Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty is a 0–100 score estimating how hard it is to break into the top-ranking positions for a given App Store keyword, based on the strength of apps currently holding those positions.
Unlike popularity, which measures demand, difficulty measures supply — specifically, how established and well-rated the apps currently ranking for a keyword are. A keyword with difficulty 80 is held by apps with large rating counts, long histories, and likely significant organic installs driving their ranking weight. A keyword with difficulty 30 may be served by apps that are newer, smaller, or only loosely relevant.
Difficulty is read from the live ranking set: the apps currently occupying the top positions for each keyword in each storefront. This matters because chart position alone doesn't tell you how entrenched those apps are — a chart-topper that launched last week is much less entrenched than one that has held the position for two years.
The target zone for most apps is keywords with popularity above 30 and difficulty below 60. This is the intersection that has real search volume but doesn't require beating back deeply established apps. These windows close as more apps compete for them, which is why acting on a good keyword quickly matters.
Difficulty varies significantly by storefront for the same keyword. US difficulty for 'budget planner' might be 65; in the UK, it might be 50; in Brazil, it might be 30. This variation is why running keyword research per storefront reveals opportunities that a single-market view hides.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a safe keyword difficulty level?
- Below 50 is generally accessible for most apps. Below 35 is the range where even newer or smaller apps can realistically reach the top positions. Above 70 typically means the ranking set is dominated by established players — ranking here requires time, installs, and strong metadata alignment, not just a good keyword field.
- Does high difficulty mean I should never target a keyword?
- Not necessarily. If a high-difficulty keyword perfectly describes your app and users can't find it without that term, you need to be in the metadata even if you won't rank top-3 immediately. High-difficulty terms in the title still contribute to relevance signals. The goal is to also include winnable terms alongside the aspirational ones.
- How often does keyword difficulty change?
- Difficulty changes when the apps holding the top positions change — either a new app breaks in, or an existing top app loses ranking weight. In stable categories, difficulty can be consistent for months. In fast-moving ones, it shifts week to week. Daily-refreshed scores, like ASOGrade uses, give you the current read rather than a month-old snapshot.
Related terms
- Keyword PopularityKeyword popularity is a 0–100 score measuring how often users search for a given term in the App Store, derived from Apple Search Ads demand signals.
- Competing Apps CountThe competing apps count is the number of apps that appear in search results for a given keyword in a specific storefront — a proxy for how saturated that keyword's search results are.
- Niche KeywordsNiche keywords are terms specific enough to describe a well-defined subset of App Store users — they have moderate-to-low popularity scores but often dramatically lower difficulty than the broad category terms.
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Put this into practice
Score App Store keywords by popularity and difficulty across 109 storefronts — the numbers behind keyword difficulty.
Start keyword research