How to win in the App Store

1 The bottom line

Choose a keyword with real search volume and weak competition, then build your title, screenshots and rating asks to win it. App Store search is the easiest channel to start with, since you mainly need keywords.

2 Key takeaways

• Pick the keyword before you build the app. The apps that reached profit fastest started with distribution already found.
  • Steve Young, App Masters15:35 bought an app ranking number one for two keywords at about 28 and 34 search volume, and it got 100 to 150 downloads a day.
  • A client app named after such a keyword reached number one in its first week and made $1,600 in its first month Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
• Judge competition by the top three results, not by tool scores. Review counts and title use show whether you can really beat them.
  • If the number two or three app has only 100+ reviews and few apps use the keyword in the title, you can probably beat them Steve Young, App Masters12:35.
• Spend most of your effort on the title and subtitle. They are the bulk of what Steve optimizes, ahead of ratings and revenue.
  • Green Noise, with the subtitle "Green noise for better sleep", reached number one for a time and still ranks third Steve Young, App Masters22:10.
  • Steve found 24 variations of one winning keyword, each with at least 24 search volume Steve Young, App Masters47:00.
• Write screenshots in your customers' words, and change them slowly. Users prefer what is familiar and what sounds like them.
  • Coconote put the phrase customers kept using, "never miss a key detail", on its first preview screen Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote13:17.
  • About 80% of modernized screenshot designs lost A/B tests Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited7:16.
• Ask for ratings after the user gets value. Well-timed asks build a large base of good ratings that makes the page convincing.
  • Super Unlimited shows 2 million plus high-quality ratings on its App Store page Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited5:49.
  • Margins holds a 4.9 average across about 21,000 global ratings Paul Warren, Margins45:00.

we find the keyword first, Joseph, and then build the app

Steve Young, App Masters

2.1 Pick a keyword you can win

Start from search demand and weak competition, and let that decide what you build.

• Check that people search for your type of app before you lean on ASO Steve Young, App Masters7:02.
  • ASO and Apple Ads are the easiest start if you lack creative skills, because all you need are keywords Steve Young, App Masters7:02.
  • One older health and fitness app did $6 million last year, about $4 million of it from App Store search Steve Young, App Masters7:02.
  • Skip categories that are already too crowded, like calorie trackers Steve Young, App Masters7:02.
• Look for keywords with search volume of about 30 and up, then build around them Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
  • Find them in ASO Mobile, and work out which two keywords you can rank for Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
  • Steve says he does not know what the volume number means in daily searches, so use it to compare keywords Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
• Judge competition by the top three results Steve Young, App Masters12:35.
  • Search the keyword and count the reviews on the top three apps and how many have the keyword in the title Steve Young, App Masters12:35.
  • Check Sensor Tower or the Meta ad library to see whether they run paid Steve Young, App Masters12:35.
  • Steve outranked apps with far more ratings and revenue through better title and subtitle optimization Steve Young, App Masters12:35.
• Reverse engineer odd apps that rank high with few reviews Steve Young, App Masters23:45.
  • Search a broad term like meditation, then drop those apps into ASO Mobile or App Follow to see which other keywords they index for Steve Young, App Masters23:45.
  • A client launched on a keyword found this way and got about 100 downloads a day with no free trial, making $1,600 in the first 21 days Steve Young, App Masters23:45.

2.2 Write the title and subtitle

Put the keyword in the name and the subtitle, and match what the store already suggests.

• Build your title and subtitle from the autofill results Steve Young, App Masters22:10.
  • Search your main keyword and use the autofill suggestions as your title and subtitle Steve Young, App Masters22:10.
  • Steve named an app Green Noise with the subtitle "Green noise for better sleep". It reached number one for a time and still ranks third Steve Young, App Masters22:10.
• Name the app after the keyword Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
  • Steve told a client to name their app after a keyword with volume around 30, and it reached number one in the first week Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
  • That app made $1,600 in its first month and is now near $20K MRR Steve Young, App Masters15:35.
• Stack variations of your winning keyword instead of diluting your focus Steve Young, App Masters47:00.
  • Sort your keyword spreadsheet by the main term your app already ranks number one for, and look for variations few people target Steve Young, App Masters47:00.
  • Steve found 24 variations with at least 24 search volume and plans to keep stacking them Steve Young, App Masters47:00.
  • Migraine apps can add terms like track, headache and chronic pain to long titles Steve Young, App Masters47:00.

