ASO audit checklist: 25 checks using observable store data

A useful ASO audit separates facts, estimates and unknowns. This 25-point checklist covers indexing, competition, conversion and measurement without hiding judgment inside one magic score.

Most ASO audits fail in one of two ways. The first is cosmetic: count characters, notice there are screenshots, award a score. The second is pseudo-scientific: combine estimates for volume, difficulty, conversion and “visibility” into a precise number whose assumptions are impossible to inspect.

A defensible audit is simpler. It records what the store actually shows, uses account-owned analytics where only the developer can know the answer, labels vendor estimates, and leaves genuinely unavailable information unknown. The output is not “your ASO is 83.” It is a prioritized set of changes with a reason and a way to measure each one.

Before the checklist: define the unit

An audit is always for a platform, country and point in time. The same app can have different subtitles, screenshots, prices, ratings and competitors in the United States and Germany. iOS and Google Play index different fields. Mixing them creates an average listing that no customer can actually see.

The 25 checks

1. Indexing and eligibility

Start with what each store can use to understand the app. Apple identifies the title, subtitle, keywords and primary category as search-relevance inputs. Its name and subtitle are limited to 30 characters, while the keyword field accepts up to 100 bytes. Google Play allows a 30-character name, an 80-character short description and a 4,000-character full description, and describes metadata, category and app characteristics as inputs to relevance.

Character usage is not quality by itself. A full field containing repeated or irrelevant words is worse than a shorter field that states the product clearly. Record the actual words, the customer intent they cover and any duplication before recommending that every empty character be filled.

2. Competition and reachability

A keyword is not attractive because a tool colored it green. Search it in the target storefront and inspect the actual results. Are the top apps direct substitutes? How strong are their ratings and review counts? Do smaller apps appear near the top, or is the result owned entirely by entrenched brands?

Difficulty and traffic scores can help sort a research queue, but they remain estimates unless the provider exposes the underlying measurement. The audit should keep observed position, result composition and estimated demand in separate columns.

3. Conversion assets

Search eligibility and conversion are different jobs. Apple notes that ratings and up to three screenshots or previews may appear directly in search results. The first assets therefore need to communicate the product before the customer opens the page. Evaluate the icon and screenshots beside the real competing results, not on an empty design canvas.

When traffic is sufficient, use the stores’ experiment systems. Apple Product Page Optimization can test icons, screenshots and previews against the original page and reports conversion improvement and confidence. Google Play store listing experiments support graphics and localized text tests and recommends changing one asset at a time when you need clearer attribution.

4. Trust, quality and customer language

Ratings and reviews are not decoration. Apple explicitly says they can influence search rank; Google says ratings, reviews, engagement, technical performance and the pre-install experience inform quality and discovery. Read recent reviews for recurring expectations and failures, but do not convert a few memorable complaints into a percentage.

Version freshness and release notes belong here too. A recent release is not automatically better, but a change timeline explains whether a rating shift, screenshot change or keyword move followed a product event worth investigating.

5. Measurement

The developer’s analytics close the loop that public store data cannot. Apple’s acquisition reporting separates search, browse, app referrals and web referrals and provides impressions, product-page views, downloads and conversion rate. Public rank tracking cannot tell you how many impressions a specific organic keyword produced. Do not fill that gap with a made-up number.

What the final audit should contain

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