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Keyword Tracking List: Monitor App Ranking Positions

For memberships with access to the ASO analysis: Indie, Pro and Marketing

The tracked keyword list allows you to analyze, filter, and manage the keywords you’re tracking for your apps by country and ASO metrics.
You can sort, filter, and track ASO metrics by country to better understand how they perform in different regions and stores.

This makes it easier to build the right keyword strategy for your app.

Keywords List
Keywords List

Add Keywords: Add new keywords to the Tracking list.
Filter Data: Apply filters to the data table.
Sync Data: Reload the data table and synchronize with the server.
Overview: Navigate to the Keywords: Overview.
Copy Keywords: Copy comma-separated keywords to the clipboard.
Export to Excel: Download the data table in Excel format.
Remove Keywords: Delete keywords from the Tracking list.
Settings: App settings for customization.
Help: Navigate to the documentation.

Not Selected: Indicates a row is not selected.
Selected: Indicates a selected row.
Remove Row: Remove a keyword from the Tracking list.

Search by Keyword: Navigate to the App Search by Keyword page.
Manage Keywords: Manage the list of tracked keywords.
Keyword Suggestions: View suggestions for the selected keyword.

Unset Tags: Keywords without assigned color tags.
Set Tags: Keywords with assigned color tags.

Search Ads Popularity (SAP): Displays keyword popularity in Search Ads.
# App Rank: Displays the app’s ranking position for the keyword.

When you first open the page, your keyword list is empty.
You can add keywords manually, by importing them, or from other tools like the Editor, Ranked Keywords Table or Spy.

With the “Tracking Keyword List” feature, you can select your target country.
This allows you to track keyword rankings and Apple Search Ads for the regions you choose.

🌎 Select countries to view keyword data. This is used as a data filter in the table.

You can add keywords to the Tracking list using various methods:\

  • Import: You can import a list of keywords in a comma-separated format.
    This is particularly useful when you want to add a large number of keywords to your list. Instead of manually entering each keyword one by one, you can use this feature to quickly import all your keywords.
    You also need to specify the country or multiple countries for which the keyword will be tracked.
  • Manually - By clicking the or Add button, a dialog box will open where you can enter keywords separated by commas or each phrase on a new line.
    You also need to specify the country or multiple countries for which the keyword will be tracked.
  • From other sections: Editor, Spy, Ranked Keywords Table - by clicking the button.
    In any of these sections, the word will automatically be added to the list for the selected country, or a dialog box will open where you need to select the country for which the keyword will be tracked.

𑗘 When you click the button for the first time, you’ll be prompted to create a color tag.

Creating a new color tag.

Color tags
Color tags

In the dialog, you can choose a color and enter a name for your tag.
Once created, the tag will appear in your list of color tags.

If needed, you can edit the tag later by clicking - this lets you change both the name and the color in the same window.

If you have rows selected in the table, the new color tag will automatically be applied to all selected keywords.

Color tags sync automatically and are visible to everyone who has access to the project.

Keywords Overview: Mode
Keywords Overview: Mode

You can choose between three display modes:

  • Selected Keywords – view data only for the keywords you’ve manually selected.
  • Selected Keyword’s Suggestions – view suggestions generated based on your selected keyword(s).
  • Both Selected Keywords & Selected Keyword’s Suggestions – view your selected keywords along with their search suggestions, all in one place for broader insights.

You can copy keywords data to the clipboard:

  • All keywords
  • Only selected keywords
  • Only filtered keywords

Copied keywords are in a single comma-separated line. Great for sharing or using elsewhere.
Instead of copying each keyword one by one, you can use this feature to quickly get all your keywords in a format that’s easy to paste into any text field.

Available only for the Pro and Marketing memberships.

Click the download icon to export your table to Excel format.

To clear your list:

  • Use Delete All to remove everything
  • Or just delete selected or filtered rows

Each keyword in the table is highlighted in color based on your app’s metadata, considering Cross-localization

  • Green: Keywords in the title
  • Orange: Keywords in the subtitle
  • Yellow: Keywords in the keywords field

Not ranked keywords are highlighted as follows:

  • : No longer ranked

When searching in the keyword column, color highlighting is also applied to the search results.

  • Search - Exactly matches the search phrase including word order (strict match).
  • Search - Some words from the search phrase are present.
  • Search - Only partial matches within words (for example, matching part of a word).

When you hover over a keyword, a tooltip provides detailed information, including:

  • Keyword: The keyword itself.
  • The field where the keyword is used (e.g., title, subtitle, or keywords field).
  • The locales where the keyword is utilized.

