
Now, let's reverse-engineer the keyword list. You don't need this repetition to convince the algorithm your app is the more appropriate result. The wasteful duplication you see both apps doing is just wasteful. You want both of those to beat the competition, but if you can't get both, the latter is a stronger signal.Ībout that duplication. One important thing to note is that it's not only the absolute number but also the trend. Tip: ratings are a very important signal to Apple's algorithm. Yokee wins this one as well, with ~10% more ratings in the same time period. You can't beat a competitor without outmatching their performance. Keyword placement is important, but it's only half the battle.

Yokee, the misspeller, puts the keyword first. starting at character 14 is a significant enough signal to the algorithm. The algorithm reads, like us, from left to right, assigning more value to what it reads first. Especially because it misspelled its subtitle. The question shouldn't be why isn't Smule #1, but rather why is Karaoke #1. The one interesting keyword is "karaoke", where Smule is second to an app with a fraction of the downloads. Smule is not just a popular brand but also one that has been around for a veeeery long time. It should come as no surprise that the most popular keyword in the app's arsenal is its own brand. Where Smule Karaoke ranks for the keywords it's targeting directly

What you think isn't necessarily true, which is why you have to base your choices on data. That's what's wonderful (and disastrous) about ASO. That means things like "smule sing," which don't sound particularly popular, have at least some searches.

The list above includes those that have some searches all the way up to the very popular branded term. The name and subtitle actually produce a little over 60 combinations, but most of them aren't at all popular. Strictly based on these, here are the popular keywords the algorithm sees: Subtitle: Sing karaoke with 10mil+ songs.Those two send the strongest signals to the App Store's algorithm. Let's dig in by looking at the keywords Smule Karaoke is targeting in its name and subtitle.
