How to Craft Your App Store Titles Globally

App Store title is a vital component of your app’s exposure. Both iTunes App Store and Google Play Store weight title in a critical way (comparing to the descriptions and keywords) when it comes to the search results and rankings. It is tricky because there is a character limit for the title. Also, there is a review process your need to go through on iTunes App Store. It can be even more complicated if you need to deal with titles in different languages.

Character Limits

Let’s start with some facts:

• iTunes App Store: at most 255 characters for the title, with the review process.
• Google Play Store: at most 30 characters for the title.

Please note that even iTunes App Store allows a longer title, it is not as long as you thought. The reviewers only accept the titles that sound natural. It is almost impossible to fill in 255-character space and sound natural at the same time. Keyword spamming comes with the risk of being rejected by Apple. It is not worth to try.

The realistic character limit of the title on iTunes App Store is actually about 100 to 150 characters.

Types of Titles

Technically, there are 5 possible types of title. I will use an imaginary photo app InstagramKiller as the example.

1. Simple: InstagramKiller
2. Right-to-the-point: I am Instagram, bitch
3. Keyword-spamming: InstagramKiller — Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Airbnb, Uber, Hello, World, Big Data
4. I-am-your-competitor: InstagramKiller — The Best Alternative to Instagram
5. Features: InstagramKiller — Awesome Photo Editing App with Cool Filters

#1 Simple: InstagramKiller

Many apps that don’t care about the keyword optimization adopt this title style. Usually, they grow much faster in other ways that their names are already some high-traffic keywords. You can check out Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Uber.

But most of the apps are not one of them. Your app may drop some potential audience because of applying this simple style.

P.S. The Editor Team of Google Play only accepts the Simple title. If you want to be blessed featured on Google Play Store, this is the only way.

#2 Right-to-the-point: I am Instagram, bitch

This title only works if the reviewer is out of his/her mind. Let me know if Apple approves your app with a similar title.

#3 Keyword-spamming

This title should be technically the best-performing one with a lot of high traffic keywords. But the reviewers from Apple will 99.999999% reject your submission because this does not sound natural to the users.

They hate people (try to) mess up with their system, including FBI.

#4 I-am-your-competitor

InstagramKiller — The Best Alternative to Instagram

Apple would probably approve this kind of title (Disclaimer, not 100% guaranteed) because it sounds natural. However, there’re almost no relevant keywords in it. Only 1 competitor name with some general words (best, alternative).

Not recommended.

#5 Features

InstagramKiller — Awesome Photo Editing App with Cool Filters

This title is the best among the options after Apple updated the search algorithm in Nov 2015. Title weights significantly more than Keywords. So it makes more sense to put relevant keywords in the Title (without being rejected).

You can even make it better without being rejected: InstagramKiller — Awesome Photo Editing App with Cool Filters to Share on Instagram

This structure would be like this:

[Name] — [Adjective] [Feature] app [Conjunction / Connective Words] [Adjective] [Feature] [Conjunction / Connective Words] [Competitor / Target audience / Benefits]

Examples:

• iTunes App Store (61 characters): CallTaxi — Easy Car Calling App with Carpool Better Than Taxi
• Google Play Store (27 characters): CallTaxi — Easy Car Calling

Instead of asking the translators to “translate” the app title directly and sound weird after for other languages, you can provide the structure above to the translators so they can come up with a “localized” title with keywords inside. That performs much better than a directly translated title.

After Nov 2015, Apple automatically ranks your app in the search results of some brand names. But you never know which one they are going to rank you and which one aren’t. Just keep trying to save the spaces in 100-character limit for other keywords.

ASO is a process to track and improve. Sometimes your app just cannot rank anywhere in high traffic keywords like Instagram. Forget about it and try another one.