aso

SKILL.md

ASO Audit

Analyze App Store and Google Play listings against ASO best practices. Fetches
live listing data, scores metadata, visuals, and ratings, then produces a
prioritized action plan.

When to Use

User shares an App Store or Google Play URL

User asks to audit or optimize an app listing

User wants to compare their app against competitors

User asks about app store ranking, visibility, or download conversion

Before Auditing

Check for product marketing context first:
If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Phase 1 — Identify Store & Fetch
Detect store type from URL

Apple:  apps.apple.com/{country}/app/{name}/id{digits}
Google: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id={package}

If the user gives an app name instead of a URL, search the web for:
site:apps.apple.com "{app name}" or site:play.google.com "{app name}"

Fetch the listing

Use WebFetch to retrieve the listing page. Extract every available field:

Apple App Store fields:

App name (title) — 30 char limit

Subtitle — 30 char limit

Description (long) — not indexed for search, but matters for conversion

Promotional text — 170 chars, updatable without new release

Category (primary + secondary)

Screenshots (count, order, caption text)

Preview video (presence, duration)

Rating (average + count)

Recent reviews (visible ones)

Price / in-app purchases

Developer name

Last updated date

Version history notes

Age rating

Size

Languages / localizations listed

In-app events (if any visible)

Google Play fields:

App name (title) — 30 char limit

Short description — 80 char limit

Full description — 4,000 char limit, IS indexed for search

Category + tags

Feature graphic (presence)

Screenshots (count, order)

Preview video (presence)

Rating (average + count)

Recent reviews (visible ones)

Price / in-app purchases

Developer name

Last updated date

What's new text

Downloads range

Content rating

Data safety section

Languages listed

If WebFetch returns incomplete data (stores render client-side), note gaps and
work with what's available. Ask the user to paste missing fields if critical.

Visual asset assessment

WebFetch cannot extract screenshot images or caption text. Take a screenshot
of the listing page to get visual data:

Navigate to the listing URL and capture a full-page screenshot

Assess the screenshot for: icon quality, screenshot count, caption text,
messaging quality, preview video presence, feature graphic (Google Play)

If browser tools are unavailable, ask the user to share a screenshot of the
listing page

Promotional text (Apple): This 170-char field appears above the description
but is often indistinguishable from it in scraped HTML. If you cannot confirm
its presence, note this and recommend the user check App Store Connect.

Phase 1.5 — Assess Brand Maturity

Before scoring, classify the app into one of three tiers. This determines how
you interpret "textbook ASO" deviations — a deliberate brand choice by a
household name is not the same as a missed opportunity by an unknown app.

Tier definitions

Tier
Signals
Examples

Dominant
Household name, 1M+ ratings, top-10 in category, near-universal brand recognition. Users search by brand name, not generic keywords.
Instagram, Uber, Spotify, WhatsApp, Netflix

Established
Well-known in their category, 100K+ ratings, strong organic installs, recognized brand but not universally known.
Strava, Notion, Duolingo, Cash App, Calm

Challenger
Building awareness, <100K ratings, needs discovery through keywords and ASO tactics. Most apps fall here.
Your app, most indie/startup apps

How tier affects scoring

Dominant apps get adjusted scoring in these areas:

Title: Brand-only or brand-first titles are valid (score 8+ if brand is the keyword). These apps don't need generic keyword discovery.

Description: Score purely on conversion quality, not keyword presence. If the app is a household name, a well-crafted brand description beats a keyword-stuffed one.

Visual Assets: Lifestyle/brand photography instead of UI demos is a legitimate conversion strategy. No video is acceptable if the product is hard to demo in 30s or brand awareness is near-universal.

What's New: Generic release notes at weekly+ cadence are acceptable (score 8+). At scale, detailed changelogs have minimal ROI and risk backlash.

In-app events: Missing events for utility apps with massive install bases (Uber, WhatsApp) is not a penalty. These apps don't need discovery help.

