How to Do App Store Keyword Research in 2026

Short answer

Good App Store keyword research finds terms that are relevant to your app, searched by real people, and possible for you to rank for. Collect ideas from reviews and competitors, look at the apps ranking for each one, check Apple Ads popularity, then keep the terms where you could plausibly compete.

Step 1: How do you collect keyword ideas?

Start wide and do not filter yet. Good sources include:

• Your reviews. People describe your app in their own words, which are often not the words you would use.
• Competitor names and subtitles. These fields are short, so what appears there is a deliberate choice.
• App Store search suggestions. Type the start of a term on your iPhone and note what appears.
• Apple Ads recommendations. Apple shows keyword recommendations alongside search popularity.

Step 2: Is the keyword actually relevant?

Look up each term in the keyword rank checker and ask whether your app belongs on that page. If the top apps solve a different problem, the keyword will bring people who leave, even if you can rank. Since Apple counts user behavior, a poor match can also work against you.

Step 3: How competitive is the keyword?

Apple publishes no difficulty score, so read the page yourself. Three signals tell you most of what you need:

These are rules of thumb, not measurements. Any difficulty score from a tool, including the one in OpenASO, is an estimate built from signals like these.

Step 4: Is anyone searching for it?

Apple’s search popularity indicator is the closest first-party signal. It is relative, so use it to compare two terms rather than to forecast downloads. If you do not have an Apple Ads account, search suggestions are a weaker hint that people type a term.

Step 5: How do you choose what to target?

Sort your terms into groups:

• Defend. You rank well and the term matters. Keep it in your metadata.
• Attack. It is relevant and popular, and the apps above you look beatable.
• Long-tail. Fewer people search, but the term is specific and you can rank soon.
• Drop. It is irrelevant, or out of reach for now.

A new app with few ratings usually does best with long-tail terms. Winning a few specific searches earns downloads and ratings, which make broader terms more realistic later.

Step 6: Where do the keywords go?

Put the most valuable words in your app name and subtitle, because those are visible to shoppers as well as to search. Everything else goes in the keyword field. The keyword field builder removes duplicates and fits the rest into 100 characters, and the keyword field guide covers Apple’s rules.

Then track what happens. OpenASO’s research projects and keyword tracking keep ideas and positions in one place, and an AI assistant can do much of this legwork once it can see real data.

Sources

Checked November 1, 2026.

• Apple: App Store search
• Apple Ads: Review recommendations
• Apple, WWDC26: App Store Connect session