Free App Store Keyword Tool
Appstro's free app store keyword tool is the fastest way to do ASO keyword research: find the keywords any iOS app ranks for, uncover untapped opportunities, and compare your keyword strategy against competitors — with no credit card and no search limits. Keyword suggestions come from Apple's autocomplete in 30 storefronts; rank tracking covers 175+.
Find keywords now — type a seed term
Suggestions come from Apple's own App Store autocomplete, ordered by real search popularity. Each one is scored for difficulty against the live top-10 results, so you can see which terms are actually winnable before you write any metadata.
What Is an App Store Keyword Tool?
An app store keyword tool is software that surfaces the exact search terms people type into the App Store, then scores each term so you know which ones are worth targeting. Instead of guessing at metadata, an app store keyword research tool gives you data: how popular a phrase is, how hard it is to rank for, and which apps currently own the top spots for it. Appstro's tool does all three for free — no trial period, no locked reports, no per-search credits.
Discover keywords
Pull the real search terms your app — or any competitor — ranks for, straight from live App Store search results.
Score popularity & difficulty
See how often a phrase is searched and how entrenched the current top-10 apps are, so you can prioritize winnable terms.
Track & compare
Monitor rank movement over time and compare your keyword footprint against any competitor, side by side.
How to do App Store Keyword Research
App Store Optimization (ASO) is an ongoing process of discovering high-intent search terms, placing them strategically in your app metadata, and tracking rank movements. Follow this step-by-step framework to maximize your organic app visibility.
Brainstorm Seed Keywords
Start by listing terms that describe your app’s core functions, features, and target audience. Avoid internal jargon; write down what actual users would type. For example, if you build a calorie tracker, seed words might include "food diary", "macro counter", and "weight tracker". Inspect your competitors' app names for additional inspiration.
Analyze Competitor Rankings
Competitors are an excellent source of targeted keyword data. Search for the top-ranking apps in your category using Appstro and inspect their ranking keywords. Focus on terms where they rank in the top 10 but have moderate competition, and analyze how they utilize their app name and subtitle to target them.
Evaluate Keyword Search Volume and Difficulty
Prioritize your keyword list using traffic volume (popularity) and competition (difficulty) signals. For new or indie apps, targeting high-volume keywords like "workout" is rarely successful. Instead, focus on long-tail keywords (e.g., "home workout plan no equipment") which have lower difficulty and high intent.
Optimize Your App Store Metadata Fields
Distribute your selected keywords across the indexed fields: App Name (30 characters, highest weight), Subtitle (30 characters, high weight), and the hidden Keyword Field (100 characters). Omit spaces around commas in the keyword field to save precious space, and never duplicate words across different fields.
Audit Your Metadata Prior to Release
Before submitting your app update to App Store Connect, use our free ASO Metadata Checker to check for duplicate words, verify character limits, and ensure your metadata complies with the App Store's best practices.
Monitor Performance and Iterate
Rankings update continuously based on downloads and conversions. Use our Keyword Rank Checker to track your rankings over time. If your app does not rank in the top 10 for a targeted keyword after 4-6 weeks, replace it with a new opportunity and try again.
How Appstro's Free Keyword Tool Works
Appstro's app store keyword research tool reads live App Store data — not a cached database — so every score reflects what's ranking right now. Three signals drive every recommendation:
Popularity
Estimated from Apple's own autocomplete ordering — Apple ranks suggestions by search volume, so a term surfacing earlier in autocomplete is searched more often. This gives you a 0–100 popularity read without needing paid search-volume data.
Difficulty
Calculated from the live top-10 results for a term: log-scaled rating counts of the incumbent apps (weighted more for the top 3 spots) plus a penalty when many results already contain the exact phrase in their title. Low difficulty means the field is winnable for a smaller app.
Rank data
Search any app to see the keywords it currently ranks for and its live position for each one — the same view works for your own app or any competitor, so you can benchmark your keyword footprint against theirs.
For a dedicated view of popularity and difficulty scored side by side, use the Keyword Research tool, or compare your keyword set directly against a rival app with Keyword Gap.
How to Pick the Right Keywords: Volume vs Difficulty vs Relevance
The right keyword balances three factors. Optimizing for only one of them is the most common reason ASO keyword research fails to move the needle.
Volume (Popularity)
How many people actually search this term. High-volume seed words ("fitness", "budget") drive the most traffic if you can rank — but they are also the hardest to win.
