Find App Store keywords you can actually rank for

Three numbers for every keyword

• Popularity (5–100): the score Apple reports in Apple Search Ads. Higher means more people search it.
• Difficulty (0–100): based on the ratings count and average rating of the apps that already rank for the term.
• Your rank: where your app appears in the top 200 results today, checked again every day.

How to research App Store keywords

1. Start with seed words. Write down what your app does in plain words, the way a user would search for it.
2. Expand with suggestions. Ascope pulls ideas from App Store search suggestions, which are terms people really type.
3. Filter by popularity and difficulty. Look for terms with decent popularity and a difficulty your app can beat. A new app usually wins long-tail terms first.
4. Check each storefront. The same keyword can be popular in the US and empty in Germany. Compare countries before you localize.
5. Place keywords in your metadata. Use the app name and subtitle for the strongest terms, the 100-character keyword field for the rest, and avoid repeating words.
6. Track and iterate. After each release, watch the daily rankings and replace keywords that don't move.

Research with your AI assistant

Ascope Pro includes a local MCP server. Ask Cursor or Claude “Find 10 keywords with popularity above 30 and difficulty below 50 for my app in Germany” and it will run the research with Ascope's data and start tracking the results.

Then track the rankings

Research is only half the job. Ascope's app ranking tracker checks your position for every keyword daily, so you can see which choices paid off.

Frequently asked questions

What is ASO keyword research?

ASO keyword research is finding the search terms people type in the App Store, then picking the ones where your app can realistically rank. The two numbers that matter most are popularity (how often a term is searched) and difficulty (how strong the apps that already rank are).

Where does Ascope get keyword popularity?

From Apple. Ascope shows the 5–100 popularity score Apple reports for a search term in Apple Search Ads. When Apple has no score, Ascope shows an estimate marked with ~.

How much does Ascope cost?

Ascope Pro is $99.99/year or $29.99/month, with unlimited apps and keywords, popularity, difficulty and suggestions. Every purchase has a 14-day money-back guarantee.

How many keywords can I fit in my App Store metadata?

Apple indexes your app name (30 characters), subtitle (30 characters) and the keyword field (100 characters, comma-separated). Put your strongest terms in the name and subtitle and don't repeat words across fields.