When it comes to mobile marketing, understanding how keywords impact your app's ranking in the App Store is crucial. In this study, we delve into the world of Apple App Store Optimization (ASO) and explore how keyword location and match status influence that all-important rank.

There are two primary locations where keywords can rank from: the app's title and keywords space. Our research focused on 3 apps with diverse rankings, examining four segments of keywords to uncover key findings.

Keyword Ranking Strength: A Breakdown

Our study revealed some fascinating insights into the strength of each keyword segment:

  • Exact match titles ranked -43% lower than average, while scrambled match titles saw a +12.7% boost.
  • Partial match titles and keywords saw a modest +0.7% increase, with keywords matching only experiencing a significant +29.7% rise.

These results challenge our initial assumptions that keywords must be held entirely in the title to benefit from title strength ranking. Moreover, we discovered that keyword phrases consisting of words entirely in the title but in scrambled positions underperformed those featuring words found in both the title and keywords space.

App-Specific Insights

We analyzed three apps with different keyword segments:

  • App #1 (7 keywords each, non-branded): Average rank 9.1; exact match title -56% vs average, scrambled match title -40% vs average.
  • App #2 (4 keywords each, non-branded): Average rank 141.6; exact match title -9% vs average, scrambled match title +31% vs average.
  • App #3 (7 keywords each, non-branded): Average rank 22.7; exact match title -64% vs average, scrambled match title +47% vs average.

These findings provide valuable insights for mobile marketers and app developers looking to optimize their App Store presence.

Conclusion

In the world of mobile marketing, understanding how keywords impact your app's ranking is essential. Our study highlights the importance of keyword location and match status in Apple App Store Optimization. By incorporating these insights into your ASO strategy, you can increase your app's visibility and drive more downloads.

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About Incipia

Incipia is a mobile app development and marketing agency specializing in high-quality code architecture and keyword-based marketing optimizations. Contact us at [email protected] for blog/video or speaking requests, business or press inquiries.