Difficulty (Competition)
How entrenched the current top-10 apps are. A high-volume term guarded by apps with hundreds of thousands of ratings is not realistically winnable for a new app, no matter how relevant it is.
Relevance
Whether the term actually matches what your app does. Ranking for an irrelevant keyword drives installs that uninstall immediately, which hurts your conversion rate and, over time, your ranking for every keyword.
As a rule of thumb: chase long-tail, low-difficulty, high-relevance keywords first to build download velocity, then use that momentum to earn ranking on the harder, higher-volume seed terms over time.
Where Keywords Go in App Store Metadata
Apple indexes exactly three fields for search. Knowing the character limits and the rules for each is as important as the keyword research itself.
| Field | Limit | Weight | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Name / Title | 30 characters | Highest | Visible everywhere; lead with your brand + one strong keyword. |
| Subtitle | 30 characters | High | Do not repeat words already in the App Name — Apple only indexes each word once. |
| Keyword Field | 100 characters | Moderate | Hidden from users. Comma-separate terms with no spaces: "fitness,workout,diet". No plurals needed — Apple stems automatically. |
| Description | 4,000 characters | Not indexed | Ignored by Apple's search index. Write it purely to convert visitors into installs. |
Before you ship a metadata update, audit it with our free ASO Metadata Checker to catch duplicate words and character overages, or run raw copy through the Keyword Density Counter to see how many times each term already appears.
What “Free” Means Here
“Free” is the most abused word in ASO tooling — it usually means a trial, a capped search count, or a report you have to register to read. Here is exactly what this tool does and does not do, so you can check it against the box above rather than take our word for it.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Account or credit card required? | No. Nothing on this page is behind a sign-in. |
| Search or report cap? | None imposed. Requests hit live public App Store endpoints, so heavy bursts can be rate-limited upstream. |
| Where do keyword suggestions come from? | Apple's own App Store autocomplete, ordered by Apple's search popularity — 30 storefronts, the ones in the picker. |
| Where does difficulty come from? | The live top-10 results for the term, right now. There is no cached keyword database behind this. |
| Is there real search volume? | No. Apple publishes none. Traffic is a 0–100 proxy from autocomplete position, and a term Apple never suggests reads as unknown rather than a made-up number. |
| What do paid ASO suites do that this does not? | Multi-year historical keyword databases, licensed volume estimates, saved projects, alerting and team seats. If you need those, buy one. |
Common ASO Keyword Mistakes to Avoid
Most apps lose organic ranking not from a lack of effort, but from a handful of repeatable mistakes. Avoid these when acting on your keyword research:
Stuffing keywords into the description
Apple does not index the app description for search — stuffing it with keywords only hurts conversion. Save keywords for the Name, Subtitle, and Keyword Field.
Duplicating words across fields
Repeating a word already in your App Name inside the Subtitle or Keyword Field wastes characters. Apple indexes each unique word once — use every character for a new term instead.
Using spaces in the Keyword Field
Spaces around commas in the 100-character Keyword Field burn space you could use for another term. Use "workout,fitness,diet" instead of "workout, fitness, diet".
Only targeting high-volume seed terms
A new or small app rarely wins a broad, high-difficulty term like "fitness" outright. Long-tail, lower-difficulty phrases with real relevance convert faster and build the download velocity needed to compete for the broader term later.
Setting metadata once and never revisiting it
Rankings shift as competitors update their own metadata and as new apps launch. Re-run your keyword research every 4–6 weeks and check your positions with the Rank Checker rather than assuming last quarter's keywords still work.
Ignoring keyword relevance for the sake of volume
Ranking for a popular but unrelated term drives installs that churn immediately, which drags down your conversion rate — a signal Apple's algorithm also weighs when deciding future rankings.
Why Keyword Research Matters for ASO
The Apple App Store is a search-first platform. On its own Apple Ads page Apple states that “70% of App Store visitors use search to discover apps” and “almost 65% of downloads happen directly after a search”, sourced to App Store data worldwide, 2022. Without a deliberate keyword research strategy, your app is invisible to that traffic.
Zero Acquisition Cost
Unlike paid search ads or social campaigns, organic search traffic is free. Optimizing your keywords builds a compounding source of regular installs that does not vanish when your ad budget stops.
Capture High-Intent Users
Users searching for terms like "calorie counter" or "budget planner" have high intent. They are actively looking for a solution, which translates to higher conversion rates and better long-term engagement.
Leverage Competitor Deficiencies
Many developers launch their apps and never update their keywords. By running systematic keyword research, you can identify highly relevant keywords your competitors are ignoring and rank for them quickly.
