— ASO, App Store Optimization, Keywords — 1 min read
App Store Optimization (ASO) is crucial for iOS and Android apps, particularly for iOS apps where the keyword list in App Store Connect plays a vital role.
Sometimes, the 100-character limit can pose challenges, especially in certain languages. However, there's a clever trick that can help expand your keywords: utilizing the keyword field for other languages that you aren't currently targeting.
Let's illustrate this with an example:
Suppose you're targeting English (United States) and find the 100-character limit insufficient. You can leverage the cross-indexing of languages provided in the table below. For instance, if you're not already targeting Spanish (Mexico), you can include additional keywords in that localization's keyword field, and they will also be indexed on the United States App Store.
| Code | Country | Primary Language | Cross Indexed Languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFG | Afghanistan | English (U.K.) | |
| AE | United Arab Emirates | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| AG | Antigua and Barbuda | English (U.K.) | |
| AI | Anguilla | English (U.K.) | |
| AL | Albania | English (U.K.) | |
| AM | Armenia | English (U.K.) | |
| AO | Angola | English (U.K.) | |
| AR | Argentina | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| AT | Austria | German | English (U.K.) |
| AU | Australia | English (Australia) | |
| AZ | Azerbaijan | English (U.K.) | |
| BB | Barbados | English (U.K.) | |
| BE | Belgium | English (U.K.) | Dutch, French |
| BIH | Bosnia and Herzegovina | English (U.K.) | Croatian |
| BF | Burkina Faso | English (U.K.) | French |
| BG | Bulgaria | English (U.K.) | |
| BH | Bahrain | English (U.K.) | |
| BJ | Benin | English (U.K.) | French |
| BM | Bermuda | English (U.K.) | |
| BN | Brunei | English (U.K.) | |
| BO | Bolivia | Spanish (Spain) | English (U.K.) |
| BR | Brazil | Portuguese (Brazil) | English (U.K.) |
| BS | Bahamas | English (U.K.) | |
| BT | Bhutan | English (U.K.) | |
| BW | Botswana | English (U.K.) | |
| BY | Belarus | English (U.K.) | |
| BZ | Belize | English (U.K.) | Spanish (Spain) |
| CMR | Cameroon | French | English (U.K.) |
| CA | Canada | English (Canada) | French (Canada) |
| CG | Congo, Republic of the | English (U.K.) | French |
| CH | Switzerland | German | English (U.K.), French, Italian |
| CIV | Cote d’Ivoire | French | English (U.K.) |
| CL | Chile | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| CN | China mainland | Simplified Chinese | English (U.K.) |
| CO | Colombia | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| COD | Congo, Democratic Republic of the | English (U.K.) | French |
| CR | Costa Rica | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| CV | Cape Verde | English (U.K.) | |
| CY | Cyprus | English (U.K.) | Turkish |
| CZ | Czech Republic | English (U.K.) | Czech |
| DE | Germany | German | English (U.K.) |
| DK | Denmark | English (U.K.) | Danish |
| DM | Dominica | English (U.K.) | |
| DO | Dominican Republic | Spanish (Mexico) | French |
| DZ | Algeria | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| EC | Ecuador | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| EE | Estonia | English (U.K.) | |
| EG | Egypt | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| ES | Spain | Spanish (Spain) | Catalan, English (U.K.) |
| FI | Finland | English (U.K.) | Finnish |
| FJ | Fiji | English (U.K.) | |
| FM | Micronesia | English (U.K.) | |
| FR | France | French | English (U.K.) |
| GAB | Gabon | French | English (U.K.) |
| GB | United Kingdom | English (U.K.) | |
| GD | Grenada | English (U.K.) | |
| GEO | Georgia | English (U.K.) | |
| GH | Ghana | English (U.K.) | |
| GM | Gambia | English (U.K.) | |
| GR | Greece | Greek | |
| GT | Guatemala | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| GW | Guinea-Bissau | English (U.K.) | French |
| GY | Guyana | English (U.K.) | |
| HK | Hong Kong | Chinese (Traditional) | English (U.K.) |
| HN | Honduras | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| HR | Croatia | English (U.K.) | Croatian |
| HU | Hungary | English (U.K.) | Hungarian |
| ID | Indonesia | English (U.K.) | Indonesian |
| IE | Ireland | English (U.K.) | |
| IL | Israel | English (U.K.) | Hebrew |
| IN | India | English (U.K.) | Hindi |
| IRQ | Iraq | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| IS | Iceland | English (U.K.) | |
| IT | Italy | Italian | English (U.K.) |
| JM | Jamaica | English (U.K.) | |
| JO | Jordan | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| JP | Japan | Japanese | English (U.S.) |
| KE | Kenya | English (U.K.) | |
| KG | Kyrgyzstan | English (U.K.) | |
| KH | Cambodia | English (U.K.) | French |
| KN | St. Kitts and Nevis | English (U.K.) | |
| KR | Republic of Korea | Korean | English (U.K.) |
| KW | Kuwait | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| KY | Cayman Islands | English (U.K.) | |
| KZ | Kazakhstan | English (U.K.) | |
| LA | Laos | English (U.K.) | French |
