1- Introduction
Android and iOS are the most popular Mobile Operating Systems in the world, and they have App Stores where users can find your app and download it. However, to successfully launch your app to each App Store, you need to understand the requirements of each. There are similarities but also differences that you should know to tailor and optimize the App Page.
2- Metadata Requirements Summary
Very straightforward, these are the differences by items that I summarized:
| Android (Google Play) | iOS (Appstore) | |
|---|---|---|
| App Title (Character Limit) | 30 | 30 |
| Short Description/Subtitle (Character Limit) | 80 | 30 |
| Keyword Field | Not available | 100 |
| Long Description (Character Limit) | 4000 | 4000 |
| Long Description (Highest Keyword Density)** | 3% | Not applicable |
| Screenshots (Max Quantity) | 8 Screenshots | 10 Screenshots |
| Screenshots (Ratio) | 9:16 | 9:16 |
| App Promo Video (Best Length) | 29 seconds | 15-30 seconds |
| App Promo Video (Ratio) | 16:9 | 16:9 |
** Remark: The Highest Keyword Density means only the density of ONE INDIVIDUAL MAIN KEYWORD.
For example, if you aim to target 30 different keywords in your Long Description and the most important keyword is “invest” (or what we call Main Keyword)
Let’s give the maximum density of 3% to the Main Keyword (invest) and gradually lower the density for the other 29 keywords.
Invest – 3% Forex – 2.1% Gold – 1.7% Stock – 0.9% etc…
We have to explain this theory to avoid you stuff keywords and getting restricted by Google Play Store
3- Special Notes (Must Read)
Before moving forwards, you should know that 2 stores (Appstore & Google Play) consider different factors in the metadata to rank your app page.
Please refer to this table to see what factors matter to each.
| Android (Google Play) | iOS (Appstore) | |
|---|---|---|
| App Title | YES | YES |
| Short Description/Subtitle | YES | YES |
| Keyword Field | Not Available | YES*** |
| Long Description (Character Limit) | YES | NO** |
Did you see the difference?
** The Long Description is essential for your app to be ranked higher on Google Play (Android), but it doesn’t matter on Appstore (iOS). Thus, don’t hesitate to copy and paste the Long Description from Google Play to Appstore to minimize your effort
*** Instead, spend some time thinking of what keywords you should put into the Keyword Field in iOS. Please note some tips for your Keyword Field:
- Place the most important keywords
- Separate keywords by comma, don’t repeat keywords)
- Don’t repeat the keywords written in App Title & Subtitle
- Don’t repeat keywords within the Keyword Field itself
Why “Don’t repeat”?
Because Apple’s algorithm is different from Google’s:
- Apple: You write the keyword one time only; the algorithm already understands your topic
- Google: You have to repeat a keyword multiple times, then the algorithm understands your topic
4- Reading Source
Besides the most important points mentioned above, you can read these three articles to strengthen your knowledge:
Note: Some data in Apptweak’s articles are outdated, such as App Title Character Limit: 50 >> Wrong! It’s changed to 30 since 2021.
(1) Optimize App Page for Google Play Store:
https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-resources/google-play-store-aso-checklist
(2) Optimize App Page for Appstore:
https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-resources/apple-app-store-aso-checklist#screenshots
(3) Differences between Google Play Store & Appstore:
https://www.apptweak.com/en/aso-blog/apple-app-store-vs-google-play-store-3-major-aso-differences
