Aso

---
name: Aso
description: Use when the user wants to audit or optimize an App Store or Google Play listing, improve app visibility or ranking, or compare their app's listing to competitors.
category: SEO & Content
version: 2.0.0
tools: []
---

# ASO Audit

Analyze an App Store or Google Play listing against app store optimization best practices, score it, and produce a prioritized action plan.

## When to Use
User shares an App Store or Google Play URL; asks to audit or optimize a listing; wants to compare their app to competitors; or asks about app store ranking, visibility, or download conversion.

## Before Auditing
Search the Knowledge Base for existing product-marketing context first, and only ask about what isn't already covered.

## Phase 1 — Identify the Store & Gather Data
Detect the store from the URL pattern (`apps.apple.com/{country}/app/{name}/id{digits}` for Apple, `play.google.com/store/apps/details?id={package}` for Google). If given only an app name, use web_search for `site:apps.apple.com "{app name}"` or `site:play.google.com "{app name}"`.

Pull every available field. **Apple:** title (30-char limit), subtitle (30-char limit), long description, promotional text (170 chars, updatable without a new release), category, screenshot count/order/captions, preview video presence, rating average + count, recent reviews, price/IAP, developer name, last-updated date, version notes, age rating, size, localizations, in-app events. **Google Play:** title (30-char limit), short description (80-char limit), full description (4,000-char limit, indexed for search), category/tags, feature graphic, screenshots, preview video, rating, reviews, price/IAP, developer name, last-updated date, "what's new," downloads range, content rating, data safety section, languages.

Store pages often render client-side, so results may be incomplete — note gaps and ask the user to paste missing fields if critical. Screenshot images and caption text specifically can't be extracted as text; assess them from a screenshot of the listing page (icon quality, screenshot count, captions, messaging, video presence, feature graphic), or ask the user to share one. Apple's 170-char promotional text field is often indistinguishable from the description in scraped HTML — flag when unconfirmed and suggest the user check App Store Connect directly.

## Phase 1.5 — Assess Brand Maturity
Classify the app into a tier before scoring, since a deliberate choice by a household name isn't the same miss as an unknown app skipping a best practice.

- **Dominant** — household name, 1M+ ratings, top-10 in category (e.g. Instagram, Uber, Spotify). Users search by brand, not generic keywords.
- **Established** — well-known in-category, 100K+ ratings, strong organic installs (e.g. Strava, Notion, Duolingo).
- **Challenger** — building awareness, under 100K ratings, needs keyword-driven discovery. Most apps fall here.

For Dominant apps, adjust scoring: brand-only/brand-first titles are valid (score 8+, brand *is* the keyword); score description on conversion quality rather than keyword presence; lifestyle/brand screenshots and no video can be legitimate choices; generic weekly-cadence release notes are fine; missing in-app events for a massive-install utility app isn't a penalty; localization scores relative to the actual served market, not an absolute count. Established apps get partial adjustment — brand-first titles are fine but should still include 1-2 keywords, and other dimensions score normally. Challenger apps get scored strictly against textbook ASO practice — every character, screenshot, and keyword matters. Before docking points, ask whether a deviation is a mistake or a data-informed choice by a team with 1M+ ratings and a dedicated ASO function.

## Phase 2 — Score Each Dimension (0-10, weighted to 100)

| # | Dimension | Weight | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Title & Subtitle | 20% | Character usage, keyword presence, clarity, brand/keyword balance |
| 2 | Description | 15% | First 3 lines, keyword density (Google), CTA, structure, promo text |
| 3 | Visual Assets | 25% | Screenshot count/quality/messaging, video, icon, feature graphic |
| 4 | Ratings & Reviews | 20% | Average rating, volume, recency, developer responses |
| 5 | Metadata & Freshness | 10% | Category choice, update recency, localization count, data safety |
| 6 | Conversion Signals | 10% | Price positioning, IAP transparency, social proof, download range |

Apply the tier adjustments from Phase 1.5. **Grade:** 85-100 A (well-optimized, focus on iteration/testing), 70-84 B (good foundation, clear opportunities), 50-69 C (significant gaps, high-impact fixes available), 30-49 D (major optimization needed across dimensions), 0-29 F (needs a full overhaul).

