Practical ASO, minus the folklore.
Keyword research, store listings, ranking, conversion, and growth — written for indie developers and small studios. Every guide says what the stores actually expose, what is an estimate, and what no tool can promise.
- Guides
- 36
- Tracks
- 6
- Guaranteed rankings
- 0
Foundations
What ASO is, how the stores differ, and the order to do the work in.
6 guides
What Is App Store Optimization? A Practical Definition
App Store Optimization (ASO) is the work of making an app discoverable and worth installing in store search. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and how to start.
How to Do ASO for an App: A Step-by-Step Workflow
A repeatable ASO workflow for one app and one market: gather competitor phrases, expand with store autocomplete, score, write the listing, ship, and check rank.
App Store Optimization Checklist (Before You Ship)
A practical ASO checklist covering research, metadata, creative, ratings, localisation, and measurement, with the reason each item matters.
ASO for Indie Developers: A Realistic Plan for One Person
A constrained ASO plan for indie developers and small studios: one market, a small keyword set, one listing change, and a measurement habit that fits around shipping.
App Store SEO: How Store Search Differs from Web SEO
App store SEO is not web SEO with a smaller page. Learn which fields the stores index, how query intent differs, and where to spend effort for app discovery.
7 ASO Mistakes That Waste a Good App
The common ASO mistakes that quietly cap discovery: chasing head terms, stuffing keywords, ignoring creative, changing too much, and treating estimates as facts.
Keyword research
Find phrases real people type, judge difficulty, and build a shortlist worth writing for.
8 guides
App Keyword Research: From Competitor Phrases to a Scored Shortlist
A practical app keyword research process: mine competitors, expand with store autocomplete, filter junk, score relevance and difficulty, then choose what to write.
Free App Keyword Research: What You Can Actually Do Without Paying
Free app keyword research is possible with competitor listings and store autocomplete. Here is the honest workflow, its limits, and when a paid tool is worth it.
App Store Keywords: The 100-Character Field, Explained
How the App Store keyword field works, what to put in 100 characters, what to leave out, and how it differs from the title and subtitle.
Google Play Keywords: Where They Go and How to Use Them
Google Play has no keyword field. Learn which fields are indexed, how title, short description, and full description work together, and what to avoid.
Long-Tail App Keywords: Why Small Apps Win on Specific Phrases
Long-tail app keywords are specific, lower-competition phrases that match a clear intent. Learn how to find them, judge them, and place them in a listing.
Competitor Keyword Research for Apps: Find the Phrases They Own
How to mine competitor titles, subtitles, and descriptions for keyword roots, separate newcomer phrases from giant-owned terms, and turn the gaps into a listing plan.
App Keyword Search Volume: Why Exact Numbers Are a Myth
Apple and Google do not publish store search volume. Learn how ASO tools estimate demand, what confidence labels mean, and how to use volume without being misled.
Keyword Difficulty for Apps: How to Judge If You Can Win
App keyword difficulty is a judgement about how hard it is to rank for a phrase. Learn the signals, how to interpret a score, and when to walk away.
Listings
Titles, subtitles, descriptions, screenshots, icons, and localisation that survive the character limits.
7 guides
App Title Optimization: 30 Characters That Do Real Work
How to write an app title that indexes a primary phrase, stays readable, and works in both stores. Includes placement rules, examples, and testing advice.
App Subtitle Optimization: The 30-Character Second Chance
The App Store subtitle is 30 characters and the Play short description is 80. Learn how to use each for a second keyword and a clear benefit.
App Store Description: Write for the Install, Not the Index
How to write an app store description that converts: structure, first lines, formatting, keyword placement on Play vs iOS, and the claims to avoid.
App Store Screenshots: Sizes, Order, and the First Three
A practical guide to app store screenshots: current size checks, the first-three rule, caption hierarchy, localization, and how to test a new set.
App Icon Design: Legibility, Differentiation, and the Store Thumbnail
How to design an app icon that survives the store thumbnail: silhouette, contrast, category differentiation, size requirements, and a fair comparison method.
App Store Localization: Translate the Intent, Not Just the Words
A practical guide to app store localization: choosing locales, translating metadata, handling right-to-left layouts, and keeping character limits intact.
App Store Keyword Stuffing: Why It Backfires
Keyword stuffing can hurt conversion, trust, and sometimes review outcomes. Learn what counts as stuffing, how to spot it, and how to fix a listing without losing coverage.
Ranking
How store search actually sorts results, why an app stalls, and how to check rank honestly.
6 guides
How to Rank an App in the App Store Without Guessing
A realistic plan for ranking an app: choose winnable phrases, place them in indexed fields, improve conversion, earn trust, and measure rank on demand.
App Store Ranking Factors: What Is Confirmed, What Is Inferred
A clear-eyed look at App Store ranking factors: metadata relevance, installs, ratings, retention, updates, and the parts Apple does not disclose.
Google Play Ranking: How Play Search Sorts Results
What is known about Google Play ranking: relevance, quality, engagement, Android vitals, localisation, and the metadata surfaces that matter.
App Store Ranking by Country: Why One Global Number Misleads
App Store and Play rankings differ by country. Learn why storefronts diverge, how to check rank per market, and how to localize without wasting effort.
Why Is My App Not Ranking? A Diagnostic Checklist
Work through the real reasons an app fails to rank: wrong field, wrong phrase, wrong market, weak conversion, or simply not enough time and trust.
App Rank Tracker: What to Track and What the Number Means
How app rank tracking works, which markets and keywords to track, why on-demand checks are honest, and how to read rank history without overreacting.
Conversion
Turn impressions into installs with clearer pages, better reviews, and a launch that holds up.
5 guides
App Store Conversion Rate: What It Is and How to Improve It
App store conversion rate measures how many product-page visitors install. Learn the formula, why benchmarks mislead, and the changes that usually move the number.
How to Increase App Downloads Without Buying Fake Traction
A durable plan to increase app downloads: win relevant search phrases, improve the listing card, earn reviews, launch deliberately, and fix retention.
App Store Reviews: Ratings, Prompts, and What to Do With Feedback
How app store reviews affect trust and ranking, when to ask for a rating, how to respond, and how to mine reviews for listing and product improvements.
App Store Product Page Optimization: Test the Page, Not the Guess
A practical guide to app store product page optimization and A/B testing: what to test, how to design a clean experiment, and how to read the result.
App Launch Checklist: From Store Listing to Week Two
A practical app launch checklist covering positioning, listing assets, review prompts, analytics, support, and the post-launch work most teams forget.
Growth
Paid search, tooling, audits, and budgets for a small team that still has to ship.
4 guides
Apple Search Ads and ASO: How Paid and Organic Work Together
Apple Search Ads can reveal high-intent queries and put an app in front of them. Learn how paid search relates to organic ASO, what to measure, and what not to assume.
ASO Tools: What to Evaluate Beyond the Keyword List
How to choose an ASO tool: data honesty, store coverage, keyword workflow, listing validation, rank checks, local-first storage, and total cost.
ASO Audit: A 30-Point Review of an Existing Listing
Run a practical ASO audit: check positioning, keyword coverage, metadata limits, creative, reviews, localisation, and rank tracking, then prioritize fixes.
App Store Optimization Cost: What You Are Actually Paying For
ASO costs range from DIY time to agency retainers. Learn the engagement models, the questions to ask, and how to avoid paying for rankings nobody can guarantee.