App Store Keyword Field: How to Use All 100 Characters
Apple gives you 100 hidden characters. Most indies waste 20–30 of them repeating the title. How to format, what to skip, and worked examples.
Quick answer
How do you use the App Store 100-character keyword field?
The App Store keywords field is 100 characters total. Separate terms with commas and no spaces; spaces are allowed inside phrases such as Real Estate. Do not repeat words already in the name or subtitle, plurals of words you already included, category names, or the word “app.” Name (30) + subtitle (30) + keywords (100) is the 160-character indexed budget. Promotional text does not affect ranking.
- 100 characters, comma-separated, no spaces after commas
- Spaces are fine inside a phrase: Real Estate
- Skip plurals, category names, “app,” duplicates, and special characters unless they are the brand
- Never use trademarks, celebrity names, competing app names, or irrelevant terms
- Description is not a primary iOS ranking field; promotional text does not rank
On this page
The App Store keyword field is the only metadata you write that shoppers never see. That is why it gets treated like a junk drawer: people paste the title again, add “app,” pluralize everything, and still wonder why they rank for nothing they actually wanted. Apple gave you 100 characters. Repeating “habit tracker” when that is already the name is how you light 20–30 of them on fire.
Apple’s rules live on Creating your product page . Field lengths for every other box are in our App Store character-limit reference. Count live in the ASO Character Counter so you do not discover a 101-character field at submit time.
The 160-character indexed budget
Apple indexes the app name, the subtitle, and the keyword field. That is 30 + 30 + 100 = 160 characters of primary search text. The 4,000-character description is conversion copy, not a ranking dump. Promotional text (170 characters, editable without a new binary) does not affect search ranking — Apple says so explicitly, so stop hiding keywords there.
| Field | Limit | Visible? | Primary ranking field? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 30 | Yes | Yes |
| Subtitle | 30 | Yes | Yes |
| Keywords | 100 | No | Yes |
| Promotional text | 170 | Yes | No — Apple says it does not affect ranking |
| Description | 4,000 | Yes | Not a primary iOS ranking field |
Spend uniqueness across name, subtitle, and keywords. Promotional text and the long description can convert; they are not a substitute for the 160 indexed characters.
What to skip so the 100 characters do work
Apple lists the waste patterns that shrink the field without adding queries. Improper keywords are also a common rejection reason, so this is not just ASO hygiene.
| Skip | Why | Do this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Plurals of a word you already used | Apple tells you not to add the plural of a singular you included | Pick the form people type; do not pay twice |
| Category names or the word “app” | Quoted skip list; they do not help discovery | Describe the job: invoice, streak, split bill |
| Duplicate words | Quoted skip list; also a silent character leak | One token, one slot |
| Words already in the name or subtitle | Those 60 characters are already indexed | Use the 100 for terms the title could not fit |
| Special characters (#, @) unless they are the brand | Apple says they do not carry extra search weight | Letters and spaces inside phrases only |
The field is for terms that are relevant, specific, and not already paid for in the name or subtitle. Category labels and “app” are the most common indie self-owns.
Worked examples: good field vs. wasted field
Assume the name and subtitle already carry the obvious phrase. The keyword field then has to cover adjacent jobs, synonyms, and phrases with internal spaces. Counts below include commas. Paste them into the character counter before you ship; one extra space after a comma is a real bug.
| Version | Keyword field | Chars |
|---|---|---|
| Wasted | habit,tracker,habits,app,productivity,habit tracker,best,daily,streaks,todo,goals,tracking | 90 |
| Useful | streak,daily routine,goal,reminder,journal,mood,consistency,self care,quit smoking,water,focus,todos | 100 |
The wasted field repeats the name, adds “app,” and pluralizes habit. The useful field spends the same 100 characters on jobs the title did not already buy: streaks, journaling, mood, quit smoking, water.
| Version | Keyword field | Chars |
|---|---|---|
| Wasted | budget,planner,budgets,app,finance,personal,money,best budget,budget planner,fintech | 84 |
| Useful | expense,spending,bills,savings,envelope,net worth,debt,receipt,paycheck,tax,invoice,category,balance | 100 |
“Budget” and “planner” are already in the subtitle. The useful field covers expense, bills, envelopes, net worth, and receipts — queries a 30-character subtitle cannot hold.
| Version | Keyword field | Chars |
|---|---|---|
| Wasted | pomodoro,focus,timer,app,productivity,pomodoro timer,focus timer,best,clock | 75 |
| Useful | deep work,study,concentration,block apps,break,flow,deadline,adhd,silence,exam,writing,codes,meeting | 100 |
The wasted field restates the subtitle three ways and still has leftover characters. The useful field uses phrase spaces (deep work, block apps) and fills all 100 characters with situations people actually type.
How to pick the 100 without stuffing
- Start from what a stranger would type, not from your feature list. “Quit smoking” beats “modular habit engine.”
- Trade one ultra-competitive generic (“productivity”) for two specific phrases you can realistically win.
- Localize the field. A US English string pasted into German is not localization; it is 100 wasted characters in that storefront.
- Keep the first screenshot on the same promise as the strongest keyword cluster. Ranking without conversion is a vanity impression.
- Revisit after a version that changes the job. Keywords ship with the app version; they are not promo text.
Fill the 100-character field without repeating the title
Do this after the name and subtitle are locked. Changing the title later can silently duplicate tokens you just paid for twice.
Lock name and subtitle first
Write the 30-character name and 30-character subtitle. List every token they already contain. Those words are spent.
Dump candidate queries
List 20–30 phrases a customer would type: jobs, situations, synonyms, and two-word phrases. No competitor names, no celebrities, no trademarks you do not own.
Delete Apple’s skip list
Remove plurals of words you kept, category names, “app,” duplicates, and anything already in the name or subtitle.
Join with commas, no spaces
Format as term,term,Two Word Phrase. Paste into the ASO Character Counter and add or cut until you land on 100, not 87.
Align the first three screenshots
If the strongest cluster is “expense,bills,envelope,” screenshot one should show that job — not a generic dashboard. Keywords get the impression; frames get the install.
App Store keyword-field questions
Should App Store keywords have spaces after commas?
No. Apple says terms are separated by commas and no spaces. Spaces are allowed inside a phrase, as in Real Estate. Writing “habit, tracker” wastes a character on the space and is not the documented format.
Can I repeat my app name in the keyword field?
You should not. The name is already indexed. Repeating it burns characters you could spend on terms the 30-character name could not hold. Apple also tells you to avoid duplicate words.
Does promotional text or the description help keyword ranking?
Apple says promotional text does not affect search ranking and should not be used to display keywords. The description is not a primary iOS ranking field. Put ranking terms in name, subtitle, and the 100-character keyword field.
Can I use a competitor’s app name as a keyword?
No. Apple’s product-page guidance says not to use competing app names, unauthorized trademarks, celebrity names, or irrelevant or offensive terms. That is a rejection risk, not a ranking tactic.
Sources, verified 2026-08-28:
Free tools that help here
Top App Store Apps
Track Apple App Store top charts across 30 countries. View top free and paid rankings for ASO research - updated from Apple's public RSS feed.
ASO Character Counter
Count characters for every App Store and Google Play metadata field against exact store limits. Live counts and over-limit warnings - nothing gets truncated at submission.
Screenshot Beautifier
Add polished backgrounds, padding, shadows, and rounded corners to any screenshot in seconds. Perfect for social posts, docs, and portfolios.
Keywords get you found. Screenshots get the tap.
Once the 100-character field is clean, the product page still has to convert. AppGrowthKit turns real app screens into benefit-led, editable frames and exports them store-ready for App Store and Google Play.
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