Glossary
A reference of key terms and metrics used throughout Apptonomy.
Keyword Volume
A score from 0 to 100 that estimates how many people search for a given keyword each month. The score uses a logarithmic scale — the difference between 100 and 1,000 monthly searches is much more significant than the difference between 100,000 and 101,000. A score of 80+ indicates a very popular keyword, while below 20 means very few people are searching for it. The raw search counts come from Google Ads and are calibrated against Apple Search Ads popularity data using a log-linear regression model that is periodically recalibrated.
Keyword Difficulty
A score from 0 to 100 that measures how competitive a keyword is — specifically, how aggressively advertisers bid on it. This data comes from Google Ads’ competition index. A score near 0 means almost nobody is competing for the keyword; a score near 100 means it is fiercely competitive. The sweet spot for ASO opportunities is low difficulty combined with high volume.
Keyword Rank
Your app’s position in the app store search results for a given keyword, ranging from 1 to 50. A rank of 1 means your app is the first result. If your app does not appear in the top 50 results, the rank is reported as 0. Ranks of 1–10 mean you are on the first screen and likely receiving taps. A rank of 30+ means most users will never scroll far enough to find you.
Keyword Relevance
A score from 1 to 100 that measures how closely a keyword relates to what your app actually does. This score is generated by AI analysis that evaluates each keyword in the context of your app’s description and features. Generic filler words and unrelated terms score low, while feature-specific terms, category descriptors, and user-intent phrases score high. Keywords scoring below the relevance threshold (default: 60) are excluded from recommendations to ensure you only see terms that genuinely connect to your app.
Keyword Opportunity
A composite score from 0 to 100 that identifies the most promising keywords to target. It is calculated by combining search volume and difficulty — rewarding high-traffic, low-competition terms — with a trend adjustment that boosts rising keywords and penalises declining ones. A high opportunity score means the keyword has strong search demand, manageable competition, and favourable momentum.
Competitor Ranks
The app store search-result positions that each analysed competitor holds for a given keyword. A rank of 1 means the competitor is the top result; a value of null means the competitor does not appear in the top results. Reviewing competitor ranks helps you gauge how crowded a keyword is and whether higher-ranked competitors will be difficult to displace.