How to write an app title and subtitle that get found

Your title and the line under it are the most valuable words you will write for your app. The stores weigh them above everything else when they decide which searches to show you for, and they are what a person reads before deciding to tap.

The two stores work differently, so the same text is rarely right for both.

The limits

• App Store: title 30 characters, subtitle 30 characters, and a hidden keyword field of 100 characters that only you see.
• Google Play: title 30 characters, short description 80 characters, full description up to 4,000 characters.

What each store searches

• The App Store searches the title, the subtitle and the keyword field. It does not search the description: that text is for people, not for search.
• Google Play searches the title, the short description and the whole description. There is no hidden keyword field.

Rules that work on both stores

1. 1

   Name first, then what it does

   A title such as “YourName: Habit Tracker” tells the store and the reader what the app is. A title that is only a name gives the store nothing to match unless people already know you.

2. 2

   Use the words people type

   Write down how a user would search, then use those words. “Budget planner” is searched. “Financial wellness companion” is not.

3. 3

   Use the space

   A 12-character title leaves more than half of your strongest field empty. You do not need to fill every character, but aim to use most of them.

4. 4

   Keep it readable

   A title that is a row of keywords gets fewer taps and can be rejected. One clear phrase beats five words separated by commas.

On the App Store: never repeat a word

Apple counts a word once across the title, subtitle and keyword field. If “tracker” is in your title, putting it in the subtitle too adds nothing and costs you seven characters. Use the subtitle for words the title does not have, and the keyword field for words that are in neither.

• In the keyword field, separate words with commas and no spaces.
• Leave out your app’s name and the word “app”: you are matched for them anyway.
• Use single words. The store combines them: “habit” and “tracker” cover “habit tracker”.

On Google Play: say it again in the description

Because Google reads the description, your main words should appear there a few times, in normal sentences. Do not paste lists of keywords: Google’s rules forbid it and the page reads badly. Google also does not allow words such as “best”, “#1” or “free”, or text in capitals for emphasis, in a title.

Common mistakes

• A title that is only the brand name, on an app nobody has heard of yet.
• The same words in the title and the subtitle on the App Store.
• An empty subtitle or short description.
• Describing features (“smart reminders”) when people search for the result (“drink more water”).
• Copying the App Store text to Google Play without rewriting the description for search.

Check yours in a minute

IndieTower’s Store page check reads any app’s public store page and scores it against these rules: how much of each field is used, which words the store can match, repeated words, the description, screenshots and how recently it was updated. It is free and needs no account. The score is our own checklist, not a number from Apple or Google.

With an account you can track the app, score your competitors beside it and see which of your tracked keywords are missing from the listing. How the check works.