Keyword Installs: How Store Search Rankings Really Work
Keyword search installs push App Store and Google Play rankings directly. Volume math, keyword picks and burst schedules.
Why keyword installs rank
Stores rank apps per search term by install velocity from that exact query plus retention. Users finding you by 'photo editor' and keeping the app is the strongest relevance vote there is.
Direct installs inflate counters; keyword installs move positions. For chart climbing, 60% of budget belongs to keyword installs.
Picking the right keywords
Mid-tail wins: 2–4 word phrases with clear intent ('budget tracker offline') beat single giants ('fitness') you cannot afford. Check the current top-5 — if all have 100k+ ratings, go longer-tail.
One keyword per campaign. Mixing queries in one order splits velocity and ranks nothing.
Burst math
Estimate: (competitor daily installs for the term × 3–5 days) to displace one position. Small niches flip with 200–500 installs/day; competitive terms need thousands.
Burst 3–5 days, hold with maintenance volume, never stop to zero — decay erases half the gain within a week.
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