Seasonal Keyword Calendar
A seasonal keyword calendar maps the recurring windows when specific App Store categories see predictable demand spikes, so metadata updates can be timed ahead of the peak rather than during or after it.
Reporting on App Store seasonality points to several recurring windows: late December through mid-January is the single biggest install period for fitness, habit-tracking, and finance apps, driven by New Year resolutions and new devices received as gifts. Mid-August through mid-September is the equivalent peak for education apps, as students and parents search for study tools ahead of the school year.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday in late November drive a spike for shopping, deal-finder, and retail apps specifically. Summer months bring a secondary, smaller peak for fitness apps around outdoor activity and 'summer body' search terms, well below the January peak but still meaningful for that category.
The timing rule that applies across all of these: submit metadata changes two to three weeks ahead of the expected peak, accounting for app review and keyword indexing time, rather than reacting once the season has already started.
Frequently asked questions
- What if my app category doesn't fit an obvious seasonal pattern?
- Check your own popularity scores for core keywords over time rather than assuming no seasonality exists. Many categories have a smaller, less-publicized pattern tied to their own audience's calendar even if it isn't one of the well-known ones.
- Should I revert seasonal keyword changes after the peak passes?
- Usually yes, if the seasonal term has little relevance the rest of the year, since it's occupying character space that could serve an evergreen term instead during the off-season.
Related terms
- Keyword SeasonalityKeyword seasonality describes the predictable rise and fall of search demand for certain App Store keywords based on time of year, events, or cyclical patterns.
- Keyword Indexing TimeKeyword indexing time is the delay between submitting a metadata update and Apple's search index reflecting the new title, subtitle, or keyword field.
- Promotional TextPromotional text is a 170-character field shown on the App Store product page that can be updated at any time without a new app submission, but it is not indexed for search.
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Put this into practice
Score App Store keywords by popularity and difficulty across 109 storefronts — the numbers behind seasonal keyword calendar.
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