keyword-optimizer

# 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: 1. **App Identity** - What does the app do in one sentence? - What category is it in? - What's the current app name (if exists)? 2. **Target Keywords** - What would users search to find this app? - What problem words would they use? - Any branded terms to include? 3. **Competition** - Main competitors? - What keywords do they target? - Where can you realistically compete? 4. **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 1. **Branded** - Your app name, company name 2. **Category** - Generic terms (e.g., "todo app", "weather") 3. **Feature** - Specific functionality (e.g., "offline maps") 4. **Problem** - User pain points (e.g., "forget tasks") 5. **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**. If a word appears in Title, don't repeat it in Subtitle or Keywords; if it appears in Subtitle, don't repeat it in Keywords. ### Before & After Example ``` ❌ BEFORE (duplicated words waste ~38 characters): Title: "Focus Timer - Stay Productive" Subtitle: "Pomodoro Timer & Focus Sessions" Keywords: "timer,focus,pomodoro,productive,study,work,session,break" ✅ 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" ``` ### Quick Dedup Check | Check | Rule | |-------|------| | Title word in Subtitle or Keywords? | Remove from the lower field | | 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 1. 🇺🇸 United States (English) 2. 🇨🇳 China (Simplified Chinese) 3. 🇯🇵 Japan (Japanese) 4. 🇬🇧 UK (British English - can differ!) 5. 🇩🇪 Germany (German) 6. 🇫🇷 France (French) 7. 🇰🇷 South Korea (Korean) 8. 🇪🇸 Spain (Spanish) 9. 🇮🇹 Italy (Italian) 10. 🇧🇷 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 1. Find underserved keywords using ASO tools (Astro, AppTweak) 2. Build simple, single-feature apps around those keywords 3. Double down on winners, abandon losers 4. 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.