2.3 Design screenshots that convert

Say back what users told you, and test changes carefully.

• Ask customers how they would describe the product and put that on your first screenshot Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote13:17.
  • Most of Coconote's customers gave the same answer, that they use it to never miss a key detail. That became the first App Store preview screen Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote13:17.
  • Take lines from reviews and conversations. This keeps the message the same from short-form content to the store page Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote26:30.
  • Coconote's first screenshot says "great for ADHD", also taken from what users Brett Bauman and Zack Hargett, Coconote26:30.
• A/B test screenshot redesigns, and expect the familiar version to win Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited7:16.
  • Run tweaks in a methodical way instead of massive changes, especially when you rank number one and a change is risky Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited7:16.
  • About 80% of modernized designs lost, and the other 20% won only slightly Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited7:16.

2.4 Ask for ratings the right way

Time the ask after value, and make the moment worth rating.

• Prompt for a rating only after the user has received value Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited5:49.
  • Do not repeat the ask too often or at the wrong time Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited5:49.
  • With huge download volume and returning users, this gave the app 2 million plus high-quality ratings without rating gymnastics Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited5:49.
• If the ask feels tacky, create a moment of delight and put the ask beside it Paul Warren, Margins45:00.
  • Margins added a lamp and reading chair at the bottom of the home tab. Tapping the lamp turns on a light with a switch click, and the rating ask sits next to it Paul Warren, Margins45:00.
  • It drove probably thousands of ratings, and hundreds of reviews mention the lamp by name Paul Warren, Margins45:00.
• Break ratings down by country and fix the weak markets Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited41:35.
  • Investigate countries where ratings fall well below the US. This revealed fixable quality issues Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited41:35.
  • The team cited this analysis as a significant help in growing to number one Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited41:35.

2.5 Push your chart rank

A burst of installs on one day can lift you into the charts, but store features are not a plan.

• Have every creator post on the same day to chart in your category Casper, Payout47:43.
  • Charting in the top 20 of a category brings organic downloads from people browsing the top apps, plus credibility Casper, Payout47:43.
  • Casper asked friends to post, some for free or at about 70% off their normal rate Casper, Payout47:43.
  • Five creators posting in one day brought $9,700 in revenue and ranked the app around 70 to 80 in finance Casper, Payout47:43.
• Do not count on App of the Day for downloads Paul Warren, Margins38:10.
  • Margins was App of the Day in the US on a random Tuesday, and it produced about 3 days of passive growth Paul Warren, Margins38:10.
  • App of the Day in Australia and New Zealand on January 2nd was its best download day ever. Timing and seasonality mattered more than the feature Paul Warren, Margins38:10.

2.6 Where they disagree

Sources split on how hard to push for ratings, and on how much stars can be trusted.

• Forcing a rating can work, but it has a cost Nicole, Glam Up28:20.
  • Glam Up showed the native pop-up, then a big "I rated it" button users had to tap to continue. Other founders told Nicole it helped their ratings Nicole, Glam Up28:20.
  • Her current co-founder is uncomfortable with it. Her newest app just has "leave a rating" then continue, and it still works Nicole, Glam Up28:20.
  • Super Unlimited reached its ratings with well-timed asks and no gymnastics Tanuj Chatterjee, Super Unlimited5:49.
• Average stars may count for less than they seem Andrew Maguire, Volo Ventures53:30.
  • Onboarding prompts collect taps from people who do not care, so even weak apps sit near 4.9. Compare written one-star reviews to five-star ratings instead Andrew Maguire, Volo Ventures53:30.
  • Apple has recently cracked down on review farming. Andrew's decade-old app sits at 4.5 stars, below many apps that look weak Andrew Maguire, Volo Ventures53:30.