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App Store keyword difficulty checker
Enter a keyword and an App Store country to see how many apps compete for it, how strong the top 10 are, and Storewake’s difficulty score with its working.
How the score works
The difficulty score is Storewake’s own estimate from 0 to 100, the same one the Storewake app shows for tracked keywords. It adds two parts, and the result shows both:
- Competing apps, up to 55 points. How many results Apple’s iTunes Search API returns for the keyword, log-scaled. Storewake asks for 200, the most the API returns in one request, and 200 scores the full 55.
- Strength of the top 10, up to 45 points. The average number of ratings of the first ten results, log-scaled up to one million ratings, which scores the full 45. Leaders with hundreds of thousands of ratings push it near the top.
It doesn’t measure search volume. A hard keyword nobody searches for and an easy one everybody does can score the same, so read it next to what you know about your audience. Storewake shows Apple’s search popularity score, where Apple publishes one, when you connect your own Apple Ads account.
Next: where your app ranks
Once a keyword is in your listing, the free App Store rank checker shows your app’s position for it, and the keyword field checker makes sure it fits in Apple’s 100-byte field.
Questions about keyword difficulty
How is keyword difficulty calculated?
It is Storewake’s own score from 0 to 100, not an Apple figure. Up to 55 points come from how many apps Apple returns for the keyword, and up to 45 from the average number of ratings of the top 10 apps. Both parts are log-scaled: each tenfold increase in ratings adds about 7.5 points, so the first hundred ratings count as much as the next ten thousand.
Is a keyword with a low score a good one?
Not on its own. A low score means fewer apps compete and the leaders have fewer ratings, but it says nothing about how many people search for the keyword. Pick keywords that describe your app and that people actually use.
Where does the data come from?
From Apple’s public App Store search results for the keyword and country, through the iTunes Search API, the same source as the free rank checker. A keyword and country checked recently is answered from that check for up to six hours.
Why does the score differ from other ASO tools?
Each tool uses its own formula. Storewake shows its formula and both parts of the score, so you can see why a keyword scores what it does.
Is it free?
Yes. No account and no card. If you want your keywords tracked every day, with history and competitors, Storewake does that for you.
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