How to Choose Keywords for Your App Store Listing

Choosing the right keywords for your app store listing helps your app appear in relevant searches and connect with the right users. The goal is to find terms that match your app’s features, user intent, and competition level.

With effective App Store Optimization (ASO), you can improve visibility, attract more organic downloads, and grow your app’s reach. At IndeedSEO, we help businesses optimize app listings with data-driven keyword research and ASO strategies designed to improve rankings and user discovery.

What Exactly Are App Store Keywords?

App store keywords are specific terms or short phrases that users type into an app marketplace search bar. Developers use these terms in their app metadata to help algorithms match applications with relevant user searches, driving organic visibility and downloads.

Say someone’s looking for a fitness app. They might search something like:

• Home workout
• Calorie tracker
• Weight loss app
• Step counter
• Personal trainer

If your app listing includes relevant versions of these terms, it has a much better chance of appearing in search results.

Traditional SEO juggles hundreds of ranking signals. ASO is a bit more contained — it leans on your metadata: title, subtitle, the keyword field Apple gives you, and your description on Google Play.

Choosing the right keywords gives search algorithms a clearer understanding of your app while helping users discover it more easily.

Why Keyword Research Matters for ASO

Your app may offer great value, but users won’t find it if it doesn’t appear in relevant searches.

Do the research properly, though, and you’ll see it pay off in a few ways:

• Better rankings in App Store and Google Play search results
• More organic downloads, without paying for every single install
• A direct line to users who are already searching for what you offer
• Lower acquisition costs over time
• Visibility that holds up as search trends shift

Start With Your Users, Not a Keyword Tool

The best app store keywords never come from guessing. They come from genuinely understanding how the people you’re trying to reach actually think and search.

Ask yourself:

• What problem does my app actually solve?
• What words would someone type before they’ve ever heard of my app?
• Which features do people care about most?
• Are they hunting for a solution to a problem, or a specific category of app?

Take a meditation app, for example. Almost nobody searches your brand name on day one. They’re typing things like “sleep sounds,” “stress relief,” or “guided meditation.” Thinking from their side of the search bar is what surfaces keywords with real intent behind them.

Find Keyword Opportunities from Multiple Sources

Solid ASO research never leans on a single source. You want to be pulling from several directions at once.

See What Competitors Are Doing

Spend some time with the successful apps in your category. Look closely at:

• App titles
• Subtitles
• Short descriptions
• Long descriptions
• User reviews

Watch for the words that keep showing up again and again. While you shouldn’t copy competitors, you can identify keyword patterns and opportunities they’ve successfully targeted.

Use Dedicated ASO Tools

There are solid platforms built specifically for this kind of research, including:

• AppTweak
• Sensor Tower
• MobileAction
• App Radar

These tools show you search volume, how competitive a keyword is, where competitors rank, and related terms you might not have thought of. Google Keyword Planner can round things out too, especially for understanding broader search patterns.

Learn from User Reviews

User reviews are a goldmine most people skip past. People describe your app — or the ones like it — in their own words, right there in the comments.

Watch for phrases that keep coming up, feature requests, common complaints, and the benefits people mention unprompted. That language tends to make for excellent keywords because it comes straight from real users rather than a brainstorm session.

Explore Search Suggestions

Both Google and the app stores show you autocomplete suggestions the moment you start typing. That’s real search behavior on display. It’s often where you’ll find long-tail keywords — the kind with less competition but a surprisingly engaged audience behind them.

Choose Keywords That Balance Opportunity and Competition

Not every keyword is worth chasing. 

The goal isn’t to rank for the biggest keyword—it’s to rank for the right one.

When evaluating keywords, consider four important factors.

Search Volume

Sure, high-volume keywords bring in more searches — but they’re also competitive. Lower-volume terms won’t flood you with traffic, but for a newer app, they’re often where you’ll actually break through. A smart strategy usually blends both.

Keyword Difficulty

Competition is real. Trying to rank a brand-new budgeting app for “finance” is extremely difficult. However, targeting a more specific phrase like “expense tracker for students” could produce faster results.

Relevance

Every keyword needs to genuinely match what your app does. If someone clicks one thing and finds another, they’re gone in seconds — and that hurts your conversions and your rankings both. Relevance beats popularity, every time.

Conversion Potential

Some keywords bring browsers. Others bring people who are ready to hit install. Chase the ones that attract users who actually want what you built, not just anyone passing through.

Include Different Types of Keywords

This should include:

• Primary keywords that describe what your app fundamentally does
• Long-tail keywords aimed at specific searches
• Feature-based keywords that call out your standout functionality
• Problem-solving keywords tied to what users actually need
• Category keywords that place your app in context
• Brand keywords that build recognition over time
• Localized keywords for different languages and regions

Mixing these together boosts your visibility across a much wider range of searches than any single keyword type could manage on its own.

Optimize Your App Listing Naturally

Finding the right keywords is only half the job. Where you place them matters just as much.

On the Apple App Store

Apple gives you three main places to work with:

• App Name
• Subtitle
• The dedicated Keyword Field

Apple weighs these heavily, so make every character count. And skip the repetition — saying the same keyword twice doesn’t help you twice.

On Google Play

Google Play leans more on natural language. Focus on:

• App Title
• Short Description
• Long Description

Rather than forcing keywords into every line, write like a person talking to another person, and let the important terms show up where they naturally belong. A description that actually reads well helps both your users and your rankings.

Common ASO Keyword Mistakes Worth Avoiding

• Chasing only high-volume keywords
• Ignoring what users actually intend when they search
• Stuffing keywords unnaturally
• Targeting terms that don’t really fit
• Copying competitors’ keywords without doing your own homework

ASO isn’t a task you finish and forget. Users change how they search, competitors shift their strategy, and new opportunities open up all the time. Revisiting your keyword strategy every few months keeps you from falling behind.

How IndeedSEO Helps with App Store Optimization

Choosing the correct keywords is an essential aspect of ASO; however, it is just a small piece of a larger puzzle.

We at IndeedSEO help startups, mid-sized companies, and developers maximize their app’s visibility with complete ASO services. We offer keyword research, competitive research, metadata optimization, content modification, and performance management to get your app in front of the right audience.

Our team uses actual data to identify words and phrases that align with real user intent, increase your rankings, and convert searches into downloads. 

Whether you are releasing a new app or trying to improve an existing one, our ASO experts develop strategies tailored around your app, your niche, and your objectives.

Conclusion

Interested in boosting your app’s visibility on the App Store or Google Play? IndeedSEO enables companies to develop ASO strategies that lead to high keyword rankings, greater app discoverability, and increased organic downloads.

From keyword research to listing optimization, we help your app connect with the right users and grow over the long term.