App Store Optimization Basics: Helping People Find and Install Your App
A finished app is not automatically a visible one. People find apps by typing a need into the store search box, browsing a category, or following a link from an ad or a website, and in every case they land on a listing that has a few seconds to convince them. If the listing does not match what they searched for, or does not make the app's purpose obvious, they move on.
App store optimization (ASO) is the work of improving that listing so the right people can find the app and decide to install it. This guide covers the basics for the Apple App Store and Google Play: what you control, how the two stores differ, how to ask for reviews within the rules, and what to do in your first month.
The limits and rules quoted below come from Apple's and Google's own developer pages as they stood in October 2026. Check the linked page before you finalize copy.
What app store optimization actually is
ASO has two halves. The first is discoverability: appearing when someone searches for the problem your app solves. The second is conversion: turning a person who sees your listing into a person who installs. Text fields mostly serve the first half. The icon, screenshots and video mostly serve the second.
It is closer to merchandising than to a technical trick: describing the product accurately, in the words customers use, and showing it well. Neither store publishes a ranking formula.
The listing elements you control
Apple App Store
Apple's product page guidance sets out the fields. The app name can be up to 30 characters, and so can the subtitle that appears beneath it. A keywords field, which customers never see, is limited to 100 characters with terms separated by commas. Promotional text of up to 170 characters sits above the description and can be changed at any time, while the description itself can only be updated when you submit a new version of the app.
On the visual side you supply the icon, up to 10 screenshots, and up to three app previews, which are short videos of up to 30 seconds made from footage captured on the device. You also choose a primary and a secondary category, and Apple notes that the primary one is particularly important for discoverability.
Google Play
Google's store listing help page gives a 30 character limit for the app name, 80 characters for the short description and 4,000 characters for the full description. The short description is the line people see first, and they expand it to read the rest. You also provide an icon, a feature graphic, screenshots, an optional preview video supplied as a YouTube link, and a category. There is no hidden keywords field in the Play listing form.
How the two stores differ in what search looks at
Apple states on its App Store search page that results are based on text relevance, meaning matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, together with user behavior such as downloads and ratings and reviews. The description is not in that list. On the App Store, then, write the description to persuade a reader, and put your search terms into the name, subtitle and keywords field. Apple also advises against repeating plurals of words you have already used, generic terms such as "app", and the names of competing apps.
Google is less specific. Its guidance on getting discovered on Google Play says apps are ranked on a combination of ratings, reviews, downloads and other factors, and that the details are not disclosed. The same page recommends applying search optimization practices to the description while staying within its policies on keyword spam. With no keywords field available, the title, short description and full description are the only places your wording can appear, so they need to read naturally and still contain the phrases customers use.
Ratings and reviews, and asking for them within the rules
Both stores name ratings and reviews among the things that influence ranking, and star ratings are visible in search results before anyone opens your page. You cannot write them yourself, but you can ask well.
On iOS, use Apple's built-in rating prompt. Apple's ratings and reviews page says you can prompt up to three times in a 365-day period, and recommends asking when users are likely to feel satisfied, such as after completing a task, without interrupting them. On Android, the in-app review documentation explains that Google Play limits how often a user sees the dialog, so a request may show nothing at all. It also says your app should not ask questions first, such as "Do you like the app?", and should not alter the review card.
That rules out a common tactic on Android: asking whether people are happy and sending only the happy ones to the store. Apple's App Review Guidelines likewise warn against paid, incentivized, filtered or fake feedback. Ask everyone, at a good moment, reply to critical reviews, and make support contact details easy to find.
Localization for the US and UK
Both stores treat US English and UK English as separate languages for listing purposes. Apple lists English (U.S.) and English (U.K.) as distinct App Store localizations. Google Play offers en-US and en-GB, and its listing page notes that the default language for a new app is English (United States).
For a business selling in both countries, a separate UK listing is worth the small effort, because search terms differ as well as spelling. A US customer might search for a "checking account" or "vacation" app where a UK customer types "current account" or "holiday". Screenshots should match too: USD prices, US date formats and US place names look out of place in a UK listing, and the reverse is equally true. Apple recommends localizing the description, keywords, previews and screenshots for each market in which you offer the app.
Testing: listing experiments and custom pages
Both stores let you test rather than argue about which icon is better. Apple's feature is called product page optimization: you run alternative icons, screenshots and app previews against your original page and compare results in App Analytics. Google's equivalent is store listing experiments in Play Console, which can test graphics and, in localized experiments, descriptions as well.
Separately, each store allows extra versions of your page for specific audiences. Apple calls them custom product pages, each with its own URL and its own screenshots, promotional text and previews. Google calls them custom store listings, which can be aimed at a country or reached through a dedicated URL, among other options. They suit paid campaigns that promote different features to different groups. Tests need enough traffic to give a clear result, so a new app with few visitors should fix the basics first.
Common mistakes and what ASO cannot fix
The frequent errors are predictable:
- Stuffing the name or description with keywords, which reads badly and breaks both stores' metadata rules.
- Using the same listing text on both stores despite the different fields and search behavior.
- Screenshots that show a login screen or splash page instead of the app doing something useful.
- Writing the listing once at launch and never revisiting it.
ASO also has clear limits. It cannot rescue an app that crashes, loads slowly or confuses people, because poor ratings and uninstalls follow whatever the listing promised. It cannot create demand for something nobody searches for, and it will not replace marketing outside the stores. Product quality comes first, which is why ongoing maintenance and support does as much for store performance as any change to wording.
What to do next: a first-month checklist
- Week one: write down the phrases real customers use for the problem you solve, in US and UK terms, and search each store for them to see who appears.
- Week one: rewrite the name, subtitle or short description, and Apple keywords field around those phrases, within the character limits.
- Week two: replace the first three screenshots so each shows one clear benefit with a short caption. Add en-GB and en-US variants.
- Week two: add the store's built-in review prompt at a point where users have just succeeded at something.
- Week three: reply to every existing review and fix the top complaint in the next release.
- Week four: record impressions, page views and installs from App Store Connect and Play Console as a baseline, then plan one test.
Conclusion
App store optimization is steady, unglamorous work: accurate wording in the fields each store actually reads, visuals that show the app's value quickly, honest requests for reviews, and separate attention to US and UK customers. Apple tells you which text fields its search uses, Google gives you fewer specifics, and both reward apps that people install, keep and rate well.
If you are planning a new app or want a second opinion on an existing listing, you can request a quote and describe what you are trying to improve.