RankDeck guide
How to research App Store keywords and track your rank
Build a shortlist of search phrases that describe what your app does. Check the apps that appear for each phrase, save your starting rank and compare again after a listing change. This guide uses RankDeck, the App Store keyword research app for Mac, but the research decisions apply whichever tools you use.
Start with the problem your app solves
Write down the tasks people use your app for, in their own words. For a food diary, a starting list might include calorie counter, food tracker and macro tracker. These are example research phrases, not a claim that any one is the best keyword for your app.
Keep a phrase only if the app delivers on its intent. Someone searching for a macro tracker expects to record protein, carbohydrate and fat intake. If your app only records meals as photos, that phrase may bring the wrong audience even if it looks attractive in a keyword tool.
In RankDeck, select your app with its App Store link or ID. Use App Store autocomplete to explore related phrases, then check the ones that match the product. An autocomplete suggestion is a candidate to investigate, not a search-volume measurement.
Check each storefront separately
A phrase can return different apps and a different rank in the US, UK or Germany. Choose the countries where you already serve users or plan to support them. RankDeck supports 175 App Store storefronts; start with the few that matter to your release.
Read the top results before comparing scores. Do the names and subtitles describe the same use case? Are the results relevant to the phrase? If most results serve another need, choose a more precise phrase. Save each keyword and storefront pair to your board so future checks use the same comparison.
Translate intent rather than copying the English phrase into every market. Ask a fluent speaker to review the language and match your metadata to the app's actual local experience. A promising rank does not fix a listing that readers cannot understand.
What RankDeck's rank, demand and difficulty mean
Your rank is the app's position in the search results returned for that check. A missing rank means the app was not found in those returned results. It does not prove the app is absent from the App Store. Keep the check's time, storefront and result depth with the observation.
Demand, labelled volume in the app, is a 0–100 estimate based on ratings among relevant search results. RankDeck sums relevance-weighted rating counts over up to 50 results, scales the sum logarithmically and squares that scaled value. Exact name or subtitle phrase matches receive full weight; qualifying token matches receive half weight. The score is not Apple's search count, monthly searches or a download forecast.
Difficulty is a 0–100 estimate based on the log-scaled median rating count of up to ten relevant results, adjusted for storefront density. The density adjustment compares local and US rating counts for the same apps. Ratings describe the apps already present in a result set; they do not measure how many people will search tomorrow.
When fewer than three relevant apps are found, RankDeck withholds the demand and difficulty scores. Treat an unknown score as insufficient evidence. A low score also does not establish that nobody searches for the phrase. Inspect the result evidence and compare phrases within the same market before choosing a target.
Save a baseline before changing your listing
- Save your keyword and storefront pairs, then run an initial check. Keep the returned rank and result evidence.
- Draft the proposed metadata for each locale. RankDeck keeps listing drafts locally; export the draft and apply the changes yourself in App Store Connect.
- Record the date the metadata actually becomes available. Keep a note of other release or marketing changes that could affect the comparison.
- Run another check for the same phrases and storefronts. Compare saved history rather than relying on memory or one screenshot.
For example, if an app moves from position 18 to 11 for food tracker in the US after a metadata update, the observation is a seven-position improvement in that check. It does not prove that the update caused the change, or that downloads increased. Search results and competing apps can change at the same time.
Measure discovery and downloads separately
Apple describes text relevance and user behavior as factors in App Store search. Use Apple's App Store search guidance when choosing accurate metadata. Follow its advice to avoid irrelevant terms and competing app names.
Use App Analytics in App Store Connect to review search-source impressions, conversion and downloads. RankDeck observes search results; it does not have your private App Store Connect analytics. A better observed rank and a better business outcome are separate measurements.
Keep the research on your Mac
RankDeck stores your keyword history and listing drafts locally. App Store checks need an internet connection, and activation and periodic licence validation contact Notchbird. There is no analytics in the app. Read the RankDeck privacy notice for the purchase and activation details.
RankDeck by Notchbird costs $39 USD once, with updates included and activation on up to two Macs. It requires Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. The purchase page has the current installer and licence details.