What ASO consists of
ASO splits into two strands: text metadata, which drives search visibility, and visual assets,
which drive conversion into installs.
Text metadata:
- App title — the heaviest weight in the search algorithm
- Subtitle (App Store) or short description (Google Play) — high weight
- The keywords field (App Store, 100 characters, hidden) — direct effect on search
- Description — indexed in Google Play, not indexed in the App Store
Visual assets:
- Icon — the first element deciding click-through in search results
- Screenshots — conversion from page view to install
- Preview video — where present, it usually raises conversion by 15–30%
- Rating and review count — trust and ranking
Keywords: a strategy for e-commerce
Keyword selection starts from user intent, not from the app’s name:
- Category terms: “online store”, “online shopping”, “buy online”
- Competitor brands: people search for competitors by name
- Vertical terms: “clothes online”, “electronics delivery”, “groceries to your door”
- Functional terms: “virtual fitting room”, “order tracking”, “product return”
In the App Store the 100-character keywords field takes no spaces after commas, and should not
repeat words already in the title, which are indexed anyway.
ASO metrics
| Metric | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Impressions | Page impressions in search and featuring |
| Page views | Views of the app page |
| Conversion rate | Views into downloads |
| Keyword rankings | Positions for target queries |
| Rating / review velocity | The rate at which new ratings arrive |
App Store versus Google Play in ASO
| Factor | App Store | Google Play |
|---|---|---|
| Text in the index | Title + subtitle + keywords | The whole description |
| Conversion in ranking | Weighed heavily | Taken into account |
| Custom listings | Product page optimisation | Custom store listings |
| Metadata update cadence | With each release | Separately from a release |
Tip: do not duplicate words in the keywords field that already appear in the title or
subtitle — they are indexed regardless. Use the character budget to reach additional queries that
did not fit into the visible fields.