How to climb App Store rankings with ASO

Apple never fully explains its ranking algorithm, so stick to the parts you can control and measure in ASO Suite.

1. Find keywords to pursue

Start with ideas from ASO Suite’s Keyword Suggestions, then add candidates to your tracked list to unlock Popularity, Difficulty, and Opportunity Score.

• Chase high popularity and low difficulty terms; they’re searched often but have less competition.
• ASO Suite’s Opportunity Score combines those metrics to show which terms are worth the effort.
• Ignore keywords with a popularity of 5 or below; aim for popularity 20+.
• Pick just a few (1–5) keywords to focus on so you can see what moves the needle.

Popularity of 5 is usually not worth pursuing; aim for popularity 20+.

2. Get your app to show up for those searches

Make it obvious to Apple which keyword your app is about.

• Put your primary keyword in the app title; Apple treats it as highly relevant and boosts you directly for that term.
• Use the subtitle for your next most important keyword; it still helps but less than the title.
• Add supporting keywords in the description and keywords field; the impact is smaller, but you need them to get indexed at all.
• After publishing, check in ASO Suite that Apple returns your app for each target keyword; crowded searches can still hide you, so prioritize ones where you can get indexed.

Here’s an app targeting “run tracker” as a keyword.

3. Climb the rankings with engagement signals

The exact algorithm is a black box, but these signals repeatedly help apps rise:

• A steady stream of new downloads, even if small.
• Lots of ratings and recent ratings; prompt happy users in-app.
• People using the app for more than a quick glance.
• People coming back weekly; keep giving them a reason to return.

4. Track progress and keep iterating

In ASO Suite, watch ranking movements and version-release events directly on the position chart so you can see which release changed indexing or rankings.

ASO is a long game. Keep experimenting, track changes over weeks and months, and let ASO Suite show you which moves lift your rankings over time. Good luck!