Stop Words to Remove from App Store Keywords
Stop wasting characters on words Apple already filters out automatically
What Are App Store Stop Words?
Stop words are common prepositions, articles, and category terms that Apple's search engine treats as noise or provides automatically.
Including stop words in your 100-character keyword field wastes valuable capacity without increasing your keyword combinations.
Examples of stop words: 'the', 'a', 'an', 'and', 'or', 'of', 'in', 'on', 'at', 'to', 'for', 'with', 'by', 'app', 'iphone', 'ipad', 'free'.
What to Put in Your Keyword Field Instead
Replace stop words with high-intent nouns and verbs: 'tracker', 'planner', 'editor', 'maker', 'generator'.
Include singular root forms: Apple automatically matches common plurals, so targeting 'habit' also indexes 'habits' in English.
Add high-relevance secondary feature words that combine with your Title root words.
How ASOGrade solves this
- Audit your existing keyword list in ASOGrade to spot low-value stop words.
- Replace dead characters with high-popularity search queries discovered in your category.
- Submit optimized metadata and track improved keyword coverage.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I include the word 'app' or 'free' in my keywords?
- Never. Apple already indexes 'app' for all applications and provides filters for 'free' pricing. Putting them in your keyword field is a complete waste of characters.
- Does Apple combine words across commas?
- Yes. If your title has 'workout' and your keyword field has 'planner,routine', Apple combines them into 'workout planner' and 'workout routine'.
Other ASO solutions
- How to Find High-Value App Store Keyword Ideas | ASOGradeTurning raw ideas, competitor terms, and review language into a scored candidate listLearn more
- Finding Winnable App Store KeywordsTargeting high demand with low difficulty — the only quadrant worth your charactersLearn more
- How to Uncover What Keywords Competitors Rank For | ASOGradeReverse-engineer any App Store URL and extract scored keyword sets in secondsLearn more
- International ASO Across 109 StorefrontsEvaluate keyword demand and difficulty per country before paying for translationsLearn more
- Fast App Store Keyword Research in Seconds, Not Hours | ASOGradeScore 100 keywords in a single batch with instant cached resultsLearn more
- Affordable App Store Keyword ResearchThe research pass on its own — no bloated dashboards, no $300/mo agency feesLearn more
- Optimize App Store Character Limits (30/30/100) | ASOGradeMaximizing the 160 characters Apple actually indexes for organic keyword rankingLearn more
- Recover from App Store Keyword Ranking Drops | ASOGradeStep-by-step diagnostic to identify why your ranks fell and how to regain positionLearn more
- Singular vs Plural App Store Keywords | ASOGradeWhen does Apple stem keywords and when do you need both variants?Learn more
- The Zero-Repeat Keyword Strategy | ASOGradeWhy repeating words across your Title, Subtitle, and Keyword field harms your rankLearn more
- Rank in the Japan App Store (ASO Guide) | ASOGradeLeveraging Kanji, Katakana, and secondary English indexing in the world's #3 mobile marketLearn more
- Double US App Store Keywords via Mexican Spanish | ASOGradeTake advantage of Apple's cross-indexing rules to gain 160 bonus characters in the USLearn more
Ready to solve this for your app?
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