Measurement
How to track App Store keyword rankings
Why searching on your own iPhone misleads you, and how to track ranks daily, per country, against competitors.
Updated · 2 min read
Your keyword rank is your app’s position in App Store search results for a given search, in a given storefront. It is the most direct measure of whether your ASO work is paying off.
Why searching on your iPhone isn’t enough
- Results can be personalized: apps you have installed or bought may be shown differently.
- You only see one storefront: the one your Apple Account belongs to.
- Scrolling to position 87 for 50 keywords every day isn’t realistic.
- You get a snapshot, with no history to compare against.
How rank trackers work
Rank trackers query App Store search for each keyword and storefront, usually through Apple’s public iTunes Search API, which returns up to 200 results. They record your position (or “not in the top 200”) once a day and keep the history. Positions from the API closely track what devices show, though individual results can differ slightly.
What to track
- Every keyword in your metadata, to see what your name, subtitle and keyword field actually rank for.
- Candidates for your next update, so you know where you start.
- The same keywords for two to five competitors, to see who you are up against.
- Each storefront you care about, separately.
Reading the changes
| What you see | Likely reason |
|---|---|
| Many keywords rise together after a release | Your new metadata was indexed |
| Many keywords fall together | A metadata change dropped words, or a competitor update |
| One keyword jumps and falls back daily | Normal volatility, especially below position 50 |
| Gradual rise across the board | More downloads and better ratings helping you overall |
Tracking with asorocket
Keyword rank tracking checks each keyword daily in any of the 175 storefronts, records your position in the top 200 alongside your followed competitors, and shows 1, 7 and 30-day changes with a 30-day sparkline. Google Play apps are tracked the same way within Google Play’s 30 results. The data stays on your computer.
Related questions
How often do App Store rankings change?
Continuously. Checking once a day is enough to see trends; reacting to single-day moves usually isn’t worth it.
Why don’t I appear for a keyword in my keyword field?
Being indexed only makes you eligible. With many competing apps, you may rank below 200 until your downloads and ratings grow, or the term is too competitive for now.