App Store Optimization Services for iOS and Google Play

Usually not. Apple generally combines words from your app name, subtitle, and keyword field when matching searches, so repeating a word wastes characters you could spend on new terms. The keyword field allows 100 characters, so separate terms with commas and skip the spaces after them. Avoid spending space on your own app name, the word "app," or your category name. Your highest-priority keyword usually works hardest in the app name, as long as the name still reads naturally.

It's risky and rarely worth it. Apple's App Review Guidelines prohibit using other apps' names or trademarked terms in your metadata, including the hidden keyword field, and submissions can be rejected for it. Google Play's policies also prohibit using other brands' names or trademarks without permission. Even when a brand term gets through, people searching for a specific app seldom install a different one. Targeting the problem your app solves, such as "expense tracker" or "meal planner," usually brings more qualified installs.

Ask the right users at the right moment, using the official tools. On iOS, Apple's built-in rating prompt can appear at most three times in a 365-day period, and on Android, Google's In-App Review API controls how often its prompt is shown. Trigger it after a positive moment, like completing a task, not on first launch or after an error. Both stores prohibit buying reviews or rewarding users for ratings. Replying to negative reviews and fixing recurring complaints also tends to lift scores over time.

Yes. Unlike Apple, Google Play indexes the full description (up to 4,000 characters), so it shapes which searches your app can appear for. That doesn't mean repeating keywords helps: Google Play's metadata policy prohibits excessive keyword repetition, and its rules bar terms like "best" or "#1" in the app title, icon, and developer name. Write for people first. Lead with your core value in the opening lines, use priority terms naturally within feature sections, and keep every claim accurate to what the app does.