What Happens When We Don't Rank

In terms of Apple, one of the most head-scratching moments of doing ASO is why don’t our keywords rank even if it were included in our iTunes connect list.

It could be that Apple is super smart? or the app store is broken. 

The answer can lie anywhere between these two poles but usually, it’s the 2nd reason: the App store sometimes breaks down. 

Case in point: there will be times where the App Store will take one of your app’s keywords from one language option and combine it with your keywords from another language option. There are instances where you’ll find yourself surprised you ranked for keywords not even in that language or not even in your list at all. It can get confusing. 

There are many keywords that you will probably rank with, such as “game” and” fun,” for example. 

However, the app store will likely ignore these keywords because there are so many others competing for them.  

I recommend making a list of keyword combinations, made from your 100-character list, your title and tagline, of keywords you think your app should rank for. 

After you make the app store update, it’s time to buckle up, crack your ASO tool open, and try to understand why you are not ranking for some of the keywords. 

Also, expect chaos and results that make no sense after every ASO update. 

Sometimes you’ll find that you rank for 1 keyword in your list but the next keyword is not ranking and so on.  

The Apple App store is notoriously difficult to understand but important to navigate so you know where you are in relation to the entire galaxy of apps. 

Your keyword might not rank because there is too much competition for that word or that some of your different language combinations did not make sense. 

In any case, you can also say that the app store is broken.