Localization: Score relative to actual market, not absolute count. A US-only fintech with 2 languages (English + Spanish) is appropriately localized.

Established apps get partial adjustment:

Brand-first titles are fine but should still include 1-2 keywords

Strategic description choices get benefit of the doubt

Other dimensions scored normally

Challenger apps are scored strictly against textbook ASO best practices — every character, screenshot, and keyword matters.

Key principle: Before docking points, ask: "Is this a mistake or a deliberate
choice by a team that has data I don't?" If the app has 1M+ ratings and a
dedicated ASO team, assume their choices are data-informed unless clearly wrong.

Phase 2 — Score Each Dimension

Score each dimension 0-10 using the criteria in references/scoring-criteria.md.
Apply the brand maturity tier adjustments from Phase 1.5.

Reference files for platform specs and benchmarks:

references/apple-specs.md — Official Apple character limits, screenshot/video specs, CPP/PPO rules, rejection triggers

references/google-play-specs.md — Official Google Play limits, screenshot specs, Android Vitals thresholds, policies

references/benchmarks.md — Conversion data, rating impact, video lift, screenshot behavior, CPP/event benchmarks

Dimensions and Weights

#
Dimension
Weight
What It Covers

1
Title & Subtitle
20%
Character usage, keyword presence, clarity, brand + keyword balance

2
Description
15%
First 3 lines, keyword density (Google), CTA, structure, promotional text

3
Visual Assets
25%
Screenshot count/quality/messaging, video, icon, feature graphic

4
Ratings & Reviews
20%
Average rating, volume, recency, developer responses

5
Metadata & Freshness
10%
Category choice, update recency, localization count, data safety

6
Conversion Signals
10%
Price positioning, IAP transparency, social proof, download range

Final score = weighted sum, out of 100.

Score interpretation

Score
Grade
Meaning

85-100
A
Well-optimized; focus on A/B testing and iteration

70-84
B
Good foundation; clear opportunities to improve

50-69
C
Significant gaps; prioritized fixes will have high impact

30-49
D
Major optimization needed across multiple dimensions

0-29
F
Listing needs a complete overhaul

Phase 3 — Competitor Comparison (Optional)

If the user provides competitor URLs or asks for comparison:

Fetch 2-3 top competitors in the same category

Run the same scoring on each

Build a comparison table highlighting where the user's app is weaker/stronger

Identify keyword gaps — terms competitors rank for that the user's app doesn't target

If no competitors are specified, suggest the user provide 2-3 or offer to search
for top apps in their category.

Phase 4 — Generate Report

Use the template in references/report-template.md to structure the output.

The report must include:

Score card — table with all 6 dimensions, scores, and grade

Top 3 quick wins — changes that take <1 hour and have highest impact

Detailed findings — per-dimension breakdown with specific issues and fixes

Keyword suggestions — based on title/description analysis and competitor gaps

Visual asset recommendations — specific screenshot/video improvements

Priority action plan — ordered list of changes by impact vs effort

Report rules

Every recommendation must be specific and actionable ("Change subtitle from X to Y" not "Improve subtitle")

Include character counts for all text recommendations

Flag platform-specific differences (Apple vs Google) when relevant

Note what CANNOT be assessed without paid tools (search volume, exact rankings)

When suggesting keyword changes, explain WHY each keyword matters

Platform-Specific Rules

Apple App Store — Key Facts

Title (30 chars) + Subtitle (30 chars) + Keyword field (100 bytes, hidden) = indexed text

Keywords field is bytes not chars — Arabic/CJK use 2-3 bytes per char

Long description is NOT indexed for search — optimize for conversion only

Promotional text (170 chars) does NOT affect search (Apple confirmed)

Never repeat words across title/subtitle/keyword field (Apple indexes each word once)

Keyword field: commas, no spaces ("photo,editor,filter" not "photo, editor, filter")

