There are many proven techniques for mastering metadata, so we'll focus here on just the text-centric elements: app name, keywords, and description.

What's the app metadata?

Application metadata can be divided into two types: on-metadata and off-metadata.

On-metadata is data that you can control, such as your application name, description, images, videos, etc.

On the other hand, off-metadata is data that you have no control over but can influence. These may include ratings, user reviews, downloads, and app retention.

Google Play and the Apple App Store use sophisticated algorithms to sort search results. Even without exact information, it is possible to infer the factors that affect App Store rankings.

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Apple App Store ranking factors

App name, app URL, app subtitles, keyword fields, in-app purchases, ratings and reviews, updates, downloads and engagement, some hidden factors.

Google Play Store ranking factors

App title, short introduction, detailed description, in-app purchases, ratings and reviews, updates, downloads and engagements, some hidden factors.

6 tips to apply for metadata optimization

Take advantage of Google Ads and Apple Search Ads to check keywords

Google Ads is very useful for ASO. This tool will allow you to extend the semantic core of your application, test how users react to different text options and find keywords that are not used by your competitors. 

Use Google Ads search campaign to test different metadata options for your application. You can combine different ads based on different keyword groups and write ads accordingly. You can only drive traffic to mobile devices. The campaign should last at least two weeks and depending on the results, it is important to collect statistics about keywords, ads and search queries. Pay attention to click-through rates, cost per click and conversion rates. Based on this analysis, you should identify the keywords and phrases that convert the most. 

Apple Search Ads (ASA) can also help you find creative for new search queries and collect data on user behavior. Using this tool, you can select and prioritize queries for text ASO. 

ASA allows you to check for keyword conversions, artificially increase the popularity of words that are important and relevant to your app, and enhance and protect brand rankings for keywords that are important to your app.

Use the most important keywords in app title

The title has the biggest impact on app ranking in search, so you should put the most important and high frequency keywords there. According to some actual research on how people browse the App Store and find apps to install, keywords perform twice as well in the app name compared to when keywords are included in a dedicated "keyword" field in the app metadata.

Also, the words in the title and subtitle (App Store) or short description (Google Play) should form as many phrases as possible. Then, you will rank for more search queries. 

For example, the publisher of the Duolingo app uses the word "language" in the title and adds the words "Spanish", "French", and "German" to the keyword field. "German", etc. in the keyword field. In this case, the application will rank based on the phrase "Spanish", "French", "German".

The most important keywords should also be placed in front of the title, as they have the greatest impact on the index.

No misspelled keywords unless necessary

Users often use misspelled keywords, so these words can and should be considered when building the semantic core. It is important to remember, however, that starting with iOS 14, the App Store introduced autocorrect for certain languages, which means that adding misspelled words to the semantic core will no longer be useful. Google Play also recommends correcting misspelled words.

To check if autocorrect applies to your query, try entering the misspelled word in your query in the App Store search. If the misspelled word is corrected, it should not be used in the metadata.

Do the app localization if you can

Other localizations are only available for the App Store and allow you to display the app pages to users in their language. With additional localization you can get more than 160 characters for ranking (30 for titles, 30 for sub-titles and 100 for keywords). You can add search queries in other languages that have traffic in the selected country/region. For example, in Canada, you can add French (CA) metadata in addition to English (CA), the main language.

If you are not interested in users from other language environments, you can add queries for the primary language environment to it. For example, you do not want to create separate metadata for Spanish (MX) in the United States. You can then use this locale for popular U.S. queries that do not fit into the primary field.

Words that you shouldn't use

Duplicate keywords

Repeating keywords in the title, subtitle and keywords (App Store) or title and short description (Google Play) does not increase their indexing by the search algorithm. 

However, to strengthen your keyword rankings, you can repeat them multiple times in the full description on Google Play. Artiom Tkachuk recommends repeating important keywords 3-4 times in a text of 2000-2500 characters. If the description is long, the keyword can be repeated up to 5 times.

Don't use unnecessary keywords

The App Store automatically indexes apps for other queries related to the app category. For example, if the app is in the "Free Games" category, the keywords "free" and "games" are automatically added to its keyword set. You do not need to include these words in your metadata; the app will rank for them anyway. 

In addition, App Store policies prohibit certain keywords from being added to visible metadata. For example, you cannot request the word "free" in the title or place a price in the visible portion of the app page (App Store Review Guidelines, paragraph 2.3.7). 

Google Play prohibits the display of app prices and ratings in metadata, as well as Google Play programs (e.g. "Editor's Choice", "New", etc.). You may not use the following words and phrases: "App of the Year", "No. 1", "Best Google Play App of 20XX", and "Popular".

Please do not use keywords that violate App Store and Google Play rules to avoid rejection.

Do not put plural and singular forms of English keywords in the App Store

Always remember that the App Store automatically recognizes noun numbers in English. It is enough to write the query "photo" and the app will also rank for "photos". 

However, this rule does not apply to other languages. If you need to rank singular and plural queries for other languages, you need to add both queries to the metadata. For example, if you want to search for both "foto" and "fotos" in Spanish, you need to add both words to the metadata.

Third-party brand names

According to App Store and Google Play rules, third-party brands and trademarks cannot be used in the metadata.

If you still want to drive traffic to a branded query, you can use misspelled branded keywords if the App Store does not have autocorrect and the query has traffic. However, you cannot add other people's brand queries to the visible metadata on the App Store and Google Play. If you do so, the review will reject your app. 

If your app is directly related to another brand, you can use the name of that other brand. For example, if your app helps save stories from Instagram, you can add the phrase "Instagram's Story Saver". 

Don't forget in-app purchases in App Store

In-App Purchase (IAP) titles - These are also indexed and can be up to 45 characters per IAP. They have the lowest weight of any display position. With their help, you will have more chances to attract users' attention to your app and motivate them to sign up for a trial period.