How to fill in your App Store App Meta to boost your app 🚀 ?

The results of your application are usually influenced not only by the application itself, its features, design, and relevance but also by how you fill in its metadata.

When you publish your application on the App Store, you have two ways of getting traffic: organic search and paid advertising. Many underestimate the potential of organic search, yet it is through this channel that you can gain your first thousand users. Moreover, you can acquire users and organic installations without any budget or with minimal expenses.

The position of your application in organic search is affected by the metadata you fill in on App Store Connect before publication. In the future, when necessary, you can modify any metadata when publishing a new version of the application.

So, let's get started. In this post, we will share best practices for filling in information about your application on the App Store using our Apple Watch faces application as an example.

Before we begin the filling process, it is crucial to understand how keywords function in the Apple Store. Millions of people search for various applications daily, entering queries in the search bar, commonly known as keywords. To ensure your application ranks well, it is important to choose high-quality keywords.

Various ASO (App Store Optimization) services, such as App Booster, Aso World, and others, exist for this purpose. Some are paid, some are free, and you can choose the one that suits you best. In the ones mentioned, you can check the popularity of keywords for free.

Keywords can be high-frequency or low-frequency. High-frequency keywords are those with high demand, increasing the chances of attracting more users. However, it's essential to consider that higher demand also means higher competition. Therefore, before you start, you need to decide and choose your strategy. For new applications, starting with low-frequency and medium-frequency queries is advisable. This allows you to attract fewer users but be positioned higher in the search results due to less competition for your chosen keywords.

You need to determine a list of suitable keywords in advance, as you will use them to fill in information about your application. Before you begin, prepare your own ideas for keywords that users might use to search for your application. Afterward, in the keyword explorer, you check the popularity of each keyword and decide whether to keep it or not.

On this table, "Search volume" denotes the approximate number of such queries per day, while "Search Ads popularity" represents a relative number ranging from 0 to 100, indicating the popularity of the query. Queries with a popularity score of 50 or higher are considered high-frequency. As seen in the image, with a Search Ads Popularity score of 47 for the key "watch faces gallery & widgets," there will be approximately 1161 daily searches. Achieving a top 3 position in the search results for this key is expected to yield around 105 installations per day.

Therefore, you need to compile a list of keywords, which we will use later. These keywords can and should be used in the title, description, and other fields of the application to ensure accurate ranking by the App Store.

1. iOS Previews and Screenshots

In this section, you can simply upload screenshots of your application, but we do not recommend doing so. It is best to ask your designer to prepare visually appealing screens that showcase the main functions of your application.

We recommend analyzing competitors in advance and, at the very least, matching their standards, or ideally, surpassing them. You should stand out in a positive way from the rest.

Additionally, it's important to consider that the application will be displayed differently in search results and upon opening. For instance, in search results, users will only see the first three screenshots, so it is essential to focus on them and highlight the most crucial functions.

2. App Store App title

App store app title characters limit: 30 characters.

First and foremost, you need to come up with a unique name for your application. If your brand is not widely known yet, it would be helpful to add an additional 1-2 words that convey meaning to future users. Ideally, these should be the most relevant keywords for you from the list you compiled earlier.

3. App Store App Subtitle

App store app subtitle characters limit: 30 characters.

Here you can add a brief main description of your application. Don't forget about keywords, as this field is ranked by the App Store. Try to avoid generic phrases and descriptions; the subtitle should precisely convey the essence of your application.

4. App Store Promotional Text

App store app subtitle characters limit: 170 characters.

This is one of the few fields that can be changed at any time without generating a new version of the application.

Utilize promotional text to keep your App Store audience in the loop about the latest app features, all without the need for a new submission. This content will be visible above your app's description for users with devices operating on iOS 11 or later and macOS 10.13 or later.

Where promotional text is located:

5. App store App Description:

App store app Description characters limit: 4000 characters.

This field is not ranked by the App Store, so in this extensive detailed description, you should vividly and clearly outline all the features of your application. The description should be crafted in a way that entices potential users to download it. Don't forget to include links to important documents, such as the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, at the end of the description.

6. App store Keywords:

App store app Keywords characters limit: 100 characters.

This is where the list of keywords you prepared earlier will come in handy.

Since the size of this field is severely limited, use only the most priority keywords for you. In the future, when updating new versions of the application, you can experiment with this field to improve your app's positions.

This field will not be published anywhere; it will only be used for App Store search algorithms to determine which keywords correspond to your application.