| LB | Lebanon | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| LBY | Libya | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| LC | St. Lucia | English (U.K.) | |
| LK | Sri Lanka | English (U.K.) | |
| LR | Liberia | English (U.K.) | |
| LT | Lithuania | English (U.K.) | |
| LU | Luxembourg | English (U.K.) | French, German |
| LV | Latvia | English (U.K.) | |
| MAR | Morocco | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| MD | Moldova | English (U.K.) | |
| MDV | Maldives | English (U.K.) | |
| MG | Madagascar | English (U.K.) | French |
| MK | North Macedonia | English (U.K.) | |
| ML | Mali | English (U.K.) | French |
| MMR | Myanmar | English (U.K.) | |
| MN | Mongolia | English (U.K.) | |
| MNE | Montenegro | English (U.K.) | Croatian |
| MO | Macau | Chinese (Traditional) | English (U.K.) |
| MR | Mauritania | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| MS | Montserrat | English (U.K.) | |
| MT | Malta | English (U.K.) | |
| MU | Mauritius | English (U.K.) | French |
| MW | Malawi | English (U.K.) | |
| MX | Mexico | Spanish (Mexico) | |
| MY | Malaysia | English (U.K.) | |
| MZ | Mozambique | English (U.K.) | |
| NA | Namibia | English (U.K.) | |
| NE | Niger | English (U.K.) | |
| NG | Nigeria | English (U.K.) | |
| NI | Nicaragua | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| NL | Netherlands | Dutch | English (U.K.) |
| NO | Norway | English (U.K.) | Norwegian |
| NP | Nepal | English (U.K.) | |
| NRU | Nauru | English (U.K.) | |
| NZ | New Zealand | English (U.K.) | |
| OM | Oman | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| PA | Panama | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| PE | Peru | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| PG | Papua New Guinea | English (U.K.) | |
| PH | Philippines | English (U.K.) | |
| PK | Pakistan | English (U.K.) | |
| PL | Poland | English (U.K.) | Polish |
| PT | Portugal | Portuguese (Portugal) | English (U.K.) |
| PW | Palau | English (U.K.) | |
| PY | Paraguay | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| QA | Qatar | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| RO | Romania | English (U.K.) | Romanian |
| RU | Russia | Russian | English (U.K.), Ukrainian |
| RWA | Rwanda | English (U.K.) | French |
| SA | Saudi Arabia | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| SB | Solomon Islands | English (U.K.) | |
| SC | Seychelles | English (U.K.) | French |
| SE | Sweden | Swedish | English (U.K.) |
| SG | Singapore | English (U.K.) | Chinese (Simplified) |
| SI | Slovenia | English (U.K.) | |
| SK | Slovakia | English (U.K.) | Slovak |
| SL | Sierra Leone | English (U.K.) | |
| SN | Senegal | English (U.K.) | French |
| SR | Suriname | English (U.K.) | Dutch |
| SRB | Serbia | English (U.K.) | Croatian |
| ST | Sao Tome and Principe | English (U.K.) | |
| SV | El Salvador | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| SZ | Eswatini | English (U.K.) | |
| TC | Turks and Caicos Islands | English (U.K.) | |
| TD | Chad | English (U.K.) | French |
| TH | Thailand | English (U.K.) | Thai |
| TJ | Tajikistan | English (U.K.) | |
| TM | Turkmenistan | English (U.K.) | |
| TN | Tunisia | English (U.K.) | Arabic, French |
| TON | Tonga | English (U.K.) | |
| TR | Turkey | English (U.K.) | Turkish |
| TT | Trinidad and Tobago | English (U.K.) | French |
| TW | Taiwan | Chinese (Traditional) | English (U.K.) |
| TZ | Tanzania | English (U.K.) | |
| UA | Ukraine | English (U.K.) | Russian, Ukrainian |
| UG | Uganda | English (U.K.) | |
| US | United States | English (U.S.) | Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Mexico), Vietnamese |
| UY | Uruguay | English (U.K.) | Spanish (Mexico) |
| UZ | Uzbekistan | English (U.K.) | |
| VC | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | English (U.K.) | |
| VE | Venezuela | Spanish (Mexico) | English (U.K.) |
| VG | British Virgin Islands | English (U.K.) | |
| VN | Vietnam | English (U.K.) | Vietnamese |
| VUT | Vanuatu | English (U.K.) | French |
| XKS | Kosovo | English (U.K.) | |
| YE | Yemen | English (U.K.) | Arabic |
| ZA | South Africa | English (U.K.) | |
| ZMB | Zambia | English (U.K.) | |
| ZW | Zimbabwe | English (U.K.) |
This table, slightly modified from AppFigures.com, provides a comprehensive list of cross-indexed languages. It's worth exploring their site for a variety of useful articles about ASO. Additionally, I noticed in my own experiments that the additional keywords used for Japan were listed as English (U.S.), not English (U.K.), so I've corrected that above(I think it would be the same for Korean but haven't properly checked yet).
The underlying intent here is to ensure that people whose first language differs from the predominant language in their country can still discover apps in the app store when searching in their native language. However, it's worth noting that adding English keywords somewhat circumvents this intent.
While the keywords you use will indeed be indexed on the United States App Store, even when added to the metadata for Spanish (Mexico), there are a couple of caveats: