How to Find App Store Keywords

Keywords don't come from guessing — they come from listening. Here are 8 sources, ranked from fastest to deepest.

App Store Search Suggest

Free · Fastest

The autocomplete dropdown is a direct window into what real users type. Apple only shows queries with meaningful search volume.

→ Open App Store on device, type your core keyword and pause

→ Screenshot all suggestions — these are gold

→ Try each suggestion as a new seed and repeat

→ Do it for your top 3 competitors' names too

Tip: Suggestions vary by country — switch your App Store region to check target markets.

Competitor Metadata

Free

Top-ranked competitors have already done the keyword research. Their titles and subtitles are a validated starting point.

→ Search your main keyword, open the top 5 results

→ Copy their Title and Subtitle — extract every keyword

→ Look for words that appear across multiple competitors

→ Find gaps: keywords they missed that you could own

Tip: Use this app's Apps tab to browse the top chart by category and spot metadata patterns at scale.

Google Trends

Free · Underused

Google Trends doesn't show App Store data, but search intent on Google strongly correlates with App Store behavior. It's the best free tool for comparing keyword variants and finding seasonal peaks.

Compare keyword variants

→ Enter 2–5 variants of your core keyword (e.g. "habit tracker" vs "habit app" vs "daily habits")

→ Pick the variant with the highest and most stable interest over time

→ Avoid terms that peaked years ago and are declining

Find seasonal patterns

→ Set range to "Past 5 years" to see recurring spikes

→ Plan keyword updates and feature pushes around peaks (e.g. fitness apps spike every January)

→ Update metadata 2–3 weeks before the peak — indexing takes time

Discover related queries

→ Scroll to "Related queries" → filter by "Rising" for breakout terms

→ These are fast-growing searches — low competition, real demand

→ "Related topics" reveals the broader context users have in mind

Target markets by region

→ "Interest by subregion" shows which states or cities drive demand

→ Use this to decide which country to optimize for first

Tip: Set category to "Mobile apps" in Google Trends for cleaner, more relevant data.

Review Mining

Free · High signal

Users describe their problems in their own words in reviews — exactly the words they'd type into search.

→ Read 1★ and 2★ reviews of your top 3 competitors

→ Extract the nouns and phrases users repeat ("no offline mode", "too slow", "no widget")

→ These are pain points — if you solve them, use that language in your metadata

→ Also mine 5★ reviews: what do users love? That's your value prop

Tip: Copy a batch of reviews into an LLM and ask it to extract the most repeated pain-point phrases.

Reddit & Communities

Free · Deep intent

Forums reveal how people think about the problem your app solves — before they even know an app exists for it.

→ Search Reddit for your app's category (e.g. r/productivity, r/financialindependence)

→ Look for "best app for X" and "how do you manage Y" threads

→ Note the exact words users use to describe the problem

→ Check post titles — they often mirror search queries

Tip: Also check Twitter/X, Facebook Groups, and niche Discords for your category.

Google Keyword Planner

Free (Google Ads account)

Not built for ASO, but provides search volume ranges that help you prioritize between competing keyword ideas.

→ Use "Discover new keywords" with your core terms

→ Filter by your target country

→ Focus on mid-volume keywords — high-volume terms are dominated by big players

→ Export and cross-reference with your App Store Suggest list

Tip: You don't need to run ads — just create a free Google Ads account to access the planner.

App Store Connect — Search Terms

Free · Post-launch only

After launch, App Store Connect shows the exact search terms that led to impressions and downloads. This is ground truth — not a proxy.

→ Analytics → App Store → Sources → App Store Search

→ Sort by Downloads to find what's already converting

→ Sort by Impressions to find terms where you appear but don't convert — fix the page

→ Use high-impression / low-download terms to improve screenshots and description

Tip: Apple anonymizes low-volume terms — you'll see more data once you have consistent traffic.

Dedicated ASO Tools

Paid · Most precise

Purpose-built ASO platforms provide App Store-specific search volume, keyword difficulty, and competitor keyword tracking. Worth it once you have revenue to justify the cost.

AppTweakBest keyword intelligence, most accurate volume estimates

Sensor TowerIndustry standard, strong competitor tracking

AppFollowGood free tier, solid review monitoring

MobileActionStrong for Search Ads keyword research crossover

Tip: For indie devs: start with free sources. Invest in tools only after your first 1,000 downloads — you'll know exactly what to look for.

For indie developers

Turn App Store rankings into your next product idea

You have questions every solo developer asks before starting: What should I build? What do users actually hate? Is this market big enough? Pumf.it answers all three using real, live App Store data — no surveys, no guessing.

"Which app should I build?"

Most indie developers build what they already know. The smarter move is to find where demand exists but competition is still manageable. That's what the Pulse tab is for.

Appstore State

Balanced + diversified is the best signal for indie launches — no single giant controls the market. Highly concentrated means the top players already own the space.

