App Store Optimization is not a one-time setup. It is an ongoing discipline, and most developers treat it like a checkbox they tick at launch and never revisit. Here is what we run on every app we ship, including Stepzy, which hit $2,000-plus MRR in two months through organic App Store discovery alone.
The four levers that move your ranking
The App Store algorithm is simpler than most ASO guides make it sound. It weights four signals heavily: keyword relevance, conversion rate, velocity of downloads, and ratings recency. You can control the first two directly. The second two are downstream of getting the first two right.
1. Keyword placement, not keyword stuffing
You get three fields that carry full keyword weight: the app name (30 characters), the subtitle (30 characters), and the keyword field (100 characters, hidden from users). Everything else is secondary.
The app name and subtitle are the highest-weight fields. Put your primary keyword in the name if the brand allows it. Use the subtitle for a secondary keyword phrase that describes the use case concisely.
The hidden keyword field is where most apps leave ranking on the table. Do not repeat words that appear in the name or subtitle. Use it for synonyms, category terms, and use-case phrases. Apple already knows your app is a step tracker if you named it that. The keyword field should tell it you also belong in "pedometer," "walk counter," "daily steps," and "fitness tracker."
2. Screenshots that convert before anyone reads a word
Your screenshots are your conversion rate. Most apps use generic device frames with feature descriptions nobody reads. The apps that convert show an outcome in the first frame: a stat, a milestone, a before-and-after.
For Stepzy, the first screenshot shows a completed daily goal with the step count front and center. Not the settings screen. Not a feature tour. The result a user cares about.
Test at least two screenshot sets. Even a 5% lift in conversion compounds significantly over months of organic traffic.
3. Ratings velocity matters more than total count
A 4.8-star app with 12 reviews from this month outranks a 4.9-star app with 200 reviews from two years ago, all else equal. Recency is weighted heavily.
Build a rating prompt that fires at the right moment. Not on launch, not after an error. After a user completes a goal, finishes a session, or hits a milestone. Apple's SKStoreReviewRequest.requestReview() is rate-limited to three prompts per year per user, so make each one count.
4. Localization is the fastest growth unlock most apps skip
If your app is in English only, you are invisible in every other App Store locale. Adding even a metadata-only localization (name, subtitle, keywords, screenshots) to five or six major locales can double your indexed keyword count and surface you in searches you never considered.
This does not require translating the entire app. Apple evaluates the metadata separately from the app language. You can localize the listing for German, French, Spanish, and Japanese while the app itself remains English-only.
The cadence that works
Run an ASO audit every 90 days. Update keywords based on what your category leaders are ranking for. Refresh screenshots after major feature releases. Respond to every review within a week. The compound effect of consistent optimization is what separates apps that plateau at a few hundred downloads from apps that grow month over month.
We handle ASO as part of every app we ship. If you have an existing app that has plateaued, start a project and we will audit the listing and tell you the highest-leverage changes.