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Where to put keywords in App Store and Google Play metadata

Which metadata fields carry ranking weight on iOS and Google Play, why target keywords belong in title and subtitle, and the one-title-change case that turned a dead app into an exit.

Updated 2026-10-23·3 sources·asometadatatitlesubtitlekeywords-field

Where to put keywords in App Store and Google Play metadata

TL;DR

  • iOS ranking fields: title, subtitle, keyword field. Google Play: title, short description, description.1
  • Put your most important keywords in the title and subtitle — that is where Steve targets them.2
  • Plan for 6–10 target keywords: that is roughly what fits across title + subtitle of the US and Spanish (Mexico) localizations.3
  • A single title change can unlock an app: one App Masters app earned almost nothing for years until two found keywords went into the title, hit #1, and the app was later sold.4
  • Mirror the title keyword in the first screenshot so searchers know they are in the right place.5
  • General knowledge (not from these sources, verify current limits): iOS title and subtitle are 30 characters each and the keyword field 100; Google Play title 30, short description 80, full description 4,000.

Details

Steve calls metadata “probably most important” of all ASO factors in 2026.1 His placement rules:

  1. Title + subtitle carry the target keywords. Go after relevant keywords in title and subtitle; if you have no paid channel, prefer longer-tail phrases.2
  2. Double the space with a second localization. On the US App Store, also fill the Spanish (Mexico) title/subtitle with English keywords — see Using extra localizations to add keywords on the US App Store.3
  3. Being in the title is not enough on competitive terms. Cal AI has “calorie tracker” in its title yet ranked only #4 for it (Nov 2025) — pick terms you can actually win (How to pick ASO keywords (search score, difficulty, relevance)).6
  4. Match the listing to the query. The first screenshot should repeat the high-traffic keyword from the title (the CBT case in What App Store screenshots should say (first three, keyword, USP, faces)).5

Case: one title change. An app launched around 2022 did “pretty much nothing” in sales for years. After finding two keywords with real traffic, the team changed only the app title, reached #1 for both, began earning, and eventually exited (the video description puts it at $0 → $2K/month → five-figure exit).4

Disagreements / caveats

  • Google Play indexes the long description; iOS does not use it for ranking in Steve’s field list (he lists only title, subtitle, keywords for iOS).1
  • Character limits change occasionally; check Apple/Google docs before writing metadata.

See also

Footnotes

  1. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 01:33 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 08:50 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  3. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 07:37 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  4. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 06:43 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  5. How to Create App Store Screenshots That Get More Downloads @ 02:43 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  6. The Most Important Element of App Store Optimization (ASO Keyword Research) @ 02:23 — Steve P. Young ↩