## Phase 3 — Competitor Comparison (Optional)
If competitor URLs are provided, or the user asks: fetch 2-3 top competitors, run the same scoring, build a comparison table, and identify keyword gaps — terms competitors target that the user's app doesn't. If none are supplied, suggest 2-3 or offer to find top apps in the category.

## Phase 4 — Report
Include: a score card across all 6 dimensions with grade; the top 3 quick wins (under an hour, highest impact); detailed per-dimension findings with specific issues and fixes; keyword suggestions from title/description analysis and competitor gaps; visual-asset recommendations; and a priority action plan ordered by impact vs. effort. Every recommendation must be specific ("change subtitle from X to Y," not "improve subtitle"), include character counts, flag Apple-vs-Google differences, and note what can't be assessed without paid tools (search volume, exact rankings).

## Platform-Specific Facts

**Apple:** Title (30 chars) + subtitle (30 chars) + hidden keyword field (100 *bytes*, not characters — Arabic/CJK use 2-3 bytes/char) form the indexed text; the long description is not indexed, only affects conversion. Promotional text (170 chars) does not affect search. Never repeat a word across title/subtitle/keyword field — Apple only indexes each word once. Keyword field uses commas with no spaces. Screenshots: up to 10 per device, but only the first 3 show in search and ~90% of users never scroll past the third. Screenshot captions have been indexed (AI extraction) since June 2025. In-app events: up to 10 live at once, 31 days max each, and they're indexed. Custom Product Pages (up to 70) have appeared in organic search since July 2025, averaging a +5.9% conversion lift. Preview video: up to 3, 15-30s, autoplays muted, +20-40% conversion lift. Review prompts are capped at 3 per 365 days. Apple has human editorial curation, so quality and design carry extra weight.

**Google Play:** Title (30 chars) + short description (80 chars) + full description (4,000 chars, indexed) form the searchable text — there's no hidden keyword field, so every keyword must appear in visible text, targeted at roughly 2-3% density; Google's NLP detects and penalizes stuffing. Title may not contain emojis, ALL CAPS, "best"/"#1"/"free," or CTAs (enforced since 2021). Screenshots: min 2, max 8 (not 10 like Apple). Feature graphic (1024×500 exact) is required for featured placement. Video doesn't autoplay and only ~6% of users tap play. Android Vitals feed ranking directly — crash rate above 1.09% or ANR above 0.47% reduces visibility. Promotional content should be submitted 14 days early for featuring (apps see ~2x explore acquisitions). Custom Store Listings (up to 50) can target churned users, countries, or ad campaigns. Store Listing Experiments allow up to 3 variants, run 7+ days, one experiment at a time.

## Common Issues Checklist
Always flag: rating below 4.0; last update over 3 months ago; Google Play description with under 1% keyword density; missing feature graphic; likely repeated words in the inferred Apple keyword field; a category mismatch that would face less competition elsewhere; fewer than 5 screenshots. Flag for Challenger/Established only (may be deliberate for Dominant apps): brand-only title with no keywords; subtitle duplicating title keywords; generic first 3 description lines; no preview video; UI-dump screenshots with no messaging; only 1-2 localizations; no in-app events or promo content. Flag for all tiers but weigh context: no developer responses to negative reviews (scale matters); generic "what's new" text (acceptable at weekly+ cadence for Established/Dominant).

## Task-Specific Questions
1. App Store or Google Play URL?
2. The user's app or a competitor's?
3. Category?
4. Competitor URLs to compare?
5. Search visibility, conversion rate, or both?
6. Access to App Store Connect or Google Play Console data?

## Related Skills
cro (web landing pages that drive installs), ad-creative (store ad creatives), analytics (install attribution, in-app events), customer-research (listing copy language).