Screenshots: up to 10 per device. First 3 visible in search — 90% never scroll past 3rd

Screenshot captions indexed since June 2025 (AI extraction)

In-app events: max 10 published at once, max 31 days each. Indexed and appear in search

Custom Product Pages (up to 70) in organic search since July 2025. +5.9% avg conversion lift

App preview video: up to 3, 15-30s each. Autoplays muted — +20-40% conversion lift

SKStoreReviewController: max 3 prompts per 365 days

Apple has human editorial curation — quality and design matter more

See references/apple-specs.md for full specs, dimensions, and rejection triggers

Google Play — Key Facts

Title (30 chars) + Short description (80 chars) + Full description (4,000 chars) = indexed text

Full description IS indexed — target 2-3% keyword density naturally

No hidden keyword field — all keywords must be in visible text

Google NLP/semantic understanding — keyword stuffing detected and penalized

Prohibited in title: emojis, ALL CAPS, "best"/"#1"/"free", CTAs (enforced since 2021)

Screenshots: min 2, max 8 per device (not 10 like Apple)

Feature graphic (1024x500, exact) required for featured placements

Video does NOT autoplay — only ~6% of users tap play (low ROI vs iOS)

Android Vitals directly affect ranking: crash >1.09% or ANR >0.47% = reduced visibility

Promotional Content: submit 14 days early for featuring. Apps see 2x explore acquisitions

Custom Store Listings: up to 50 (can target churned users, specific countries, ad campaigns)

Store Listing Experiments: test up to 3 variants, run 7+ days, 1 experiment at a time

See references/google-play-specs.md for full specs and policy details

What Apple Indexes vs What Google Indexes

Field
Apple Indexed?
Google Indexed?

Title
Yes
Yes (strongest signal)

Subtitle / Short desc
Yes
Yes

Keyword field
Yes (hidden)
Does not exist

Long description
No
Yes (heavily)

Screenshot captions
Yes (since 2025)
No

In-app events
Yes
N/A (LiveOps instead)

Developer name
No
Partial

IAP names
Yes
Yes

Common Issues Checklist

Flag these if found. Items marked (tier-dependent) should be evaluated against
the app's brand maturity tier — they may be deliberate choices for Dominant apps.

Always flag (all tiers):

 Rating below 4.0

 Last update > 3 months ago

 Google Play description has no keyword strategy (under 1% density)

 Google Play missing feature graphic

 Apple keyword field likely has repeated words (inferred from title+subtitle)

 Category mismatch — app would face less competition in a different category

 Fewer than 5 screenshots

Flag for Challenger/Established only (not mistakes for Dominant apps):

 Title wastes characters on brand name only (no keywords) (Dominant: brand IS the keyword)

 Subtitle/short description duplicates title keywords

 Description first 3 lines are generic (Dominant: may be brand-voice choice)

 No preview video (Dominant: may be rational if product is hard to demo)

 Screenshots are just UI dumps with no messaging/captions (Dominant: lifestyle/brand shots may convert better)

 Only 1-2 localizations (score relative to actual market, not absolute count)

 No in-app events or promotional content (Dominant utility apps may not need discovery help)

Flag for all tiers but note context:

 No developer responses to negative reviews (note volume — responding at 10M+ reviews is a different challenge than at 1K)

 Generic "What's New" text (acceptable at weekly+ release cadence for Established/Dominant)

Task-Specific Questions

What is the App Store or Google Play URL?

Is this your app or a competitor's?

What category does the app compete in?

Do you have competitor URLs to compare against?

Are you focused on search visibility, conversion rate, or both?

Do you have access to App Store Connect or Google Play Console data?

Related Skills

cro: For optimizing the conversion of web-based landing pages that drive app installs

ad-creative: For creating App Store and Google Play ad creatives

analytics: For setting up install attribution and in-app event tracking

customer-research: For understanding user needs and language to inform listing copy