ASO Glossary

The process of improving an app's visibility in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store to increase organic downloads. Involves optimizing metadata, keywords, visual assets, and ratings. The mobile equivalent of SEO.

A hidden 100-byte field in App Store Connect where developers enter comma-separated keywords. Not visible to users. Apple uses it as a primary indexing signal alongside the title and subtitle.

Running experiments on store listing elements (icon, screenshots, description) to measure which variant drives more installs. Google Play offers native experiments; iOS requires third-party tools like SplitMetrics.

Keywords that include a brand name (e.g., "instagram photo editor"). Typically high volume but low conversion for competitors. Most ASO strategies filter brand keywords from gap analysis.

A short-term paid advertising push designed to spike download velocity and boost organic rankings. Controversial but common. Organic ranking gains may be temporary if engagement metrics do not support retention.

An app's position within its category chart (e.g., #14 in Photography). Updated daily. Influenced by download velocity, engagement, and ratings. Separate from keyword search rankings.

The percentage of users who install the app after viewing the store listing. Calculated as installs / page views. Impacted primarily by screenshots, icon, ratings, and the first line of the description.

The practice of monitoring competitor apps' metadata, keyword rankings, ratings, update frequency, and promotional events to identify strategic opportunities and threats.

Linking the iOS and Android versions of the same app as a single product. ASOScan's implementation shares plan slots and provides a unified dashboard with a platform toggle.

A metric estimating how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword. ASOScan uses a 6-signal composite: rating strength (33%), title match (27%), competitor density (15%), star rating (13%), age (7%), chart presence (5%).

The rate of new installs over a given period. A primary ranking signal on both stores. Spikes in download velocity (from features, ads, or viral moments) can temporarily boost organic rankings.

Crafting the app description to maximize conversion (iOS) or both ranking and conversion (Android). On Google Play, the full description is indexed for search. On iOS, it is not.

An app selected by Apple or Google for editorial promotion on the store's homepage or category pages. Being featured drives massive download spikes but cannot be directly purchased.

How popular a keyword is on the Play Store, shown as a 0–100 score so you can prioritise the terms the most people search for.

A single view of your app listing in search results, browse sections, or featured placements. Not the same as a page view (which requires tapping into the full listing).

The ratio of installs to impressions. A key conversion metric. Higher install rates signal to the algorithm that your listing is relevant to the search query.

How frequently a keyword appears in the app's metadata. On Android, 3-5 natural mentions in the full description is optimal. Over-stuffing hurts readability and may trigger algorithmic penalties.

See Difficulty Score.

The process of discovering and evaluating keywords that potential users search for. Involves analyzing volume, difficulty, relevance, and competitive landscape for each candidate term.

A feature that reveals all keywords a specific app currently ranks for. Also called reverse keyword lookup. Available in ASOScan, with a 2–3 app overlap Venn for comparing what you share with competitors.

Monitoring an app's rank position for specific keywords over time. Typically checked daily. Rank deltas (1D/7D/30D) show movement trends.

A measure of how many times a keyword is searched per month. Expressed as a 0-100 score (proprietary scale) or as raw monthly searches (Google Ads data).

Adapting an app's store listing for different countries and languages. Goes beyond translation: effective localization considers local search behavior, cultural preferences, and competitive landscape per market.

Multi-word search phrases (3+ words) with lower volume but significantly lower difficulty. Example: "budget tracker for couples" vs "budget app". Recommended as an entry strategy for new apps.

All text-based information in an app's store listing: title, subtitle, keyword field, short description, full description, and What's New. The primary lever for ASO optimization.

A daily capture of an app's complete metadata state. Used to track changes over time, detect competitor updates, and calculate the freshness component of the ASO score.

App installs that come from store search, browse, or editorial features without paid advertising. The primary metric ASO aims to increase.

A composite metric ranking keyword candidates by their potential value. ASOScan's score weighs estimated volume, difficulty, competitor rank positions, and the number of sources that surfaced the keyword.

A short video (15-30 seconds) showcasing the app in use. Auto-plays on iOS. Significant conversion impact when done well. Should show actual UI, not marketing animations.

A 170-character field on iOS that appears above the description. Can be updated without submitting a new app version. Useful for seasonal promotions and event announcements.

An app's position in store search results for a specific keyword. Position 1-10 is the first page. ASOScan tracks rank positions up to 200 on both the App Store and Google Play.

The emotional tone of user reviews, typically classified as positive, neutral, or negative. AI sentiment analysis can also extract specific topics, bug reports, and feature requests.

Designing app screenshots to maximize conversion. The first 3 screenshots are above the fold and drive 70%+ of install decisions. Best practice: show the app in use with benefit-focused captions.

See Keyword Volume.

An 80-character text field on Google Play. Indexed for search ranking. Equivalent to the iOS subtitle in strategic importance. Should contain a primary keyword and clear value proposition.

A 30-character text field on iOS, displayed below the app title. Indexed for search. The second-most important indexed field after the title. Should contain secondary keywords not in the title.

Crafting the app title (30 chars on iOS, 30 chars on Android) to include the primary target keyword while remaining brandable and readable. The single most heavily weighted field for search ranking.

Keywords showing significant volume increase (20%+) over a recent period. Identifying trends early allows you to optimize for rising search terms before competitors react.

A normalized 0-100 representation of keyword search volume. Different tools use different scales. ASOScan shows a clean search-volume figure for every keyword, in every market.

The non-text elements of an app's store listing: icon, screenshots, preview video, and feature graphic (Android). The primary drivers of conversion rate after the user finds your listing.