ASO Keywords for Indie Apps
The App Store keyword field holds 100 characters, comma-separated with no spaces, and it is never shown to users. Apple indexes four things for text relevance: your app name (30 characters), subtitle (30 characters), this keyword field, and your primary category. Do not repeat a word across them — Apple says so explicitly — and do not put keywords in promotional text, which Apple states has no effect on ranking.
By Joey Chang, solo builder · Last updated
The fields and what they cost you
| Field | Limit | Indexed for search? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 30 | Yes | Apple, App Store Connect help |
| Subtitle | 30 | Yes | Apple, App Store Connect help |
| Keywords | 100 | Yes — not shown to users | Apple, App Store search guide |
| Primary category | n/a | Yes | Apple, App Store search guide |
| Promotional text | 170 | No — Apple says it does not affect ranking | Widely documented; not verified on an Apple page |
| Description | 4,000 | Not in Apple's text-relevance list | Widely documented; not verified on an Apple page |
The distinction that changes what you write: name, subtitle, keywords and primary category are what Apple names when it explains text relevance. The description is not in that list. It still sells the app to a human reading it — it just is not where keywords go.
What Apple says, in Apple's words
On what search weighs: "Search results are based on a number of factors, including text relevance (matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords, and primary category), as well as user behavior (downloads, ratings and reviews, and more)."
On duplication: "Don't repeat any words included in your app name, subtitle, or category."
On promotional text: "Promotional text doesn't affect your app's search ranking so it should not be used to display keywords."
Three sentences that settle most keyword arguments. Everything below is applying them.
Filling the 100 characters, step by step
- Write the name and subtitle first. You get 30 characters each, and both are indexed for search. Put your strongest term in the name and your second strongest in the subtitle — these carry more weight than the hidden keyword field and they are the only search text a user actually reads.
- List every term a user might type. Aim for 40 to 60 candidates before filtering. Include what the app does, the problem it solves, and the words your users use rather than the words you use internally.
- Delete anything already in your name, subtitle or category. Apple states it directly: "Don't repeat any words included in your app name, subtitle, or category." A repeated word buys you nothing and costs you characters.
- Delete plurals, filler and generics. Apple lists these as waste: plurals of words you already have ("climb" and "climbs" are duplicates), filler like "the" and "to", and terms too broad for your category such as "app" or "game".
- Join the survivors with commas and no spaces. Every character counts, commas included. "fitness,workout,gym" fits three terms where "fitness, workout, gym" wastes two characters on spaces. Spaces are only for multi-word phrases: "Property,House,Real Estate".
- Fill all 100 characters. Unused characters are not a virtue. If you land at 80, go back to your candidate list and spend the remaining 20 on a long-tail term.
- Keep promotional text out of it. Apple is explicit that "promotional text doesn't affect your app's search ranking so it should not be used to display keywords." Use those 170 characters for what is new, not for stuffing.
What Apple tells you to leave out
| Leave out | Why |
|---|---|
| Words already in your name, subtitle or category | Already indexed — repeating them buys nothing |
| Plurals of terms you already have | Apple counts "climb" and "climbs" as duplicates |
| Generic terms like "app" or "game" | Too broad for your category to rank on |
| Filler words such as "the" and "to" | Consume characters, add no relevance |
| Special characters | Unless genuinely part of your brand identity |
| Trademarked terms and celebrity names | Unauthorized use risks rejection |
| Competing app names | Explicitly listed by Apple as something to avoid |
| Terms not relevant to your app | Irrelevance is a listed problem, not a clever trick |
A worked example
Say you built a habit tracker called "Streakly", subtitle "Build habits that stick", primary category Health & Fitness. Those words are now spent — streak, build, habits, stick, health, fitness are all indexed and must not reappear.
| Draft | Problem | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| habit, habits, streak, tracker, daily, routine, health, fitness, goal, goals | Repeats name and category words; has both habit/habits and goal/goals; spaces after commas | 75 wasted on ~5 usable terms |
| tracker,daily,routine,goal,reminder,checklist,discipline,morning,ritual,consistency | None — no repeats, no plurals pairs, no spaces | 81 characters, 10 usable terms |
The second draft still has 19 characters unspent. That is room for one more long-tail term — "accountability" fits at 14. Leaving it empty is the most common unforced error in the field.
How ShotQuill fills the field
ShotQuill generates a keyword list alongside your screenshot copy, from the same one-line app description. It applies the deduplication rules above against the app name you entered, and formats the output comma-separated without spaces so you can paste it straight into App Store Connect.
It is a starting draft, not a finished answer. The generator does not know your competitors' rankings or your category's search volume, and no tool that has not measured your store performance does. Treat the output as the candidate list from step 2, then apply your own judgment about which long-tail terms you can realistically rank for.
Questions
How many characters is the App Store keyword field?
100 characters, comma-separated. Commas and spaces count toward the limit, so separate terms with a comma and no space.
Should I repeat my app name in the keywords field?
No. Apple states plainly: do not repeat any words included in your app name, subtitle, or category. Those words are already indexed.
What does Apple actually index for App Store search?
Apple describes search results as based on text relevance — matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords and primary category — plus user behaviour including downloads, ratings and reviews. The description is not part of that text-relevance list.
Does the app description affect App Store search ranking?
Apple's own description of text relevance names title, subtitle, keywords and primary category — not the description field. Write the description for the reader deciding whether to download, not for the algorithm.
Can I change keywords without shipping an app update?
No. The keyword field is tied to a version submission. Promotional text is the field you can change at any time — but Apple says it does not affect ranking, so it is for news, not keywords.
Should I use singular or plural keywords?
Pick one. Apple counts "climb" and "climbs" as duplicates, so including both wastes characters that could hold a different term.