Roughly 65% of iPhone app downloads come from App Store search. Not ads, not social — search. If your app can't be found there, your download curve won't recover.
App Store Optimization (ASO) is the discipline of ranking for the queries your users actually type. Here's the 90-day playbook we run for post-launch clients.
Days 1–7: Keyword research
Your ASO strategy is only as good as your keyword list. Start with:
- AppTweak or Sensor Tower (paid tools with legitimate data)
- App Store Search Suggest — start typing your category and note the autocompletes
- Competitor analysis — export every keyword ranking for your top 5 competitors
You want 30–50 candidate keywords, ranked by search volume × your relevance.
Days 8–14: Title + subtitle
Your app title (up to 30 chars) is the strongest single ranking factor.
Bad: "MyApp" Better: "MyApp — Habit Tracker" Best: "MyApp: Daily Habit Tracker"
Your subtitle (up to 30 chars) is the second-strongest.
Put your primary keyword in the title. Put your secondary keyword in the subtitle. Don't waste characters on adjectives.
Days 15–21: Description + keyword field (iOS)
iOS gives you a separate 100-character keyword field that isn't public but drives search rankings. Use every character. Comma-separated, no spaces after commas (spaces waste chars), no repeats of keywords already in title/subtitle.
The description shows to users but doesn't help iOS search rankings much. It does help Android search rankings — so write it once, use it for both.
Days 22–35: Screenshots + preview video
Screenshots convert browsers to downloaders. The first three matter most (they show above the fold).
Best practice:
- Screenshot 1: Your app's core value in one sentence + hero UI
- Screenshot 2: Second-most-important feature
- Screenshot 3: Social proof (rating, user count, press mention)
- Screenshots 4–8: Features, filtered by relevance
Preview videos (15-30 seconds) boost conversion 15-25%. Worth doing if your app has visual moments worth showing.
Days 36–50: Icon + first impression
Your icon is your ad on the App Store home screen. Test at least three versions with real users. The winner usually surprises you.
Good icon rules:
- Recognizable at 44×44 pixels
- Uses one strong colour
- Symbol or letter — not a mini-screenshot
- No text (App Store already shows your title next to it)
Days 51–70: Reviews strategy
Ratings and reviews affect both ranking and conversion. Two levers:
- In-app review prompts — Apple's
SKStoreReviewControllershows the native review sheet without pulling the user out of your app. Trigger it after a positive moment (task complete, level up, purchase). - Response strategy — reply to negative reviews within 48 hours. Half the time you can turn a 1-star into a 4-star by addressing the concern in-app and asking politely.
Never buy reviews. Apple and Google both detect it and delist offenders permanently.
Days 71–90: Iterate on data
By day 90 you have real data. Check App Store Connect analytics for:
- Impressions (how often you show up in search)
- Product page views (how often people click through)
- Conversion rate (how many downloads per view)
Low impressions = weak keywords. Fix title/subtitle. Low conversion = weak screenshots or icon. Test alternates.
Iterate every 2 weeks. ASO is a compound advantage — small improvements stack over months.
What NOT to do
- Don't keyword-stuff your title with 8 keywords crammed in
- Don't buy fake downloads (Apple detects it, delists you)
- Don't ignore Android — Play Store keyword strategy is different but critical
- Don't skip localization if you have international users (localised metadata boosts local search rankings dramatically)
Tools we use
- AppTweak or Sensor Tower for keyword research
- Meltwater / Mention for brand monitoring
- App Store Connect + Google Play Console for the truth on your own numbers
- Superwall or RevenueCat if you're doing subscriptions
Bottom line
Launch alone won't drive downloads. ASO is a long-term compounding investment — the earlier you start, the bigger the payoff by month 6. Every mobile app we ship includes an ASO baseline; monthly retainers cover ongoing optimisation.