# ASO — Marketing Skill for AI Agents An ASO audit scores a listing across six weighted dimensions — Title & Subtitle (20%), Description (15%), Visual Assets (25%), Ratings & Reviews (20%), Metadata & Freshness (10%), and Conversion Signals (10%) — for a total out of 100. Scoring adjusts for brand maturity: a household-name app with a brand-only title isn't penalized the way a challenger would be. Platform rules differ sharply: Apple's long description isn't indexed for search (optimize it for conversion) while Google Play's full description is indexed (target 2–3% keyword density naturally). Visual assets carry the most weight — the first 3 screenshots show in search and 90% of users never scroll past them, and an iOS preview video lifts conversion 20–40%. > Maintained by Corey Haines · v2.0.0 · Updated 2026-05-13 Install: `npx skills add coreyhaines31/marketingskills` Source: https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/aso ## What's inside **The playbook covers:** When to Use, Before Auditing, Phase 1 — Identify Store & Fetch, Phase 1.5 — Assess Brand Maturity, Phase 2 — Score Each Dimension, Phase 3 — Competitor Comparison (Optional), Phase 4 — Generate Report, Platform-Specific Rules, Common Issues Checklist, Task-Specific Questions ### Reference library - [Apple App Store — Official Specs & Guidelines](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/aso/references/apple-specs.md) — All data from developer.apple.com as of March 2026. - [ASO Benchmarks & Conversion Data](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/aso/references/benchmarks.md) — Industry data from AppTweak, SplitMetrics, Sensor Tower, and others. Updated March 2026. - [Google Play Store — Official Specs & Guidelines](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/aso/references/google-play-specs.md) — All data from support.google.com and developer.android.com as of March 2026. - [ASO Audit Report Template](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/aso/references/report-template.md) — Use this structure for all ASO audit reports. - [ASO Scoring Criteria](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/blob/main/skills/aso/references/scoring-criteria.md) — Score each dimension 0-10 using the rubrics below. ## Key data - Keywords field is 100 bytes, not 100 characters.** Non-Latin scripts (Arabic, - iOS overall: 25.0% - Google Play overall: 27.3% - 4.0 stars** = minimum for Apple featuring, user trust, conversion viability - 4.5+ stars** = optimal zone. Sweet spot: 4.1-4.9 - 5.0 stars** can look suspicious to users ## Example **Prompt:** Here's our app on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/example/id123456789. Can you audit our listing and tell me what to fix? **Scorecard** Dimension Weight Score Title & Subtitle 20% 6/10 Description 15% 5/10 Visual Assets 25% 4/10 Ratings & Reviews 20% 3/10 Metadata & Freshness 10% 6/10 Conversion Signals 10% 7/10 Weighted total: 47/100 — Grade D **Top quick wins** 1. Rating is 2.8 (below 4.0) — add in-app review prompts, respond to negatives 2. Description not updated in 8 months — refresh to break the >3mo stale signal 3. Only 3 screenshots — add 5-8 with caption text (indexed on Apple since 2025) ## FAQ ### Do screenshots and a preview video really affect app downloads? Yes — Visual Assets is the single heaviest dimension at 25% of the score. The first 3 screenshots appear in search results and 90% of users never scroll past the third, and Apple has indexed screenshot captions for search since June 2025. An iOS preview video autoplays muted and lifts conversion 20–40%. Aim for 5–8 caption-bearing screenshots plus a 15–30s video; fewer than 5 screenshots is always flagged. ### How is App Store optimization different from Google Play? The indexing rules diverge. Apple indexes your title, subtitle, and a hidden 100-byte keyword field, but not the long description — so write that for conversion. Google Play has no hidden keyword field and does index the full 4,000-character description, so target 2–3% keyword density naturally (stuffing is detected and penalized). Google Play also caps screenshots at 8 versus Apple's 10 and requires a 1024x500 feature graphic. ### Should a big-brand app worry about missing keywords in its title? Usually not. Audits classify apps into Dominant, Established, and Challenger tiers. For a Dominant app like Instagram, a brand-only title is valid because users search by brand name, not generic keywords — the brand is the keyword. The guiding question before docking points is "Is this a mistake, or a deliberate choice by a team with data I don't have?" Challenger apps, by contrast, are scored strictly against textbook best practices. ## Related skills - **cro** — For optimizing the conversion of web-based landing pages that drive app installs - **ad-creative** — For creating App Store and Google Play ad creatives - **analytics** — For setting up install attribution and in-app event tracking - **customer-research** — For understanding user needs and language to inform listing copy --- Canonical: https://marketing-skills.com/skills/aso