Lazy ASOApp Store ranking factors: what we measured
Updated 14 November 2026
Apple names two groups of factors: text relevance (title, subtitle, keywords, category) and user behavior (downloads, ratings and reviews). We counted 350,712 search results in 87 countries. For new apps the biggest measured factor was where the search sits in the name. Number of screenshots and how recently you updated showed almost no effect.
What Apple says
"Search results are based on a number of factors, including text relevance (matches for your app's title, subtitle, keywords, and primary category), as well as user behavior (downloads, ratings and reviews, and more)." No weights are given.
What we counted
New apps (under six months old) in 350,712 results from Apple's official top-500 searches in 87 countries. 28% of results had a new app in the top 10. Of the new apps in a top 10, 67% had fewer than 10 ratings and 39% had none.
| Factor | What we saw | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Search at the start of the name | Top 10 chance 5–10%, against 2–3% with no search in the name | Big |
| "Brand: search" after a colon | 1–3%, about the same as no search in the name | Cancels the gain |
| Other apps starting with the same search | 0 others: 20–40%; 1 or 2: about 20%; 3 or 4: about 10%; 5 or more: about 3% | Big |
| Number of screenshots | 3 or 4: 12% in the top 3. 9 or more: 8% | Barely |
| How recently you updated | Under 2 weeks to over 4 months: 9.4% to 10.7% in the top 3 | Noise |
| App age, 1 to 6 months | 37% to 42% in the top 10, flat | Flat |
The first rows are for new apps with under 100 ratings, counted down to #200. The last three are for new apps in the top 25. The odds by rivals are averages; your real chance depends on the search and on the leader.
Ratings
Ratings count, but less than people think, and the data is tangled. See do ratings affect ranking.
A belief our data contradicts
"Update often and add more screenshots to rank." In our scan, neither moved new apps in a visible way. Spend the time on the name and the first words of your title instead. The research.
Order of work
- Choose a search with real demand and few apps named with it.
- Put it at the start of the name.
- Fill subtitle and keyword field with other searches.
- Then screenshots and ratings, which sell the tap, not the match.
Lazy ASO measures steps 1 and 2 for you. Start with the free name check.