# Keyword goals: how to set a rank target you can hit

Sam · Published November 4, 2026 · Canonical: https://rankaso.app/blog/app-store-keyword-goals/


A keyword goal that works is a target rank on a term where the distance is one listing change, not a wish on a term held by giants. The right goals are the terms where you rank 11 to 50, the top 10 has a weak slot or two, and the term's words can fit in the subtitle or the field. Set three of them, give each a date one version out, and watch the distance close on the Today screen. Here is how to pick them, what the distance costs, and how to read the result.

![The Today screen in RankASO with keyword goals and the distance to each](https://rankaso.app/assets/device-05.png)

## Pick terms by distance, not by desire

Everyone wants the top spot on the biggest term. Goals are set where they can be hit. Sort tracked terms by current rank and read the band from 11 to 50. Within it, the ones with a verdict of Go for it or Climbable, meaning real demand and a top 10 with weak slots, are the candidates. For our own app [Escape](https://escapethegrip.com/) the first goals were "site blocker" at 17 and "quit corn" at 11: both on the first screen's doorstep, both with a top 10 we could enter.

## What the distance costs

- **From 11 to 20 into the top 10:** usually one word. The term's words into the subtitle, or the missing second word into the keyword field. One version.
- **From 21 to 50 into the top 20:** one word plus conversion. The listing change gets you the impressions; the page has to convert them into installs for the rank to hold. One or two versions.
- **From past 50 into the top 20:** rarely one change. Those are Long shots; track them for information, do not set goals on them.

A goal on a term where the top 10 is a wall is not a goal; it is a long shot wearing a date.

## Set it, and the alert does the watching

In RankASO a goal is a target rank on a term, per storefront. The Today screen shows the distance to each goal every morning; the alert fires when a term enters the top 10 or makes a big move, so a goal reached does not wait for you to look. Three goals at a time is the right number: enough to matter, few enough that each gets a word in the next version.

## The version that serves the goal

One change per version, aimed at one goal at a time if the goals compete for characters. Baseline on submit, nothing else changed for two weeks, then the before-and-after. A goal met is a word that stays. A goal missed by a few places is a second word next version. A goal that did not move at all means the word was not the constraint, and the term goes back to the list while a different goal takes its place.

## When to retire a goal

When it is met and held for a month: the term is now a position to defend, not a goal. When a rival change turns the top 10 into a wall: the verdict will say Long shot, and the characters are better spent elsewhere. When two versions have not moved it: the listing is not what is holding it back.

RankASO on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6830350753?ct=blog-en-31&mt=8 (Free to start. No account. Data Not Collected.)

## Questions

### What is a realistic App Store keyword goal?

Top 10 on a term where you rank 11 to 20 and the top 10 has weak slots, or top 20 from 21 to 50. One listing change per goal, one version to see it.

### How many keyword goals should I set?

Three. Each needs a word in the next version, and a version has room for one or two changes if you want to know what worked.

### How long does it take to reach a keyword goal?

One version for a move from the teens into the top 10, if the word goes into the subtitle or field and the page converts. Judge at two weeks after release.