Rank Faster on Long-Tail Queries
By identifying low-competition, specific multi-word search queries, your app can rank in the top 3 spots rapidly. This builds download velocity that eventually enables ranking for highly competitive seed terms.
App Store Keyword Tool FAQ
Is Appstro's app store keyword tool really free?
Yes, Appstro's keyword tool is completely free. We do not require a credit card, registration, or impose monthly search limits. You can perform unlimited keyword lookups, spy on competitors, and check store ranks without paying a dime.
How do I do ASO keyword research for free?
Open Appstro, search for your app or a close competitor, and open the Keyword tab to see every term it ranks for. Cross-reference those terms with our free Keyword Research tool for popularity and difficulty scores, then shortlist long-tail phrases with real search volume but weak incumbents — all without paying for a subscription.
What is the best free ASO keyword tool?
Appstro is built to be the best free ASO keyword tool for indie developers: unlimited keyword lookups, live popularity and difficulty scoring, competitor keyword spying, and rank tracking across 175+ storefronts — with no signup and no paywalled search cap, unlike most paid ASO suites.
Are there free ASO keyword tools with no search limit?
Yes. This is a free app keyword tool with no account, no credit card and no per-search cap — an ASO keyword research tool that reads Apple's own App Store autocomplete across 30 storefronts and scores difficulty against the live top-10 results. Most app store optimization tools cap free keyword research at a handful of queries per month or put results behind a signup; here the keyword tool is free because it runs on public App Store data.
What does an app store keyword research tool actually do?
An app store keyword research tool surfaces the search terms real users type into the App Store, estimates how often each term is searched (popularity) and how hard it is to rank for (difficulty), and shows which apps currently occupy the top positions — so you can pick keywords your app can realistically win.
How does keyword difficulty work in ASO keyword research?
Difficulty is computed from the live top-10 results for a search term: the rating counts of the incumbent apps (weighted more heavily for the top 3 positions) plus how many of those apps already contain the exact phrase in their title. A high score means entrenched, well-reviewed competitors; a low score means the term is winnable for a smaller app.
How do I find keywords competitors rank for?
You can discover competitor keywords by searching for their app name on Appstro. Once on their app analytics dashboard, check the Keyword tab to view all the search queries they currently rank for, along with estimated search rank positions.
Where do keywords go in App Store metadata?
Apple indexes three fields: the App Name (30 characters, heaviest weight), the Subtitle (30 characters, high weight), and a hidden Keyword Field (100 characters, moderate weight). Separate keyword-field terms with commas and no spaces (e.g. "fitness,workout,diet") to save characters, and never repeat a word already used in the Name or Subtitle — Apple indexes it once regardless.
How often should I update App Store keywords?
We recommend updating your App Store keywords and metadata every 4 to 6 weeks. This provides sufficient time for Apple's indexer to stabilize and gather enough ranking and conversion data to measure the success of your changes.
Does the app description affect App Store search rankings?
No. Unlike Google Play, the Apple App Store does not index keywords in the app's main description. The description exists purely to convert human visitors, so focus on copywriting and features rather than keyword stuffing.
How can I track my keyword rankings over time for free?
Use our dedicated Keyword Rank Checker, also free. Add your app and target keywords, and monitor position changes to verify whether your latest metadata optimizations are actually moving your app higher in App Store search results.
Explore More Free ASO Tools
ASO Optimization Guide
Master App Store Optimization with our step-by-step handbook covering metadata limits, creative assets, ratings, and conversions.
Keyword Rank Checker
Monitor your app's rank and position changes for target search terms across 175+ countries without limits.
ASO Metadata Checker
Audit your app's Title, Subtitle, and Keyword Field against App Store character counts and duplication rules.
Keyword Research Tool
Get live popularity and difficulty scores from Apple's own autocomplete for any seed keyword.
Keyword Gap Analysis
Compare your app's keyword footprint against a competitor's and find terms they rank for that you don't.
Keyword Shuffler
Generate every long-tail combination of your seed keywords to fill your 100-character Keyword Field efficiently.
Keyword Density Counter
Check how many times each keyword already appears across your metadata before you submit an update.
ASO Checklist
A complete pre-launch and pre-update checklist covering metadata, creatives, ratings, and keyword hygiene.
iOS Apps Directory
Browse top trending apps across different store categories and inspect their ranking keywords and metadata.
Start your free App Store keyword research
Search any app and open keyword analysis in seconds.
Open Appstro