App Store keywords are the words store search matches against your listing. Pick them badly and the app is invisible for the searches that matter. Pick them well and a new app can show up next to big ones for narrower phrases. Here is where the stores read your keywords, how to find them, and how to tell which ones a new app can win.
Apple says App Store results depend on text relevance — matches for the app's name, subtitle, keywords and primary category — and on user behavior such as downloads, ratings and reviews. Google Play has no separate keyword field: the words go into the listing text.
| Store | Field | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| App Store | App name | 30 characters |
| Subtitle | 30 characters | |
| Keywords (not shown to users, separated by commas) | 100 bytes | |
| Google Play | App name | 30 characters |
| Short description | 80 characters | |
| Full description | 4,000 characters |
Sources, checked 19 October 2026: Apple — App Store search, app information, platform version information; Google — Play Console Help: create and set up your app.
A keyword is only useful if a new app can get near the top for it. Search it in the store and look at the apps there: how many ratings they have, whether they are household brands, whether the query is itself a brand name. If every app on top has a huge number of ratings, a new app will not get there soon. If the top includes small apps or apps that don't really match the query, the keyword is winnable.
Neither store publishes exact search counts, so every store "volume" you see in a tool is an estimate. Treat it as a way to compare keywords, not as a number of visitors. How to find low competition keywords →
Google Play has no keyword field. The app name, short description and full description carry your keywords, so write them for people and let the main phrases appear naturally. Google warns that repetitive or irrelevant keywords in the app name or description can get an app suspended. The short description is the first text people see on the app page, so put the main phrase there in a sentence a person would read.
Paste your App Store or Google Play link into the free check: you see your real competitors and the words they put in their titles in about a minute, no signup. See a real sample report →
Start from store suggestions and the names and subtitles of the apps on top for your phrases, add the words users use in reviews, then check each candidate: is there demand, and who holds the top? Keep the phrases where a new app can realistically get in.
Pick one main phrase with real demand and a top you can reach, and put it in the name or subtitle. Use the keyword field for related words that are not already in the name, subtitle or category.
Don't repeat words across the name, subtitle and keyword field, drop plurals and filler words, and don't use competitors' app names. Then measure: search your phrases after each update and see where the app shows up.
Keywords decide which searches you can appear for; downloads, ratings and reviews decide how high. Choose phrases where the top is not held only by giants, and work on ratings at the same time.
Start with keywords and the first screen of the listing: name, subtitle, short description and screenshots. Then localize for the countries you care about, and re-check your phrases after every update.
Store search is how many people find apps. If your listing does not contain the words they type, they will not see the app, however good it is.
Yes. Apple lists the app's name, subtitle, keywords and primary category among the text it matches in search. Google Play has no keyword field and reads the name and descriptions instead.