How to Read a Competitor’s App Store Listing
A one-page teardown of the fields you can actually see: name, subtitle, first three screenshots, ratings count, What’s New, and category. The keyword field stays hidden.
Quick answer
How do you research a competitor’s App Store listing?
Competitor app store research means reading the listing you can see: name, subtitle, the first three screenshots, the ratings count, What’s New, and the category. You cannot see their hidden keyword field. On Google Play you can also read the full description. Start from apps that chart, not from apps that are loud on social.
- Chart position beats a mention on social
- Name and subtitle leak the words they chose to show
- The keyword field is invisible. Do not invent it
On this page
A competitor’s App Store listing is a public document with one page missing. You can read the name, the subtitle, the screenshots, the ratings count, What’s New, and the category. You cannot read the 100-character keyword field. Any tool or thread that claims to show you that field is guessing. Write the guess down as a guess, or do not write it down.
The useful habit is a teardown worksheet you fill in the same way every time, then a decision about your own listing. For this walkthrough the product is a recipe scaler: change the servings, and the ingredient amounts update. You will finish with a filled page on an imaginary competitor called HalfCup, using only fields a shopper can see. How those words become your own list is in App Store keyword research. The Play version of the same hunt, where the description is indexed, is in Google Play keyword research.
Start from the chart, not from social
The apps worth reading are the ones shoppers already find. Open Top Apps for the category and country you care about, and check Top Grossing if you also care who gets paid, not only who gets installed. A recipe app with a clever launch thread and no chart position is a design reference at most. It is a weak keyword reference, because you do not know that anyone searched for it.
Pick three listings that chart in your country. Note the date and the storefront. Charts move, and a teardown from a different country will show different subtitles if the competitor localizes. You are not building a universal model of “the recipe category.” You are reading the listings a shopper in one store sees this week.
The worksheet: seven visible fields
Use one row per competitor. Leave a column blank when you cannot see the data. Do not fill the blank with a hunch. The ratings count is whatever the product page shows on the day you look. Copy the number. Do not round it into a story about “social proof,” and do not compare it to a number you remember from last year without looking again.
| Field | Where you see it | What you write down |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Product page title | Every word, and the character count if you might echo a pattern |
| Subtitle | Under the name | The second idea they thought was worth 30 characters |
| First three screenshots | Gallery, in order | The job each frame claims, in your own words |
| Ratings count | Near the stars | The count shown that day. No invented total |
| What’s New | Version notes | Whether they are still shipping the job the screenshots promise |
| Category | Information section | The shelf they chose. Not a keyword to copy blindly |
| Play description | Google Play only | Terms in the first lines and in the headings |
Fill only the cells you can see. On the App Store the keyword field is not one of those cells. On Play, the full description is.
Name and subtitle are the keyword leak
The name is 30 characters and the subtitle is 30. Both are indexed. Whatever they spent those 60 characters on is a word they wanted badly enough to show every shopper. Underline the nouns. Ignore “the,” “and,” and “your” unless the whole phrase is the brand. A pattern library of subtitles, so you can see what kinds of second lines exist, is in App Store subtitle examples. Read it so you do not copy their sentence. You want the job they named, then you write your own.
If three charting recipe apps all put “recipe” in the name and a modifier like “meal plan” or “grocery” in the subtitle, that is the category’s public vocabulary. Your decision is which modifier you can deserve. A servings scaler that claims “meal plan” in the subtitle, with no planner in the product, has copied a word and failed the screenshot test. Write the modifier you can show.
The first three screenshots are the conversion leak
Most people will not swipe a full set. The first three frames are the argument. For each one, write a single clause: what job this frame claims, and whether the UI proves it or a caption asserts it. Caption craft is its own problem, covered in App Store screenshot text. Ordering and what belongs in those opening frames is in the first three App Store screenshots.
Look for a mismatch between the subtitle and frame one. A subtitle that says “scale any recipe” and a first screenshot that is a photo of a finished cake means they are selling appetite, not the tool. That is a gap you can beat with a boring, clearer frame: a servings stepper and the ingredient line changing from 4 to 6. You are not stealing their creative. You are noticing which promise they failed to prove.
What you cannot see
You cannot see the keyword field. You cannot see which of their impressions came from search versus browse versus a referral. You cannot see their App Analytics conversion rate. Apple does not publish the ranking formula, so you also cannot see why they outrank you on a word you both use. Pretending otherwise leads to copying their name structure and calling it strategy.
On Google Play you can see more of the index, because Play indexes the title, the short description, and the full description, and there is no hidden 100-character field. Read those three. Still do not copy sentences. On both stores, competitor brand names stay out of your keyword field and your title. Apple’s product-page guidance treats competing app names as improper keywords and a common rejection reason.
One-page teardown: HalfCup, a recipe scaler
HalfCup is an imaginary competitor, written here so you can see a finished worksheet. The visible listing says: name “HalfCup” (7 characters), subtitle “Scale recipes by servings” (25). Category: Food & Drink. What’s New, this version: “Half batches round to teaspoons you can actually measure.” That note matches the subtitle. The product and the listing are about the same job.
Screenshot one: a recipe for cookies with a servings control moving from 12 to 6, and the butter line updating. Screenshot two: a unit toggle between cups and grams on one ingredient. Screenshot three: a note that a half egg was rounded to a tablespoon. There is no meal-plan calendar and no grocery logo. The ratings count is whatever the page would show on the day you looked. This example does not invent one. Record the real number when you do this on a live app.
