Yannick
100-character workflow
Research words, remove waste, then measure
Build a candidate set
Collect problem, feature, audience, and use-case terms.
Deduplicate metadata
Remove words already covered by visible indexed fields.
Review after release
Keep terms that move and replace terms without evidence.
Quick rules
- Apple limits the keyword field to 100 characters.
- Separate terms with commas and skip spaces after commas.
- Do not repeat words already used in the app name, subtitle, or category.
- Avoid competitor names, protected terms, irrelevant words, and keyword stuffing.
- Use localized keyword sets instead of copying one English list everywhere.
What Apple actually indexes
Apple gives you visible fields such as app name and subtitle, plus the private keyword field in App Store Connect. The keyword field is where you add relevant discovery terms that do not fit naturally in the visible copy. Apple's own guidance says not to repeat words from your app name, subtitle, or category, so the field works best as a compact supplement rather than a dumping ground.
A better 100-character workflow
- Start with the app name and subtitle, then remove those words from your keyword list.
- Group remaining terms by intent: problem, feature, audience, category, and use case.
- Pick specific terms you can realistically rank for, not only the biggest head terms.
- Write the final list as comma-separated words with no spaces.
- Track rankings after release and replace terms that never move.
Example structure
For a habit tracker, your visible metadata might already include "habit tracker" and "daily routines." The private keyword field should then cover adjacent discovery terms:
streak,goals,planner,focus,reminder,productivity,journal,checklistCommon mistakes
- Repeating the same word in singular and plural forms without a clear reason.
- Adding category words Apple already knows from your category selection.
- Using competitor brand names because they look attractive in research tools.
- Leaving spaces after commas and wasting characters.
- Changing keywords without tracking rank movement by country.
Allocate characters by search intent
A balanced field covers why someone searches, what the app does, and who it helps. It does not need an equal number of terms in every group, but each word should add a new route into the product rather than restating a route Apple already indexes.
Problem
What the user wants to fix
Capability
What the product lets them do
Audience
Who or which context it serves
Validate before you submit
Count the final characters, scan for accidental spaces and duplicates, and save the previous field beside the new one. That small record makes the next ranking review interpretable instead of turning every release into a fresh guess.
