App Store Keywords Field: How to Use All 100 Characters

TL;DR: The App Store keywords field is a hidden list of up to 100 characters of search terms that you set for each localization in App Store Connect. Separate terms with commas and no spaces, don't repeat words already in your app name, subtitle or category, skip plurals, filler words, "app" and competitor names, and spend the space on relevant words people actually search for.

Users never see your keywords. They exist only to help App Store search understand what your app is for. Apple's App Store search page says results are based on text relevance, meaning matches for your title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, together with user behavior such as downloads, ratings and reviews.

A few details from App Store Connect Help shape how you use the field:

• The limit is 100 bytes. For English and other Latin-script languages, that's 100 characters. Characters in many other scripts take more than one byte, so you'll fit fewer of them.
• Each keyword must be longer than two characters.
• Your app name and company name are already searchable, so repeating them wastes space.
• Names of other apps or companies aren't allowed.
• Keywords belong to your version information, so you update them when you submit a new version.

One field you might expect to help doesn't: Apple states that promotional text doesn't affect search ranking. Your search terms belong in the name, subtitle and keywords field. For the bigger picture of how these fields work together, see our complete guide to app store optimization.

Apple's search documentation spells out what to do and what to avoid. At the time of writing, the guidance is:

1. Separate terms with commas and no spaces. Spaces are fine inside a phrase, such as meal prep.
2. Don't repeat words that already appear in your app name, subtitle or category.
3. Skip plurals of words you've already included; Apple treats "climb" and "climbs" as duplicates.
4. Skip generic terms that are too broad, such as "app" or "game".
5. Skip filler words such as "the" and "to".
6. Skip special characters such as # or @ unless they're part of your brand.
7. Don't use competing app names, or trademarked terms and celebrity names you aren't authorized to use.
8. Use only terms that are relevant to your app, and nothing offensive.

Apple notes that improper use of keywords is a common reason for App Store rejections, and App Review Guideline 2.3.7 asks for keywords that accurately describe your app, without trademarked terms, popular app names or other irrelevant phrases. If you've been rejected for it, our guide to App Store metadata rejections walks through fixes.

Treat the field as a budget. Every character spent on a duplicate, a space or a weak term is a character not spent on a relevant one.

1. Start from research. Take the shortlist from your ASO keyword research, ordered by relevance.
2. Remove what's already covered. Cross out every word in your name, subtitle and category, plus your company name.
3. Split phrases where it makes sense. Apple allows phrases, but many developers use single words so the field covers more combinations. Apple doesn't document how it combines words across fields, so check rankings for the phrases you care about after release.
4. Remove plurals and repeats. Keep one form of each word.
5. Count every character, including commas. Aim close to 100 without going over.
6. Cut from the bottom. If you're over the limit, drop the least relevant terms, not the shortest ones.

Here's a hypothetical budgeting app with the name "Brand: Budget Tracker" and the subtitle "Spending and Bill Planner".

Before (90 characters, but mostly wasted): budget app, budget tracker, budgets, money manager, finance app, expenses, best budget app

After (99 characters): money,finance,expense,savings,income,debt,paycheck,cash,goal,allowance,household,family,wallet,rent

The "after" version spends almost every character on a distinct, relevant word, and none of them repeat the name or subtitle.

Every localization you add in App Store Connect has its own name, subtitle and 100-character keywords field. That makes localization one of the most effective ways to cover more relevant searches.

• Research each language separately. Words don't map one to one. British users plan a "holiday" while American users plan a "vacation", even though both use English.
• Know your storefronts. Apple's App Store localizations reference lists a default language for each storefront plus additional supported languages.
• Be careful with extra localizations. Some ASO practitioners fill an additional localization a storefront supports with extra terms. Apple doesn't document how localizations are searched within a storefront, so treat this as an experiment, keep every term relevant, and write metadata that's genuinely correct for speakers of that language.
• Check the byte limit in languages with non-Latin scripts before you submit.

Our app store localization guide covers which markets to start with and how to manage translations.

Because keywords live in your version information, changes go out with a new version. That makes keyword work slower to iterate on than screenshots, so be deliberate:

• Change a few terms per release, not the whole field, so you can tell what worked.
• Measure search traffic. App Store Connect analytics shows impressions and downloads by source, including App Store search.
• Track rankings for your target terms in each storefront before and after a change.
• Don't expect A/B tests. Product Page Optimization tests icons, screenshots and app previews, not keywords.
• Use custom product pages for intent. Apple now lets you assign keywords to custom product pages so a tailored page appears for those searches. That complements your keywords field; it doesn't replace it.