How ASO Pilot thinks
The rules the engine follows when it makes a call. Useful for anyone editing metadata by hand.
iOS and Google Play are not the same game
iOS rewards combinatorial metadata: title, subtitle, and keywords field each index distinct words that are recombined into phrases. Duplicated words across fields waste budget. Google Play rewards semantic density: strategic repetition of the primary benefit helps, and the opening sentence is weighted heavily.
The best keyword is not the biggest keyword
Relevance and intent matter more than raw volume, especially early. A new app ranking for "bedtime scripture" beats a new app fighting for "bible" and never appearing.
Do not optimize for the wrong product identity
A faith app that actually wins on sleep should be positioned around sleep + calm + faith — not generic "bible". A map-poster app should not sound like a physical print store if it's a design/generator tool.
Do not translate — localise
Each market searches differently. Spain uses lámina, Mexico uses póster, Brazil uses quadro, Germany uses compound nouns like Haushaltsbuch. The engine swaps native terms, not dictionary translations.
Explain what you excluded
For every excluded keyword we tell you why: too broad, too generic, low intent, wrong product expectation. Transparency > magic.
Strategy depends on app state
New apps need long-tail wins first. Apps ranking only for generic terms need a niche pivot. Apps already ranking well need careful expansion. Identical categories can need opposite metadata.