App Store Optimization (ASO): Name, Keywords, Screenshots, and Reviews That Help the Right People Find and Download Your App

Your app is finally live, but searching for it by name in the store puts it far down the list. And even when someone taps into the store listing, they look at the screenshots and do not hit download. App store optimization (ASO) deals with exactly those two stages: making sure the people who need you can find you, and making sure the people who see you want to download.

Many businesses treat ASO as a copy of website SEO and stuff in as many keywords as they can. Others go the opposite way and assume a few screenshots on the listing are enough. In reality the stores have their own rules, and every element on the page does its own job.

What follows covers, in order, how ASO works, the name and subtitle, keywords, screenshots and preview videos, ratings and reviews, and the store policies to watch.

What ASO optimizes

ASO breaks down into two goals:

• Being found: when a user searches a term in the store, whether your app appears and where it ranks. Factors include the name, subtitle, keyword field, and description, as well as download and usage performance and other factors whose details the stores do not disclose.
• Being downloaded: once users see your app, whether they tap in and install it. Factors include the icon, screenshots, preview video, ratings, and reviews.

The two affect each other: strong download conversion usually helps search performance too. But to be clear, ranking depends on many factors the stores do not disclose, and nobody can guarantee your app a particular position. What ASO can do is get the parts you control right.

You should also know that Apple’s App Store and Google Play work differently. For example, the App Store has a separate keyword field that is not displayed publicly, while Google Play draws on the text of the full description. The same copy cannot simply be pasted into both.

The app name and subtitle

The name is the most important search field and the first thing users see.

• Brand name plus core function: for example, “BrandName: Hair Salon Booking,” so people who do not know the brand can still tell what it is.
• The core function words should be terms users actually search: users search “expense tracker,” not whatever internal name you use for the feature.
• Do not cram in keywords: a name stuffed with keywords is hard to read and may be rejected in store review.
• Watch the character limits: each store has length limits on the name and subtitle, and they change with policy updates, so follow the official rules current at the time.

The subtitle (called the subtitle on the App Store, and shown as the short description on Google Play) adds the value the name cannot fit, such as “Book online in three steps.” Write about what users get, not about how impressive the company is.

Keywords: choose what users search, not what you want to rank for

Steps for choosing keywords:

1. List the users’ situations: in what circumstances would someone need your app? What words would they use to describe it?
2. Check against the store search box suggestions: type in candidate terms and see what autocomplete offers; these are usually terms people really search.
3. Look at the competitors in the results: if the top results are all large brands, a new app will struggle to break in, so switch to a more specific term, for example from “fitness” to “home bodyweight workouts.”
4. Spread them across fields: the most important term goes in the name, the next ones in the subtitle and keyword field, and the rest naturally into the description.

Thinking about keywords works the same way as for a website: start from the user’s own language. For an approach to organizing search terms, see the Brand Blog Content SEO Guide.

Screenshots and preview videos: most people only see the first few

In search results, users often see only the icon and the first few screenshots, and many never scroll down to read the description. So screenshots are not a display of your app’s screens; they are a set of ads that persuade in sequence.

A self-check list for screenshots

• The first one shows the biggest value: not the login screen or the home screen, but the result users want most.
• One point per screenshot: paired with one line of large text, such as “See this month’s spending in one tap.”
• Text large enough to read on a phone: screenshots get shrunk in search results.
• Realistic data on screen: no empty lists and no “test test.”
• A separate set for each platform and device size: phones and tablets have different proportions, and stretching distorts the image.
• Localize: for a Chinese-speaking market, use Chinese captions rather than reusing the English version.

Preview videos are good for showing a flow, such as taking a photo and having it recognized automatically. Within the first few seconds viewers need to understand what is happening, and since users often browse with sound off, the key points have to come through visuals and captions. Each store has rules on video length and content, such as usually requiring actual app footage, so check the latest rules before uploading.

Ratings and reviews: timing matters more than frequency

Ratings and reviews affect both search and willingness to download. The key to better ratings is inviting the right people at the right moment.

When to ask for a rating

• After the user completes something valuable: for example, a successful booking, their first logged expense, or an order received.
• Not right at launch, halfway through a task, or after an error.
• Use the official rating request mechanism: both iOS and Android provide an in-app rating prompt, and the system itself limits how often it appears. Do not build your own pop-up that keeps interrupting people.
• Do not ask “are you satisfied?” first and then send only the satisfied users to rate: that kind of filtering may violate store policy.

The principles for inviting reviews are much the same as for a physical business. See How to Ask Customers for Reviews for the approach, then adapt it to the app context.

How to reply to reviews

Replies are not only for the person who wrote the review; every potential user browsing the listing reads them too.

• Reply to low ratings first: thank them, acknowledge the problem, and explain how it is being handled, or ask them to reach you through your support channel.
• Do not copy and paste the same canned reply.
• Follow up after a fix: when the problem is fixed in a new version, reply to let them know. Some users will change their rating as a result.
• Do not argue with users: even when they have misunderstood, explain rather than rebut.

Reviews are also a source of data for improving the product. Regularly sort reviews into categories and put the most common complaints into the development plan; that does more than any ASO technique.

Store policies: avoiding rejection or removal

However good your ASO is, a policy violation undoes all of it. Common things to watch:

• Do not put other brands’ names or trademarks in your name or screenshots unless you have legitimate permission.
• Do not exaggerate or mislead: screenshots must match what the app actually does, and must not show features that do not exist.
• Do not manipulate ratings and reviews: do not trade rewards for ratings or post fake reviews. If you run paid partnerships with creators to promote the app, disclose the partnership as required.
• Fill in the data collection disclosure honestly: what data the app collects and why must match its actual behavior.
• Set the age rating correctly.

For the full list of checks before submission, see the App Store Launch Checklist. Store policies change over time, so it is worth checking them again before each update.

A rhythm for ongoing optimization

ASO is not something you do once at launch. A suggested rhythm:

• Check with every update: whether new features deserve a place in the screenshots, and whether the release notes clearly describe what improved.
• Review the store console data regularly: listing views, download conversion, and the search terms that bring people in, to tell whether the problem is being found or being downloaded.
• Change one type of element at a time: that is the only way to know which change worked. Some stores offer listing experiment features, which are worth using.

The app’s own stability and update frequency also affect ratings; see App Maintenance and OS Updates for that side.

Whether a store listing persuades users often comes down to whether the app itself has a value that can be stated clearly. During app development and launch, NETVANA can help organize listing copy and screenshot plans, design the timing of in-app rating requests, and make sure the data collection disclosure matches what the app actually does. Software work is quoted after a consultation, based on the scope of what you need. To talk through your app launch plan, contact us, or start with the software services overview.

Further reading: for everything else to confirm before submission, see the App Store Launch Checklist. For choosing words based on the user’s own language, read the Brand Blog Content SEO Guide. For the timing and wording of review requests, see How to Ask Customers for Reviews. To bring users back after launch, read App Push Notification Strategy. And for keeping versions stable and up to date, see App Maintenance and OS Updates.