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Keyword difficulty checker
Keyword difficulty is a 0–100 score for how hard it is to rank an app for a search term in the App Store or Google Play. This checker shows the AppGazers difficulty and popularity scores and the ranking apps we have stored for a keyword, store and country, with the date of the snapshot.
What each keyword score means
| Score | What it measures | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulty (0–100) | How strong the top ranking apps are: rating volume, star ratings, how many titles target the term, brand dominance and installs | Not a promise of a ranking position |
| Popularity (0–100) | Demand inferred from store autocomplete and how many results the store returns | Not a count of searches |
| Ranking apps | Which apps held the top positions on the snapshot date | Positions move daily |
How to use keyword difficulty
Look for terms where popularity is meaningful and difficulty is lower than for the head term. A long-tail phrase that real users type, with weaker apps at the top, is usually a better first target than a crowded one-word term.
Check the ranking apps before deciding. If the top results are household brands with very large rating counts, a new app will struggle there however the score reads.
Why a keyword may not be tracked yet
AppGazers stores a keyword after someone researches it or the collector refreshes it. This public checker never runs a live store search, so an unseen term shows “not yet tracked”. Signing in lets you research it live; the scores are then stored for everyone.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good keyword difficulty score?
There is no universal threshold. Compare candidate keywords against each other in the same store and country: a lower difficulty with meaningful popularity is the better first target, especially for a new app with few ratings.
Is keyword popularity the same as search volume?
No. Popularity is a 0–100 AppGazers heuristic inferred from store autocomplete and the number of search results. Apple and Google do not publish search counts for most terms, and the score is not one.
Why does the same keyword score differently by country?
Each country is a separate storefront with its own autocomplete and its own ranking apps, so the inputs to the score differ.
Why does the checker say a keyword is not yet tracked?
The public checker reads stored keyword snapshots only and never searches the stores live. Sign in to research the keyword live in the AppGazers keyword explorer.
Is the keyword difficulty checker free?
Yes. The checker is free without signing in. The full keyword explorer, with live lookups, related terms and easier-keyword suggestions, is free during beta after Google sign-in.
Official sources
- Apple: App Store search — Apple’s guidance on how App Store search uses app metadata.
- Google Play store listings — Google’s first-party store-listing guidance.
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