# What is App Store Optimization (ASO)?

Source: https://asorocket.app/guides/what-is-app-store-optimization

Category: Basics · Published 2026-10-03 · Updated 2026-10-05

> How App Store search works, which fields Apple indexes, and a simple loop for improving your rankings and downloads.

App Store Optimization (ASO) is the work of making an app easier to find and more convincing to download on the App Store. It is to the App Store what SEO is to Google: you can’t buy organic rankings, but you can give Apple’s search engine the right words and give people a product page that converts.

Search is the biggest single source of App Store downloads for most apps, which makes it the place where small, careful changes pay off for years.

## The two halves of ASO

- **Visibility:** ranking for the searches your future users type. This depends mostly on the words in your app name, subtitle and keyword field, and on how well the app performs once people find it.
- **Conversion:** turning a search result or product page view into a download. This depends on your icon, screenshots, preview video, ratings and the first lines of your copy.

Both feed each other. Better rankings bring more views; better conversion brings more downloads per view, which is a signal Apple’s search appears to reward.

## Which metadata fields does Apple index?

| Field | Limit | Used for search? | When you can change it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| App name | 30 characters | Yes, the strongest field | With a new version |
| Subtitle | 30 characters | Yes | With a new version |
| Keyword field | 100 characters | Yes, hidden from users | With a new version |
| Promotional text | 170 characters | No | At any time |
| Description | 4,000 characters | Widely understood not to affect search | With a new version |

Words from the name, subtitle and keyword field can combine into phrases, so “Habit Tracker” in the name and “daily” in the keyword field can rank you for “daily habit tracker”. Repeating a word across fields doesn’t add weight; it only wastes characters. See [how to use the keyword field](https://asorocket.app/guides/app-store-keyword-field) and [how to write your name and subtitle](https://asorocket.app/guides/app-name-and-subtitle).

## A simple ASO loop

1. **Research:** list the searches your users make, then score each one for popularity and for how hard it is to rank. [Keyword research guide](https://asorocket.app/guides/app-store-keyword-research).
2. **Choose:** pick the keywords that are popular enough to matter and realistic for your app today.
3. **Write:** put the most valuable words in the name, the next ones in the subtitle, and fill the keyword field with the rest.
4. **Check:** make sure the draft fits the limits, wastes no characters and doesn’t drop keywords you already rank for. [ASO checklist](https://asorocket.app/guides/aso-checklist).
5. **Ship and measure:** release the update, then track rankings daily and downloads by source for a few weeks. [Tracking guide](https://asorocket.app/guides/track-app-store-keyword-rankings).
6. **Repeat:** keep what worked, replace what didn’t, and try again with your next release.

## Beyond keywords

- **Ratings and reviews** influence both ranking and conversion. Ask for a rating at a good moment with Apple’s built-in prompt, which the system shows at most three times in 365 days.
- **Screenshots** do most of the convincing. The first two or three are what people see in search results.
- **Product page optimization** lets you A/B test your icon, screenshots and preview videos against your original page in App Store Connect.
- **Custom product pages** let you send ads and links to a page tailored to one audience or feature.
- **Localization** opens up other storefronts, often with far less competition. [Localization guide](https://asorocket.app/guides/localize-app-store-keywords).

> **Expect weeks, not days:** Rankings can shift within days of a release, but give a change two to four weeks before judging it, and change one thing at a time when you can.

## Questions

### Is ASO the same for Google Play?

The ideas are the same, but the fields differ: Google Play has no hidden keyword field and does index the full description. See [Google Play ASO vs App Store ASO](https://asorocket.app/guides/google-play-aso-vs-app-store).

### How long does ASO take to work?

New metadata is indexed soon after your version is live. Rankings usually settle over the following two to four weeks.

## asorocket features for this

- [Keyword rank tracking](https://asorocket.app/features/keyword-rank-tracking): Daily positions for every keyword in the App Store’s top 200 and Google Play’s top 30, with changes and history.
- [Metadata lab](https://asorocket.app/features/metadata-lab): A live ASO score as you type, an automatic keyword field, and a pressure test before you ship.
- [Keyword research](https://asorocket.app/features/keyword-research): Score a term, see who ranks, and check up to 1,000 keywords in one background run.