This ASO checklist is the working list we run before a launch and then every month after it. It is split by store and by stage: research, metadata, creative, ratings, testing and the newer Apple features most listings still ignore. Each item is something you can check off in App Store Connect or Play Console, not a vague principle.
If you would rather hand the work to a specialist, our aso agency service runs this cycle for you, and the wider app launch services pillar covers launch support as well. Everything below is usable without us.
How to use this ASO checklist
App store optimization works on two numbers: how often your listing appears for relevant searches and browse surfaces, and how often people who see it install. Metadata mostly drives the first. Icon, screenshots and ratings mostly drive the second. Each section below says which number it moves.
Work through the sections in order the first time. After launch, repeat the research, ratings and testing sections monthly, and the creative section whenever a major feature ships. Write down every change and its date, because store data lags and you will want to connect results to causes later.
Decide your lead store early. StatCounter’s September 2026 figures put Android at 69.2% of mobile share worldwide, while iOS holds 53.6% in the US. A US consumer app and an app aimed at South Asia or the Gulf should weight their effort differently.
1. Keyword research checklist
Moves visibility. Do this before writing any metadata.
- List the problems users would type, in their words, not your brand vocabulary.
- Collect search suggestions from both stores for each seed term, per country you launch in.
- Check which terms your top five competitors rank for and which they ignore.
- Score each term on relevance first, then on competition. Irrelevant traffic that does not install hurts conversion.
- Pick one primary phrase per listing and a short set of supporting terms.
- Research each language and market separately; translated keywords are rarely the ones locals search.
- Never target another developer’s brand name; Apple’s guideline 4.1(c) rejects using another developer’s icon, brand or product name without approval.
- Save the keyword list with today’s positions so you can measure change.
2. Metadata: what each store indexes
The two stores read different fields. Copying one listing to both stores wastes the fields each one indexes. Apple’s App Store search page says text relevance comes from your title, subtitle, keywords and primary category.
| Field | App Store | Google Play | Checklist item |
|---|---|---|---|
| App name / title | Indexed | Indexed | Brand plus your primary phrase; no keyword lists |
| Subtitle / short description | Subtitle indexed | Short description shows in places like search results | Main benefit in plain words |
| Keyword field | Hidden, comma-separated, indexed | Does not exist | iOS: no repeats of title or subtitle words; no spaces after commas |
| Long description | Not on Apple’s list of text matched in search | Google asks for everyday language, not keyword lists | Value in the first lines; natural wording, no stuffing |
| Promotional text | Editable without a new submission; Apple says it does not affect ranking | Not applicable | Use for current offers and news |
| Category | Primary and secondary; Apple says both are indexed | One category plus tags | Pick where you can rank, not just where you belong |
Field limits for both stores
Write to these limits from the start, so nothing gets cut off when you paste into App Store Connect or Play Console. Limits come from Apple’s product page guidance and App Store Connect reference, and from Google’s Play Console help.
| Field | App Store limit | Google Play limit |
|---|---|---|
| App name / title | 30 characters | 30 characters |
| Subtitle / short description | 30 characters | 80 characters |
| Keyword field | 100 bytes, comma-separated | No keyword field |
| Promotional text | 170 characters | No equivalent field |
| Description | 4,000 characters | 4,000 characters |
The App Store keyword limit is counted in bytes, so accented letters and non-Latin scripts such as Arabic use up the field faster than plain English.
3. Metadata checklist
Moves visibility and, through the first lines, conversion.
- Title reads naturally to a human and contains the primary phrase.
- iOS keyword field uses its 100 bytes with no duplicated words from title or subtitle.
- Android full description uses the primary phrase and close variants in everyday language, not a keyword list.
- The first lines of the description state what the app does and for whom, before the “more” fold.
- Every claim is accurate; Apple’s guideline 2.3 requires metadata, screenshots and privacy information to reflect the real app.
- Privacy labels (App Store) and the Data safety form (Play) match what the app and its SDKs actually collect.
- Metadata is localised for each launch market, not machine-translated and left.
- What’s New text explains user-facing changes, not “bug fixes and improvements”.
4. Creative checklist: icon, screenshots and video
Moves conversion. Many visitors decide from the first screenshots in search results without opening the listing.
- Icon is recognisable at small sizes, with no text and no fine detail.
- The first two or three screenshots show the core result the user gets, not login, onboarding or settings.
- Each screenshot has a short benefit-led caption readable on a phone.
- Screenshots use real UI from the current build.
- Sets exist for each required device size, including iPad and Android tablets if you support them.
- Captions and imagery are localised per market, including right-to-left layouts for Arabic.
- Any preview video shows the app in use within its first seconds and works muted.
- Google Play feature graphic is designed, not a stretched screenshot.
- Creative is refreshed whenever a major feature ships.
Most listings lose more installs to weak first screenshots and a poor rating than to keyword choice. Fix what people see in search results first, then tune keywords. An ASO checklist that only covers metadata is half a checklist.
5. Ratings, reviews and app quality
Moves both numbers. Ratings show in search results on both stores, and app quality can directly affect Play visibility.
- Use the native in-app review prompt (StoreKit on iOS, the Play In-App Review API on Android).
- Trigger it after a completed task, never on first launch or after an error.
- Reply to reviews, especially negative ones, with specific fixes and release timing.
- Tag review themes monthly (crashes, pricing, missing feature) and feed them into the backlog.
- Watch crash and ANR rates in Play Console; Google’s Android vitals thresholds are 1.09% user-perceived crash rate and 0.47% ANR rate overall.
- Check Xcode Organizer for launch time, hangs and battery regressions on iOS.
