A keyword’s Apple Ads popularity, its search demand signal and your listing’s search traffic describe different things. Read each with its country and period; none of them is an exact number of searches.
Does the App Store publish keyword search volume?
No. App Store Connect shows your own app's impressions, product page views and downloads, broken down by source such as App Store search, but it does not show how often a term is searched across the store. Google Play Console likewise reports your own listing's traffic, not the market's demand for a term.
| Signal | Store | What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Ads popularity | App Store | A relative score for a term in a country and period | An exact count of searches |
| Search demand signal | The store and country observed | Suggestions returned for the typed term at the recorded time | Proof that an omitted term has no demand |
| Your listing analytics | Your own app and report scope | Visitors, impressions or acquisitions as defined by the selected report | All searches for a term across the store |
Read a popularity value
Apple Ads popularity is relative: a 60 is more popular than a 30, but neither is a number of searches. Keep the country and period with every value.
- Period. Compare terms within the same period.
- Scope. Check the country the score belongs to.
- Missing data. A missing score and a low score are different states; neither is an exact search count.
The Apple popularity guide explains the score in more detail.
Google Play keyword search volume
Google Play Console’s store analysis describes traffic and acquisitions for your listing. Read the report’s definition, filters and period before using a figure in a keyword decision. Your listing’s search traffic is a different population from all searches across the store.
Read an estimate with its stated basis
When a tool labels a figure as monthly search volume, check the stated data source, estimation basis, country and period. Providers can use different inputs and definitions. A precise-looking number is not evidence that it is a store-reported count.
NOTE: Compare figures only when their metric and scope match. Keep an estimate, a relative popularity value and a missing observation visibly distinct.
Use separate observations in a keyword decision
- Use suggestions to discover candidate terms in the target storefront, then check whether each term describes your app.
- Read any recorded popularity value with its named field, country and reporting period.
- Review competing apps and keyword difficulty separately. A difficulty estimate is a comparison aid, not a ranking probability.
- After a listing change, compare your own dated ranks and listing analytics in the same scope. Movement alone does not establish the cause.
A dated study of 1,000 selected popular terms in five storefronts recorded Spearman ρ = 0.30 between suggestion count and popularity. Popularity came from the week dated 2026-08-09 and suggestions from 2026-09-14. The study does not turn either measure into search counts or describe every term in the store.
FAQ
Q: How can I see App Store keyword search volume for free?
A: Start with the suggestions visible in the target store and your own listing analytics. If you have access to a popularity report, retain its field name, scale, country and period. These observations describe different scopes; they do not provide an exact keyword search count.
Q: What is the search volume on the Play Store?
A: Read your listing’s visitors and acquisitions in Play Console with the selected report filters and period. These figures concern your listing, not all searches in the store.
Q: Is Apple's search popularity the same as search volume?
A: No. It is a relative score: a higher score means more searches than a lower one, but neither is a number of searches. Read it with its country and period.
Q: Why does each ASO tool show a different search volume?
A: Check each provider’s definition, source, period and estimation basis. Compare only matching scopes. A difference between two figures is not enough to establish which one is more accurate.
Sources
- Apple Ads — Countries and regions —
- Google Play Console Help — Understand and grow your app’s user base — 2026-10-13 · Listing visitors, acquisitions and search-term report scope; checked 2026-10-13.
Originally published on Storelift.
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