App Store Changes Adds Keywords, Restricts Name Changes, Search May Ignore Description
Apple made some changes today to improve the discoverability of apps and at the same time cut down on modifications made by developers to artificially change the sort order of their apps. Starting today, developers can log into iTunes Connect and put up to 100 characters of keywords for each of their apps. Even though in some places in iTunes Connect it is quoted as 255 characters, the limit is actually only 100 characters. These keywords will reportedly be used to aid in search.
In addition, Apple has made a restriction that the name of the application can no longer be changed between versions of the application. This change was made to keep developers from changing their name repeatedly to capitalize on search terms and alphabetical list position (i.e. AAA Game Name vs. Game Name). If a change of the application name is needed, a new binary will need to be submitted. This allows Apple to review the name when the app is submitted as well. Previously, name changes between versions were not subject to Apple review before they went live.
Keywords, much like the name of the app are not allowed to be changed between application versions. Reportedly for the same reasons, to allow Apple approval of them. Reportedly other application names and copyrighted terms will not be allowed in the keywords. How Apple will police this is unknown, but it will be yet another reason that Apple can reject an app submission.
An unconfirmed source has also told us, after talking with their app store contact at Apple, that the next step to be implemented will be to ignore the app description in search. Purportedly to cut down on so-called black hat SEO optimization that may lead to confusion by consumers due to one app mentioning other apps in it’s description. After this change, a search in the app store will only take into account the app name, keywords, and reviews. At the time of writing, app descriptions are still searchable.
These changes leave developers with less search optimization they can do with their apps, but perhaps cuts down on some misuse of the metadata as well.
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It should be noted, however, that this was not a process without hiccups. I have confirmed with multiple other developers, and from my own experience, that those that entered keywords for their apps on the first few days of being able to do so, disappeared from most user searches, inclusive of the keywords entered by the developer. This resulted for our company in a few day stretch with about a 70% reduction in sales, that we are still attempting to recover from. It seems that things have gone back to normal for now, but it's another lesson in how Apple can make mistakes in the administration of the store, and developers are powerless but to watch their sales tank.
Yeah, the new “feature” was a bit of a rude awakening for me as well. Glad to hear I can fix things with an update.
Thanks for the news. I like the changes Apple have made. Not to change the name of Application will also help new users to determine the new versions of a particular application.
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Is anyone else having trouble with keywords? I knew my app would rely heavily on search discovery. But it doesn't come up when I enter ANY keywords that were submitted with the binary. The only way it comes up in search is if you enter the full app name or my company name. I've got an email in to support, but don't expect much of a response.
Is anyone else still having trouble with keywords? I knew my app would rely heavily on search discovery. But it doesn't come up when I enter ANY keywords that were submitted with the binary. The only way it comes up in search is if you enter the full app name or my company name. I've got an email in to support, but don't expect much of a response.
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