Practitioner pattern · Ariel Michaeli (Co-founder and CEO of Appfigures, which sells the ASO tools (Keyword Inspector, Competitors Keywords) he recommends)
Show your target search words on your App Store screenshots
Guest says matching the searcher's words cuts 'is this for me?' doubt; no numbers
Unknownaso
What they did
Once you know the keyword people search (e.g. 'weather alerts'), put it and its promise on the screenshots so the page matches the search intent. Keep one message across icon, name, subtitle, keywords, screenshots, video and description. A/B test screenshots, including per localization; video previews help some audiences and hurt others. Spend as much time using keywords as finding them. Screenshot text is not indexed for search, per guest.
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Maximizing Organic Growth with App Store Optimization — Ariel Michaeli, Appfigures“So if you show what the keyword says, and you put the keyword on the screen, the odds of them looking at the screen and saying, "Hmm, I don't know if this is for me," really, really diminish”
“But I would say spend as much time as you do on finding keywords on using those keywords beyond just in your text metadata.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Put your most important keywords first in the app name and subtitleGuest says early positions get the most ranking weight; seen weekly in teardowns
- Never repeat a keyword between your app name, subtitle and keyword listGuest calls duplicates the worst ASO mistake: the word only counts at its weakest spot
- Keep your app name to 26-27 characters if it has an ampersand or special dashAvoids the last word being cut; one recipe app ranked only for a half-word
- Promote an in-app purchase with your keyword in its name to boost search rankImmediate rank boost; keyword-in-name part works about half the time
- Count how many downloads competitors need per rating, then out-rate themGuest says more ratings beat more downloads in App Store search
- Pick keywords where your rating count matches the top 5, using competitors' keywords and reviewsGuest says new apps can reach top 5 on big keywords when rivals optimize badly
- If you're new to a crowded keyword, name the app around just that keywordGuest says fewer name keywords concentrate ranking weight; broaden once ratings grow
- Fill the Spanish (Mexico) listing with extra keywords to rank in the US storeDoubles keyword space; guest sees the same ranking weight as the main listing
- Mirror: Name your app exactly the popular search word, like 'Mirror'4,000-5,000 downloads a day; guest says the exact-match boost still works, but weaker
- BBC: Check which words competitors rank for and use the phrasings you missedSaw results right away, per the guest; no numbers
- Dropbox: Put 'photo backup' words before a famous brand name in the app titleUndone after a few weeks; guest thinks that was a mistake. No numbers
- Pick launch keywords carefully, then try 4-5 keyword versions before judgingGuest says most who quit ASO stopped after 1-2 tries; results come later