What you take home: the public vocabulary is scale, recipes, servings, plus the screenshot jobs of halving, grams, and rounding. You still do not know HalfCup’s keyword field. Your own name can carry “servings” if your brand is short enough. Your subtitle can carry the second idea, grams or halves, not a second copy of “scale recipes.” Your first screenshot should show the amount changing, because that is the proof HalfCup already taught shoppers to expect. If your app also builds a grocery list, that is screenshot three, not a reason to abandon the servings query in the name.
- Do not put “HalfCup” in your keywords. It is a competitor name.
- Do not assume they rank for “teaspoon” just because What’s New used the word. What’s New is not the keyword field.
- Do steal the standard of proof: the ingredient line has to change on screen.
- On their Play listing, if it exists, read the full description for extra jobs, then place any term you keep once in your own Play title, short description, or full description.
Fill a one-page competitor teardown
One competitor, one page, no guessed keyword field. If you cannot finish the page in one sitting, you are researching too many apps at once.
Pick three apps from the chart
Choose the country and category first. Pull three apps from the chart, not from your memory of who launched recently. Write the date and storefront at the top of the page. If you care about revenue as well as installs, glance at the grossing chart and note whether the same apps appear.
Copy name, subtitle, category, and What’s New
Transcribe them exactly. Count the name and subtitle if you are comparing how they spent the 30 characters. Read What’s New only as a check that the product still matches the subtitle. Do not mine What’s New as a secret keyword list. It is release notes.
Describe the first three screenshots in one clause each
Say what job the frame claims and whether the UI shows it. Ignore the rest of the gallery until these three are written. If frame one does not match the subtitle, mark the gap in the margin. That gap is the opportunity, not their color palette.
Record the ratings count you see
Copy the ratings count from the product page on the day you look. Do not estimate, and do not borrow a number from a tweet. A large count tells you the listing has been found. It does not tell you the contents of the keyword field, and it is not a target you can paste into your own metadata.
Write three keepers and one refusal
Keepers are jobs you also do and can show in a screenshot. The refusal is a word they use that you will not chase, usually because you lack the feature or because it is their brand. Move the keepers into your own name, subtitle, and keyword field without duplicating words, using the research method rather than this worksheet alone.
Key takeaways
- Read name, subtitle, first three screenshots, ratings count, What’s New, and category.
- You cannot see the Apple keyword field. Leave it blank in the worksheet.
- Choose competitors from the chart for the storefront you care about.
- A subtitle that the first screenshot does not prove is a gap, not a template to copy.
- On Play, add the full description to the worksheet. Still place any borrowed idea in your own words, once.
Frequently asked questions
Can I see a competitor’s App Store keyword field?
No. The keyword field is hidden from shoppers and from other developers. You can read the name, subtitle, screenshots, ratings count, What’s New, and category. Treat any reconstructed keyword list as a hypothesis. Do not put their brand name into your field to compensate for the missing page. Apple calls competing app names improper keywords and a common reason for rejection.
Should I study apps that are popular on social but not on the chart?
You can look at their screenshots as design reference. They are a poor source for search language, because you have no evidence the store is sending them queries. Start with apps that chart in your category and country. Then, if a social favorite also charts, promote it into the worksheet. Chart position is the filter. Volume of posts is not.
What should I copy from a competitor’s screenshots?
Copy the standard of proof, not the layout. If their first screenshot shows the ingredient amount changing when servings change, shoppers have been trained to look for that. Your frame should prove the same job with your UI. Do not trace their background, their slogan, or their brand. Caption wording is a separate pass once the UI in the shot is honest.
Does What’s New reveal keywords?
What’s New is release notes for people who already have the app or who opened the product page. It is not the keyword field, and it is not a documented ranking input you should stuff. Use it to see whether the competitor is still building the job their subtitle claims. If the notes and the subtitle disagree, trust neither one as a keyword source without looking at the screenshots.
How is Play competitor research different?
On Google Play there is no hidden keyword field. The title, the 80-character short description, and the 4,000-character full description are all visible and all indexed. Add the description to the worksheet, especially the first lines and the headings. Place any term you decide to use once in your own title, short description, or full description. Do not paste their paragraphs.
Need store-sized exports? Use the App Store screenshot generator or the Google Play screenshot generator.
Keep reading
App Store Keyword Research Without a Paid Tool
Autocomplete, competitor names and subtitles, your own search terms, and reviews. Then a score so only terms that fit the 160-character budget survive.
Google Play Keyword Research That Matches How Play Indexes
Play has no hidden keyword field. Research is only useful if the term lands in the 30-character title, the 80-character short description, or the full description — once.
App Store Subtitle Examples That Fit 30 Characters
The App Store subtitle character limit is 30. Here are examples that rank and read, plus the mistakes that waste the second indexed line under your name.
The First 3 App Store Screenshots Decide the Tap
Apple search shows up to three frames before anyone opens the page. Play often leads with screenshot one. What each of those slots is for.
App Store Screenshot Text: What to Write (2026)
A practical formula for App Store screenshot captions: match the searcher’s intent, lead with a benefit, and stay readable before the UI ever gets a chance to explain itself.
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.
Top Grossing Apps
Track the highest-revenue iOS apps across 30 countries. Live App Store rankings from Apple's RSS feed - free ASO research for monetization leaders.
Screenshot Beautifier
Add polished backgrounds, padding, shadows, and rounded corners to any screenshot in seconds. Perfect for social posts, docs, and portfolios.
Their screenshots are a brief. Yours still have to be clearer.
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