (October 2025) | Double the previous limit, and each page can now appear in search for keywords you assign |
| Custom store listings for search terms | Google Play | Up to 50 listings, which can target users who find your app with specific search terms |
| Creative assets and the Asset Library | App Store (October 2026) | New header art and search creative, beyond screenshots, managed and approved separately from app updates |
Apple announced the custom product page changes in its October 2025 developer news, and the In-App Event and creative asset changes are listed in the App Store Connect release notes.
AI Review Summaries
Both stores now put an AI-written summary of your reviews near the top of the ratings section.
On the App Store, Apple’s summaries are generated with large language models and refreshed regularly. They show on iOS 18.4 or later, starting in the US and since expanded to more English-language storefronts.
On Google Play, “Users are saying” summaries began rolling out in late 2025, with chips that filter reviews by topic.
You can’t edit those summaries. You can report one that’s wrong in App Store Connect, but the way to change what it says is to change what customers write.
If a slow checkout or a login bug keeps coming up, anyone who checks your reviews will read about it in the summary.
App Tags in Search Results
App Store search results can show app tags that Apple generates with large language models from the metadata you provide.
A name, subtitle and description that say clearly what your app does give those tags something accurate to work with. Vague metadata makes for vague tags.
Creative Assets for Your Header and Search Results
Apple’s new creative assets go beyond screenshots of your app. You can show brand and seasonal visuals in your product page header and in search results, and use them on custom product pages.
They’re managed in the new Asset Library in App Store Connect and approved separately from app updates. A preview tool shows how they’ll look before you submit, and Apple has published best practices and design templates for them.
You can test them with Product Page Optimization, the same way as your icon and screenshots.
A Quick ASO Checklist for 2026
Use this ASO checklist to audit an existing listing:
- Name and subtitle (or short description) say clearly what the app does, without “best” or “#1” claims
- Apple keyword field uses all 100 characters and doesn’t repeat words from the name, subtitle or category
- Promotional text reflects what’s happening now
- First three screenshots make the case on their own, at search-result size
- Listing is localized for your top markets
- The rating prompt appears after a positive moment, not on first launch
- One store test is running, with a clear hypothesis
- Custom product pages have keywords assigned for distinct search intents, with deep links
- Google Play custom store listings target your most valuable search terms or audiences
- An In-App Event or promotional content is planned for your next sale or launch
- You’ve read your AI review summary on both stores, and you have a plan for the top complaint
- Header and search creative assets are set up on the App Store
ASO Starts With an App Worth Downloading
App Store Optimization can make a good app easier to find and understand. It can’t compensate indefinitely for slow performance, confusing navigation, frequent crashes or a weak reason to return.
With AI review summaries, those problems now show up on your listing in a single paragraph.
For ecommerce brands, the strongest listing usually reflects a clear customer proposition: a faster shopping experience, useful loyalty benefits, exclusive access, relevant notifications or another reason for an existing customer to keep the app on their phone.
MobiLoud transforms your website into a custom native iOS and Android app, powered by the same underlying code as your site. Products, checkout, accounts, search and loyalty all carry over, so there’s no second storefront to build and maintain.
We build, publish and maintain your app. Our team handles App Store and Google Play submission, including screenshots, descriptions, reviewer requirements and the back-and-forth involved in approval.
Because the app stays connected to your site, every improvement to your store shows up in the app as well.
The Bottom Line
App Store Optimization is the ongoing process of improving app discovery and product-page conversion.
Start with the user’s intent. Choose relevant metadata, present the app clearly, build trust with strong creative assets and reviews, and measure the full path from impression to download.
Then test meaningful changes instead of treating the initial listing as finished.
Apple and Google use different fields and tools, but the principle is the same on both: make it easy for the right person to find the app, understand its value and feel confident downloading it.
