| name | keyword-optimizer |
| description | Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability. Use when launching a new app, improving search rankings, entering new markets/languages, or safely optimizing ASO for an app with existing traffic. |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","AskUserQuestion","WebSearch"] |
Keyword Optimizer
Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability.
When This Skill Activates
- User is launching a new app
- User wants to improve search rankings
- User asks about ASO (App Store Optimization)
- User is entering new markets/languages
- User wants to analyze keyword opportunities
- User needs safe optimization for existing apps
Reference Files
Before optimizing, load these reference materials:
| File | Purpose |
|---|
| keyword-criteria.md | Popularity/Difficulty sweet spots, opportunity scoring |
| advanced-tactics.md | Cross-localization, screenshot indexing, velocity boost |
| existing-app-strategy.md | Safe optimization for apps with existing traffic |
Information Gathering
Before optimizing, ask about:
-
App Identity
- What does the app do in one sentence?
- What category is it in?
- What's the current app name (if exists)?
-
Target Keywords
- What would users search to find this app?
- What problem words would they use?
- Any branded terms to include?
-
Competition
- Main competitors?
- What keywords do they target?
- Where can you realistically compete?
-
Goals
- Brand awareness vs. category traffic?
- Specific markets to prioritize?
Keyword Strategy
Where Keywords Count
| Field | Limit | Weight | Notes |
|---|
| App Name | 30 chars | Highest | Most valuable real estate |
| Subtitle | 30 chars | High | Visible in search, below name |
| Keywords | 100 chars | Medium | Not visible to users |
| Description | 4000 chars | Low* | *Apple says indexed, debated |
Keyword Types
- Branded - Your app name, company name
- Category - Generic terms (e.g., "todo app", "weather")
- Feature - Specific functionality (e.g., "offline maps")
- Problem - User pain points (e.g., "forget tasks")
- Long-tail - Specific phrases (e.g., "minimalist habit tracker")
Optimization Process
Step 1: Keyword Research
Generate Initial List:
1. Brainstorm 50+ keywords
2. What would YOU search for this app?
3. Check competitor names/subtitles
4. Use autocomplete suggestions
5. Consider misspellings users make
Research Tools:
- App Store Search Autocomplete
- AppFollow, Sensor Tower, AppTweak (paid)
- Google Keyword Planner (related terms)
- Competitor subtitle/keyword analysis
Step 2: Prioritize Keywords
Rate each keyword on:
| Factor | Question |
|---|
| Relevance | Does it accurately describe your app? |
| Volume | Do people actually search this? |
| Difficulty | Can you realistically rank? |
| Intent | Will searchers want your app? |
Priority Matrix:
High Volume + Low Difficulty = 🎯 Target First
High Volume + High Difficulty = 💪 Long-term Goal
Low Volume + Low Difficulty = ✅ Easy Wins
Low Volume + High Difficulty = ❌ Skip
Step 3: Allocate Keywords
App Name (30 characters):
[Brand Name] - [Top Keyword Phrase]
or
[Brand Name]: [Value Proposition]
Examples:
"Notion - Notes & Docs"
"Calm: Sleep & Meditation"
"Fantastical - Calendar & Tasks"
Subtitle (30 characters):
[Second Priority Keywords] / [Unique Value]
Examples:
"Focus Timer & Daily Planner"
"Simple Habit Building"
"Weather Radar & Forecasts"
Keywords Field (100 characters):
Rules:
- Comma-separated, NO spaces after commas
- No plurals (Apple handles it)
- No duplicates from name/subtitle
- No category name (already indexed)
- Single words perform better than phrases
Example:
"timer,pomodoro,focus,concentration,study,productivity,work,session,break,technique"
Character Optimization
Maximize 100 Characters
Bad (wastes characters):
task manager, todo list, productivity app, reminder app, checklist
Good (efficient):
task,todo,productivity,reminder,checklist,planner,organize,gtd,schedule,daily
Savings:
- Remove spaces after commas
- Don't repeat words in different forms
- Skip obvious words (app, free, best)
Word Combinations
Apple combines words from all fields:
Name: "Focus Timer"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Technique"
Keywords: "study,productivity,work,session"
Searchable combinations:
- "focus timer"
- "pomodoro timer"
- "focus productivity"
- "study timer"
- "work focus"
(and more...)
Cross-Field Deduplication
Apple indexes words from all three fields for the same locale. A word only needs to appear once — putting it in multiple fields wastes characters and provides zero ranking benefit.
Priority Cascade
Title (30 chars) → Highest search weight
↓ words flow down
Subtitle (30 chars) → High search weight
↓ words flow down
Keywords (100 chars) → Medium search weight
The rule: If a word appears in your Title, do not repeat it in Subtitle or Keywords. If a word appears in your Subtitle, do not repeat it in Keywords. Apple already indexes it from the higher-weight field.
Why This Matters
Every duplicated word steals characters from the Keywords field where you could fit new discoverable terms. With only 100 characters, even one wasted word costs you reach.