Clicking on a locale name will navigate you directly to the corresponding locale in the Metadata Editor, allowing for quick edits and adjustments.

Keywords: color based highlights
Keywords: color based highlights

Under each keyword in a language unfamiliar to you, a machine translation is displayed.

You can change the translation language in Settings > Language > Base language for translations.

The chart button next to each keyword opens the Ranking of applications for that keyword in the Search results.

Keywords Tracking

The bookmark button next to each keyword allows you to add the keyword to your project’s Keywords Tracking List or exclude it.
The button on the “Keywords” column works as a filter and allows you to quickly check positions based on your Keywords Tracking List.

Displays a country flag and 2-letter code.
Each region has separate metrics.
You can track the same keyword in multiple countries.
Hover over a flag to see the name.

Counts the number of words in each keyword - useful for spotting long-tail keywords.

Icon of a light bulb with a number: shows the number of suggestions in the search results for the selected keyword.
This is useful for filtering out branded keywords or rarely used search terms.
By analyzing the number of suggestions, you can determine how often this word is used by users and adjust your strategy accordingly.

  • High number of suggestions: This means the keyword is frequently used by users in search queries.
    Such words may be important to include in your strategy as they have high traffic potential. However, be mindful of branded keywords, which can generate many suggestions but may not be relevant to your app.
  • Low number of suggestions: This indicates that the keyword is rarely used in searches.
    These words may be less competitive but should be justified-if they match your app’s content and target audience, you can include them in your strategy to attract niche users.

When you click on the light bulb, a window opens with suggestions that can be added to the list of tracked keywords .

suggestions
suggestions

All keyword metrics are shown relative to the selected country.

In the suggestions window, you can:

  • Add a keyword to the list of tracked keywords using the button with the flag.
  • View the history of the keyword’s popularity in the form of a graph - to do this, click on the red number with the icon .
  • Navigate to suggestions for each word in the list - to do this, click on the icon with the light bulb .

This can help you discover new keywords that you might not have even considered.

Color scale of popular the keyword is in Apple Search Ads: Red (low) to Green (high).

For memberships with access to the ASO analysis: Indie, Pro and Marketing

Search Ads (SAP) Popularity - keyword popularity in search based on data from Apple Ads.

When you hover over the Search Ads popularity (SAP) value, a tooltip will display the date of the last update of this parameter in the database.

Tapping on the SAP value opens an alert with the complete history of Search Ads Popularity for selected keyword.
This allows you to track keyword performance trends over time, giving you valuable insights to refine your ASO strategy.

Search Ads Popularity History
Search Ads Popularity History

History for the last 30 days for the Indie membership
For the Pro and Marketing memberships without date restrictions

Historical data is available from September 2024.

Search Ads Popularity can also indicate how often advertisers use a particular keyword in their ad campaigns.
It shows how frequently app developers bid on this keyword in paid ad networks, such as Apple Search Ads, to increase the visibility of their apps.
High popularity may indicate that the keyword is in demand among advertisers, increasing the competition for it in paid campaigns.

  • Very High (85 - 100): Extremely high search volume, maximum competition.
    When to use:
    • For brand names or top-level generic keywords.
    • Ideal for strong brands or apps with high budgets and conversion rates.
    • Risky for small apps unless highly relevant.
  • High (60 - 84): High traffic, but also high competition; best suited for well-known apps with sufficient resources for promotion.
    When to use:
    • For apps with established user bases.
    • Requires competitive budgets and strong marketing strategies.
    • Ideal for boosting visibility in competitive categories. When to use:
    • For scaling campaigns.
    • Requires stronger creatives and good App Store page optimization.
    • Best if you can handle mid-to-high CPI (cost per install).
  • Medium (20 - 59): Moderate search volume with a decent balance of traffic and competition, suitable for steady app growth.
    When to use:
    • Main zone for growth-stage apps.
    • Reliable for sustainable downloads with controlled budgets.
    • Good starting point for long-term keyword strategies.
  • Low (6 - 19): Small search volume, but better than very low. Suitable for niche keywords with less competition but lower traffic.
    When to use:
    • Good for initial keyword expansion.
    • Catch small but targeted audiences.
    • Use when competition is too tough for bigger keywords.
  • Very low (0 - 5): Extremely low search volume.
    When to use:
    • For highly niche keywords; experiments; very low-budget campaigns.