- Fix the bug behind a cluster of bad reviews before spending on creative or ads.
Why app quality belongs on an ASO checklist
Google is explicit about it. Under its Android vitals rules, going over the bad-behaviour thresholds (1.09% crash rate or 0.47% ANR rate overall, or 8% on a single phone model, averaged over 28 days) can reduce your visibility on Google Play and add a warning to your store listing. No amount of metadata work offsets that.
Apple does not publish an equivalent rule, but crashes show up in reviews within days, and reviews show up in search. That is why ASO and app maintenance and support work best when the same team watches both dashboards. Performance fixes are covered on our app performance optimization page.
Want this checklist run for you every month?
Send us your app’s store links. We reply within one business day with a short audit of your listing against this checklist and the three changes we would make first.
6. Apple features most listings ignore
Moves visibility and conversion on iOS. These are configured in App Store Connect and reviewed separately from app builds.
- Create custom product pages: Apple now allows up to 70 extra versions per app, each with its own screenshots, previews, promotional text and URL.
- Assign keywords to custom product pages so a tailored page can appear in matching search results.
- Point each ad campaign or audience to its own custom product page instead of the default listing.
- Plan in-app events for launches, challenges and seasonal content: up to 10 published at once and 15 approved, each lasting up to 31 days and promoted up to 14 days before it starts.
- Keep event names within the 30-character limit and make the event card image work without text.
- Use Product Page Optimization to test icon and screenshot variants against the default page.
- Use promotional text for time-limited messages, since it changes without a new build.
7. Google Play features to use
Moves visibility and conversion on Android.
- Run store listing experiments on icon, short description and screenshots, one variable at a time.
- Create custom store listings for specific countries or audiences where the message differs.
- Use promotional content and LiveOps-style events for sales, launches and major updates where available to your account.
- Use pre-registration before launch if you have an audience to warm up.
- Check the Play Console acquisition reports for search terms that bring visitors and which convert.
8. Paid support: Apple Ads and Google App campaigns
Paid search is not ASO, but it informs it. Apple renamed Search Ads to Apple Ads on 14 April 2025, because its ads now run across several App Store placements, not just search results. Search term reports show which phrases convert, which is the fastest keyword research you can buy. Pair campaigns with custom product pages so the listing matches the ad.
On Android, Google App campaigns run across Search, Google Play, YouTube, Discover and the Display Network, and Google builds the ads from your text, images, videos and store assets. Weak store assets mean weak ads, so finish the creative checklist before spending. Our mobile app marketing service covers paid acquisition in more depth.
9. Monthly ASO review cadence
After launch, this is the routine. Most gains come in the months after release, once real search and review data exists.
| When | Task | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | Read and reply to new reviews; check crash and ANR dashboards | Bug tickets; review replies |
| Monthly | Review impressions, page views and conversion by source in both consoles | Short report with trends |
| Monthly | Re-check keyword positions; replace terms that bring nothing | Updated keyword set for the next release |
| Monthly | Run or conclude one listing test | Test result and next hypothesis |
| Each release | Update What’s New, screenshots if the UI changed, and metadata | Release-ready listing |
| Quarterly | Plan in-app events and custom product pages for the next quarter | Event calendar and page briefs |
| Yearly | Refresh the full keyword research and competitor review | New baseline |
Before launch: tie the ASO checklist to the release plan
The listing must be ready before the build, not after it. Screenshots need a near-final UI, privacy labels need the final SDK list, and a rejected submission delays everything. Our app launch checklist covers the full timeline from six weeks out, and the app store rejection reasons guide covers the metadata issues that most often get apps sent back. If you plan to pitch the launch to Apple’s editors, our guide on how to get your app featured on the App Store explains nomination timing.
Keep expectations sensible. ASO improves the odds that interested people find and install your app. It cannot fix an app people do not keep using. Retention problems are solved in the product, and they show up in your listing through reviews whichever way you approach it.
ASO checklist: frequently asked questions
What should an ASO checklist include?
Keyword research per market, store-specific metadata, creative (icon, screenshots, video), ratings and review handling, app quality signals such as crash and ANR rates, listing tests, and the newer store features like Apple custom product pages and in-app events. It should also include a monthly review routine, because most ASO gains come after launch.
How often should I update my app store listing?
Review the data monthly and update metadata with each release. Refresh screenshots whenever the UI or a headline feature changes. Reply to reviews weekly. On iOS, promotional text can change at any time without a new build, and custom product pages and in-app events are reviewed separately from app updates, so you can adjust them between releases.
Is ASO different for the App Store and Google Play?
Yes. The App Store has a hidden 100-byte keyword field, and Apple lists title, subtitle, keywords and primary category as the text it matches in search; the description is not on that list. Google Play has no keyword field and asks for descriptions in everyday language. Both show ratings in search. Write each listing for its store rather than copying one to the other, and research keywords per country.
Do crashes affect app store ranking?
On Google Play, yes. If your app exceeds the Android vitals bad-behaviour thresholds, such as a 1.09% user-perceived crash rate or 0.47% ANR rate overall, Google may reduce its visibility and show a warning on the listing. On both stores, crashes also lead to poor reviews, which lower your rating in search results and cut conversion.
How many custom product pages can I create on the App Store?
Apple currently allows up to 70 additional product page versions per app, each with its own screenshots, app previews, promotional text and unique URL. You can assign keywords so a custom page appears in matching search results, and you can send ad traffic to a specific page. Older guides that mention a lower limit are out of date.
Give your app a listing that earns installs
Share your store links or launch date. We reply within one business day with a listing audit and an ASO plan for both stores, with no ranking promises we cannot keep.