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How new iPhone apps get found: App Store search, Google, AI answers, ratings, launch and competitors, from our own ranking data.
SEO · 6 min read
SEO for Apps: The Web Side of Being Found
App Store search is one door. Google, Bing and the AI assistants that read them are another, and they open onto your website. Here is how that door works for a small app.ASO
- ASO · 7 min read
App Name: Keyword First or Brand First?
Brand first or keyword first is one of the oldest naming questions in ASO. Across thousands of ranked apps, the order matters far less than whether the words people type are in the name at all. - ASO · 7 min read
App Store Optimization for iPhone Apps
ASO is the work of being found inside the App Store. Here are the fields Apple reads, a way to pick a keyword a new app can own, and the order to do it in.
GEO
SEO
Ratings
Launch
- Launch · 7 min read
How to Launch an iOS App: The First 30 Days
Most new apps start low and climb slowly. Here is what to have ready before release day, where the first downloads come from, and what the young apps that reached the top had in common. - Launch · 7 min read
Best Ways to Promote Your App in 2026
Ten promotion channels for a small iPhone app, compared on what they cost, how much work they take and how long they keep paying back.
Competitors
- Competitors · 6 min read
How to Find Your App's Real Competitors
Your real competitors are the apps a person weighs against yours for the same job. Here is where to find them, and why the ones that keep turning up matter most. - Competitors · 5 min read
App Directories Worth Your Time
A directory is worth your time when it shows your app next to the apps people compare it with. A bare listing does far less, for search and for AI.
Data
- Data · 7 min read
App Store Data Studies: Method and Reports
Every App Store statistic in these guides comes from one catalogue, counted one way, on a named date. Here is that method, where the data comes from, and every report built on it so far. - Data · 5 min read
How Often Do Top Apps Update?
We measured how long ago every ranked app in every active list shipped its current version. The top of each list is almost always fresh; the bottom has mostly stopped.
All guides
- SEO · 6 min read
SEO for Apps: The Web Side of Being Found
App Store search is one door. Google, Bing and the AI assistants that read them are another, and they open onto your website. Here is how that door works for a small app. - Launch · 7 min read
How to Launch an iOS App: The First 30 Days
Most new apps start low and climb slowly. Here is what to have ready before release day, where the first downloads come from, and what the young apps that reached the top had in common. - Competitors · 6 min read
How to Find Your App's Real Competitors
Your real competitors are the apps a person weighs against yours for the same job. Here is where to find them, and why the ones that keep turning up matter most. - Data · 7 min read
App Store Data Studies: Method and Reports
Every App Store statistic in these guides comes from one catalogue, counted one way, on a named date. Here is that method, where the data comes from, and every report built on it so far. - ASO · 7 min read
App Name: Keyword First or Brand First?
Brand first or keyword first is one of the oldest naming questions in ASO. Across thousands of ranked apps, the order matters far less than whether the words people type are in the name at all. - Data · 5 min read
How Often Do Top Apps Update?
We measured how long ago every ranked app in every active list shipped its current version. The top of each list is almost always fresh; the bottom has mostly stopped. - GEO · 7 min read
Get Your App Recommended by AI
AI assistants name apps from pages their crawlers can read. Here is how each one finds those pages, and the three places a maker should work on, in order. - Launch · 7 min read
Best Ways to Promote Your App in 2026
Ten promotion channels for a small iPhone app, compared on what they cost, how much work they take and how long they keep paying back. - Ratings · 6 min read
How Many App Store Ratings You Need
The star average gets the attention, but the number of ratings behind it is what people and rankings trust. Here is the target, the timing and the rules. - ASO · 7 min read
App Store Optimization for iPhone Apps
ASO is the work of being found inside the App Store. Here are the fields Apple reads, a way to pick a keyword a new app can own, and the order to do it in. - Competitors · 5 min read
App Directories Worth Your Time
A directory is worth your time when it shows your app next to the apps people compare it with. A bare listing does far less, for search and for AI.