Keyword Gap Analysis
A keyword gap analysis identifies terms that competitors rank for but your app does not — surfacing targeting opportunities you haven't yet captured.
A gap analysis starts with a competitor teardown: read the keyword footprint of two or three of your top competitors and compare it to your own current ranking set. Terms they appear for that you don't are your gap candidates.
Not all gaps are worth closing. A competitor might rank for a term because it's in their brand name, or because their app genuinely does something yours doesn't. Gap terms should be filtered by: does your app serve the intent behind this keyword? Is the popularity worth the character slot? Is the difficulty winnable at your current app authority?
The most valuable gaps are terms with solid popularity (30+), moderate difficulty (below 60), and clear relevance to your app's functionality. These are terms your competitors have proven have intent but that you haven't yet claimed.
Frequently asked questions
- What does it mean if I have no keyword gaps compared to competitors?
- Either you've achieved comprehensive coverage of the relevant keyword space (unlikely for most apps), or you're comparing against competitors with very similar scope. Expand the teardown to include indirect competitors or apps in adjacent categories — new terms often come from unexpected sources.
Related terms
- Competitor TeardownA competitor teardown in ASO is the process of identifying which keywords a competing app ranks for — revealing their strategy and surfacing terms you may have missed.
- ASO Keyword ResearchASO keyword research is the systematic process of identifying, scoring, and selecting the App Store keywords most likely to deliver organic installs given your app's current competitive position.
- App Store Search Ranking FactorsApp Store search ranking factors are the signals Apple's algorithm uses to determine which apps appear at the top of results for a given keyword — primarily metadata relevance, user engagement, and app quality indicators.
Browse the glossary
Put this into practice
Score App Store keywords by popularity and difficulty across 109 storefronts — the numbers behind keyword gap analysis.
Start keyword research