Best Niches

Categories occupying 4–10% of the top chart. Enough demand to validate, not so dominant that you can't compete. These are your entry points.

Competition Risk

Low risk = leaders are vulnerable. High risk = you'll need very strong differentiation or a different country.

Workflow: Open Pulse → pick a country with good macro signals → scan "Best Niches" → write down 2–3 categories that match your skills. Then go to step 2.

"What do users actually need?"

The App Store is already full of honest feedback from people who spent money, got frustrated, and left a review. The Apps tab surfaces those signals before you read a single review.

The Unhappy signal — how it works

Many reviews→real users, proven demand

Low rating→users keep using it despite frustration

Combined → a gap waiting to be filled

Sort by Unhappy. The apps at the top have the most users and the most frustrated ones. Open the top 3 in the App Store and filter reviews by 1–2 stars.

What you're looking for in negative reviews

→Repeated feature requests — 20 people asking for the same thing = real demand
→Workflow complaints — "I have to do X manually every time" = automation opportunity
→Platform gaps — "No iPad support", "no offline mode" = underserved segment
→Pricing frustration — "works great but too expensive" = room for a simpler, cheaper version

Tip: The most valuable review is "I'd pay $X for this if it just had Y." That sentence is your product brief, your pricing anchor, and your target audience — all in one line.

"How do I estimate installs and revenue?"

You can't see install numbers directly — but you can triangulate them from signals Pumf.it shows.

Install estimate from review count

Rule of thumb: ~1–3% of users leave a review on iOS

10K reviews≈330K – 1M lifetime installs

50K reviews≈1.5M – 5M lifetime installs

500K reviews≈15M – 50M installs (mass market)

Use the lower bound for conservative estimates

Pricing ceiling from GDP per capita

Monthly subscription sweet spot

> $30KTier 1$7.99–$14.99/mo — US, UK, AU, JP $10–30KTier 2$2.99–$4.99/mo — BR, MX, PL, TR < $10KTier 3Freemium first — IN, ID, NG, PH

GDP per capita visible in the country signal bar in Pulse

Pricing anchor from Paid apps median

How to read it: Apps → Top Paid → your category

Median < $1Race to bottomavoid paid; freemium or ads Median $1–3Price-sensitive$0.99–1.99/mo sub; strong free tier Median $3–7Healthy$2.99–4.99/mo works confidently Median > $7Premium$6.99–9.99/mo; users expect value

Switch chart to Top Paid in Apps tab → look at the price column of the top 25 apps in your category

Why this beats GDP/cap alone: GDP shows economic capacity — Paid apps median shows actual willingness to pay in your specific niche. A country with mid GDP can have a premium-priced Productivity niche if that's what the local market supports. Use both signals together: GDP/cap sets the ceiling, median price confirms what's already working.

Real audience size from iOS share

What the chart actually represents

US (57% iOS)→chart ≈ majority of mobile users

JP (70% iOS)→almost all mobile users represented

IN (5% iOS)→chart = tiny premium slice only

Low iOS share means chart leaders have smaller real user bases than reviews suggest

Quick estimate: If the #1 app in your target niche has 30K reviews in the US → ~1–3M installs → even 0.1% conversion to a $9.99/mo subscription = $1–3K MRR at parity. A better product can take 1–3% easily.

The 7-step indie research workflow

From zero to a validated idea in under 30 minutes.

Pick a country

Start with markets you understand or where you have a language advantage. Check GDP/cap + iOS share to validate it's worth your time.

Read the market state in Pulse

Is it Balanced + diversified? Good. Is it Highly concentrated? Hard — consider a different country or try Top Grossing to find paying niches.

Shortlist 2–3 niches from Best Niches

Cross-check against the category distribution bar. Write down niches where you could plausibly build something in 4–8 weeks.

Dive into each niche — sort by Unhappy

Switch to Apps, select the category, sort by Unhappy. Look for apps with reviews % > 40% and rating % < 75%.

Read 1–2 star reviews on the App Store

Open the top 3 unhappy apps. Filter by lowest rating. Read 20–30 reviews. Highlight every recurring phrase — those are your product spec.

Size the opportunity

Use the review count formula to estimate installs. Check GDP/cap to pick your price tier. Multiply — if 500K installs exist and you get 0.5% at $4.99/mo, that's $1.2K MRR from day one.

Build the one thing reviews keep asking for

Pick one specific complaint. Build the minimum version that solves it better than the incumbent. Launch. Use the same Apps view to track your category over time.

Real App Store data, updated every 3 hours. Free to use, no account needed.

Questions? Send feedback →

The 7-step indie research workflow

ASO Maker

App Store Optimization Checklist

How to Find App Store Keywords

Turn App Store rankings into your next product idea

"Which app should I build?"

"What do users actually need?"

"How do I estimate installs and revenue?"

The 7-step indie research workflow