When launching an app in a new category or country, it’s recommended to start with low-popularity keywords to increase the chances of high search rankings.
As your app gains traction and builds a user base, move on to medium-popularity keywords.
For apps that are already established and have a stable user base, high-frequency keywords with high popularity can be used.

Each time you view a keyword on screen (in the keywords or Metadata Editor), we automatically increase its priority for updating the popularity data.
So, if you see a value of 0, no data, or outdated information - it will be prioritized for an update, which will occur either within a few seconds or by the next day, depending on the server’s data processing queue.

After October 2025, an average Search Ads Popularity (SAP) value is used to display more accurate data:
The average popularity is calculated from all available data starting from September 1, 2025.
Values with popularity of 5 that appeared after September 29, 2025, are not included in the calculation.

If no data is available for the selected keyword and country after applying these filters, the last known popularity value and corresponding date from historical data before September 1, 2025, is used.

Available only for the Pro and Marketing memberships.

Search Ads Popularity History
Search Ads Popularity History

Displays the history of changes in Search Ads Popularity (SAP) for a keyword since September 2024:

  • Minimum - the lowest recorded value.
  • Maximum - the highest recorded value.
  • Average - the average value over the period.

Color indication:

  • Gray - the SAP value has not changed (matches the current value).
  • Blue - the keyword’s popularity is increasing.
  • Red - the keyword’s popularity is decreasing.

The difficulty metric measures the Competition Level: the higher the value, the harder it is to rank at the top for this keyword.
It is calculated based on Search Popularity and the Number of Apps that use this keyword as a key term.

The color scale reflects the level: Green (low) to Red (high).

How many apps are in the search results for this keyword.
The lower the number, the less competition.

Up to 200 - exact number is shown.
After 200 - the number is approximated by Apple.

This approximation is more accurate than the generic “250+” for keywords like Fitness, so we choose to display it instead.

Guided Search is a feature introduced by Apple that displays search tags below the App Store search bar, helping users refine their queries.

When a user enters a broad keyword (e.g., running tracker), the App Store suggests related tags such as walking, distance, speed, steps, and fitness.

Tapping a tag instantly filters the search results, providing a more targeted experience.
For example, tapping walking will update the search to running walking tracker, showing apps that specifically focus on walking features.

ASO.dev displays the number of tags available for each keyword.
Tapping a opens the Guided Search screen, where you can view all search phrases associated with each tag.

Available only for the Marketing membership.

  • Shows the number of apps using this keyword in their ad campaigns.
    When you click the icon, you see the Keywords: Ads, percentage of apps that use this keyword in advertising, relative to all apps indexed by this keyword in the App Store.
    This helps you understand how actively the keyword is used specifically in ad campaigns.
  • Keyword Ads lets you see which apps are advertising for the selected keyword, sorted by the number of impressions in search.
    Hovering over an app icon shows a brief info card, and clicking it takes you to the App Ads screen, where you can see which keywords and creatives are used for ads by that specific app.

The change in the app’s position for this keyword during the day is displayed with an arrow (up and down) and a number.
If there is no data in the cell, it means no changes.

Changes are highlighted with colors:

  • Blue - growth
  • Red - decline.

Shows your app’s position for the keyword today.

  • Blue = rank went up
  • Red = rank dropped

No rank = red highlight with a dash

Updated every 4 hours (data refresh schedule).

Shows your app’s ranking position for the keyword as of the previous day - the last recorded value before 00:00 UTC.
Use this to compare today’s rank with yesterday’s snapshot.

  • If the app had no recorded rank yesterday, a dash (-) is shown.

  • For multi-country tracking, this value reflects the currently selected country.

  • Note: For keywords recently added to tracking, the previous rank may be unavailable - a dash (-) is shown instead of a value.

  • Blue = rank went up

  • Red = rank dropped

No rank = red highlight with a dash

You can sort, filter, export, and customize the table view.
You can rearrange columns, pin or unpin them, hide or show hidden ones. You can also select multiple rows using the checkboxes for bulk actions.

  • Sort – Double-click the column title
  • Right-click – Open context menu to hide/show columns or pin/unpin
  • Filter – Use filter icon or filter directly in column headers
  • Move Columns – Drag column titles to rearrange
  • Resize Columns – Drag the border between headers
  • Hide Columns – Right-click a column and choose “Hide”
  • Show Hidden – Use context menu to bring them back
  • Select Row – Click any row
  • Pin Columns – Right-click a column and choose “Pin”
  • Unpin Columns – Right-click a column and choose “Unpin”
  • Multi-select – Hold Ctrl or Shift and click rows
  • Navigation – Use keyboard arrows to move through the Table