Validation Process
For each locale, extract every word from all three fields and check for overlaps:
Step 1: List all words in Title
Step 2: List all words in Subtitle → flag any that appear in Title
Step 3: List all words in Keywords → flag any that appear in Title OR Subtitle
Step 4: Remove flagged words from lower fields
Step 5: Replace removed words with new keyword opportunities
Before & After Example
❌ BEFORE (duplicated words waste 23 characters):
Title: "Focus Timer - Stay Productive"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Timer & Focus Sessions"
Keywords: "timer,focus,pomodoro,productive,study,work,session,break"
Duplicates:
"timer" — in Title AND Subtitle AND Keywords
"focus" — in Title AND Subtitle AND Keywords
"pomodoro" — in Subtitle AND Keywords
"productive" — in Title ("Productive") AND Keywords
"session" — in Subtitle ("Sessions") AND Keywords
Wasted: 5 keyword slots = ~38 characters lost
✅ AFTER (zero duplication, 5 new keywords gained):
Title: "Focus Timer - Stay Productive"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Technique & Deep Work"
Keywords: "study,concentration,interval,tomato,distraction,block,exam,revision,flowstate,desk"
New searchable combinations gained:
"focus concentration" "timer interval"
"study timer" "deep focus"
"exam study" "pomodoro technique"
Quick Dedup Check
When generating keyword recommendations, always verify:
| Check | Rule |
|---|
| Title word in Subtitle? | Remove from Subtitle |
| Title word in Keywords? | Remove from Keywords |
| Subtitle word in Keywords? | Remove from Keywords |
| Plural/singular variant across fields? | Keep only in highest field |
| Stop words (a, the, and, for)? | Don't include anywhere — auto-indexed |
Common Mistakes
❌ Don't Do This:
- Using spaces after commas in keywords
- Duplicating words across fields
- Including your category name
- Using competitor brand names
- Adding "app" or "application"
- Including "free" (filterable separately)
- Using special characters or emoji
- Repeating singular/plural forms
✅ Do This:
- Research before guessing
- Prioritize relevance over volume
- Update keywords quarterly
- Track ranking changes
- Localize keywords per market
Keyword Template
APP NAME STRATEGY
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Current: [existing name or blank]
Proposed: [Brand] - [Keywords]
Characters: [X/30]
Primary keywords: [list]
SUBTITLE STRATEGY
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Current: [existing subtitle or blank]
Proposed: [keyword-rich subtitle]
Characters: [X/30]
Secondary keywords: [list]
KEYWORDS FIELD (100 chars)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Proposed: keyword1,keyword2,keyword3,...
Characters: [X/100]
EXPECTED COMBINATIONS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• [combination 1]
• [combination 2]
• [combination 3]
...
Localization Strategy
Priority Markets by Revenue
- 🇺🇸 United States (English)
- 🇨🇳 China (Simplified Chinese)
- 🇯🇵 Japan (Japanese)
- 🇬🇧 UK (British English - can differ!)
- 🇩🇪 Germany (German)
- 🇫🇷 France (French)
- 🇰🇷 South Korea (Korean)
- 🇪🇸 Spain (Spanish)
- 🇮🇹 Italy (Italian)
- 🇧🇷 Brazil (Portuguese)
Localization Tips
- Don't just translate—research local search terms
- Some markets search in English even for local apps
- Character limits may be tighter in some languages
- Hire native speakers to verify keywords make sense
- Consider cultural differences in app usage
Tracking & Iteration
What to Track
- Keyword rankings (use ASO tools)
- Impressions (App Store Connect)
- Conversion rate
- Download sources
When to Update
- Weekly: Check ranking changes
- Monthly: Assess underperforming keywords
- Quarterly: Major keyword refresh
- Seasonally: Add seasonal keywords
A/B Testing
App Store Connect allows testing:
- App icons
- Screenshots
- App previews
Use Product Page Optimization to test different approaches.
Quick Reference
Prohibited Terms
- "Free" (use pricing filter instead)
- "#1" or "best" without verification
- Competitor names
- "App" or "application"
- Pricing information
Always Include
- Core functionality words
- Problem/solution words
- Category-relevant terms
- Action verbs users would search
Character Limits
App Name: 30 characters
Subtitle: 30 characters
Keywords: 100 characters
Description: 4000 characters (low SEO value)
Indie Developer Strategy
For building apps that generate $200-2,000/month:
The Sweet Spot Formula
Target keywords where:
- Popularity > 20 (enough traffic)
- Difficulty < 60 (beatable competition)
Ideal: Popularity 25-50, Difficulty < 45
Process
- Find underserved keywords using ASO tools (Astro, AppTweak)
- Build simple, single-feature apps around those keywords
- Double down on winners, abandon losers
- Portfolio effect compounds (30 apps × $500 = $15k/month)
See keyword-criteria.md for detailed scoring and evaluation.
Advanced Tactics Summary
Cross-Localization (Double Keywords)
Add Spanish (Mexico) locale with English keywords for US market.
See advanced-tactics.md for all locales.
Screenshot Text Indexing (June 2025)
Apple OCR reads screenshot captions for keyword ranking.
Put keywords in top/bottom of screenshots.
Existing App Optimization
Never change what's working. Use phased rollout.
See existing-app-strategy.md for safe optimization.
