App Store Keyword Strategy

App Store keyword strategy is the part of App Store Optimization that decides which search terms deserve scarce title, subtitle, keyword-field, and description space. In EP102 对话 Una：全球头部思维导图 App Store 运营负责人亲授 ASO 实战经验, Una breaks the work into brand words, category or scenario words, and competitor words.

For new apps, the episode recommends a conservative sequence: make sure users can find the exact brand name, then work outward into relevant long-tail category words, and only then test competitor or hot terms where the app has a realistic chance of ranking or converting. The source repeatedly warns that high search volume can be a trap when ranking stability, relevance, and conversion are weak.

Key Claims

• Brand words include the app name, abbreviations, aliases, strong bound phrases, likely misspellings, and sometimes homophones.
• Category and scenario words describe user intent, such as focus, timer, Pomodoro, study, exam prep, deep work, or productivity for FocusFly / 专注飞机.
• Competitor words may create exposure, especially with Apple Search Ads, but users searching a competitor often have stronger intent for that exact product.
• Keyword quality should combine search index, popularity, competition, relevance, ranking stability, and conversion potential.
• Locked rankings, where top results barely change over time, signal that a new app may need lower-difficulty long-tail words.
• In Chinese ASO, segmentation means comma use and word boundaries affect how the store recombines characters; beginners should avoid over-optimizing separators before they understand the behavior.

Connections

• App Store Optimization — parent growth discipline.
• App Store — platform whose metadata fields constrain the strategy.
• Una — source of the framework.
• FocusFly / 专注飞机 — example app for focus, timer, and study-related terms.
• Apple Search Ads — paid channel for testing difficult or competitor terms.
• App Store Product Page Conversion — keyword work must match screenshots and product-page promise.