How to index an iOS app for new keywords without an app update

For an app to show up in App Store search for a query, it has to be indexed for that query. The standard way to add keywords is to change the metadata and ship a new version. Below: how long that takes, and how to get the same result without an update.

How keywords reach the App Store the standard way

App Store search works from metadata text. Apple lists what counts: the app name, the subtitle, the keyword field and the primary category, plus user behaviour such as downloads, ratings and reviews.

There is not much room for keywords:

• name: up to 30 characters;
• subtitle: up to 30 characters;
• keyword field: up to 100 characters, terms separated by commas with no spaces.

Changing these fields takes a new app version, and a new version goes through review. Apple says it typically reviews at least 50% of submissions in less than 24 hours and 90% in less than 48 hours. After release, search still needs time to pick up the new words.

Where the standard route gets stuck

• Every change is a release. To test five new keywords you build a version and wait for review.
• Review can reject the build. Gambling and betting apps are checked more strictly and for longer, so every extra trip to review is a risk.
• Brands are off limits. Apple forbids competing app names and other people's trademarks in keywords, and rejects versions for it.
• 100 characters per locale. Covering several countries means filling in and maintaining separate locales.

How to get keywords indexed without an update

We write the keywords directly, with no new version and no review. From the client's side it looks like this:

1. You send a link to the app in the App Store and the keywords, up to 100 characters.
2. You share the cookies of your developer account and a proxy for us to work through.
3. We write the keywords. The work itself takes about 15 minutes.
4. In about 2 hours the keywords show up in search. You open the App Store, type a keyword and find your app.

There is one shared keyword field. It works in all App Store storefronts at once, so locales are not chosen and cannot be.

What to know up front

Indexing gets the app into the results for a keyword. It does not put it in first place: the position depends on installs and conversion for that query. More on this in Indexed but not ranking.

The cookies are needed only while we work. Afterwards you change your Apple Account password and sign out of all devices and websites.

What it costs

The price is per app: one app is $49, five apps are $199, and from twenty apps it is from $29 per app. Payment is in USDT (TRC20). To order, fill in the form with the app link and the keywords.