How to do ASO keyword research
Google Play has no separate keyword field: ranking signals come from the title (30 chars), short description (80 chars) and long description (4000 chars). Put the primary term in the title, the secondary term in the short description and long-tail variants in the long description.
Where the keywords come from
Type your category terms into the store search bar and write down the autocomplete suggestions — those are real queries. Then line up the titles and short descriptions of the top ten competitors: any word that appears in more than three of them is mandatory for that category.
Reviews are the second source. The word users pick to describe your product is searched more often than your marketing word.
Judging competition
Search a keyword and look at the install range of the top five results. If they are all in the millions, choose a longer phrase with the same meaning. Long-tail phrases get fewer searches but convert better, because the intent is explicit.
Common mistake
Listing keywords separated by commas. Play reads the description as prose, so a keyword pile scares users away and looks like spam. Research each language separately: a literal translation is often not what people type.
Frequently asked questions
Does Google Play have a keyword field?
No. Ranking signals are extracted from the title (30 chars), short description (80 chars) and long description (4000 chars).
How often should a keyword be repeated?
Three to five times inside natural sentences in the long description; stuffing is a policy violation.
How do you find competitors' keywords?
Extract the terms from competitors' titles and short descriptions, then check how many apps use each term: a term with demand that few apps use is the most profitable target.
Is the App Store the same?
No. The App Store has a separate 100-character keyword field where terms are comma-separated and never repeated.
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