# ASO checklist before you ship a version

Sam · Published November 4, 2026 · Canonical: https://rankaso.app/blog/aso-checklist/


Before every version that touches the listing, run the same fifteen checks: the rules the store applies to the name, subtitle and keyword field, the handful of things that waste characters, and the two measurements that make the version a test instead of a guess. RankASO's rule checker runs the first ten automatically as you type in Studio; the rest take five minutes. Here is the list, in the order that catches the most.

![The field report and rule checker in RankASO's Studio](https://rankaso.app/assets/device-06.png)

## The keyword field

1. **Under 100 characters, per locale.** The limit is hard; a field over it is truncated silently.
2. **Commas, no spaces.** A space after a comma is a wasted character.
3. **No word that is already in the name or subtitle.** The store indexes those already; the duplicate earns nothing and costs its length.
4. **No plural of a word you have.** The store matches singulars to plurals. One form only.
5. **No word the store ignores.** "app", "apps", "free", "the", "a", "an", "and", "or", "for", "of", "with", "to", "in", "on", "best", "top", "new". Each costs characters for nothing.
6. **No word twice in the field.**
7. **No other app's name.** It is against the guidelines and brings users who wanted that app.
8. **Every word backed by a tracked term,** so the field report can judge it next time.
9. **No word that earned nothing last time.** The field report's dead list. [How to read it.](/blog/dead-keywords-app-store/)
10. **Coverage checked.** The simulator shows which tracked terms the new field covers and which it stops covering. Nothing you rank for in the top 10 should fall off.

## The name and subtitle

11. **Brand, then one category phrase, in the name.** Not a tagline, not a list.
12. **The outcome and a second phrase in the subtitle,** in words that combine with the name. Every word earns a rank somewhere or has a reason to stay. [How to read your own.](/blog/app-store-title-and-subtitle/)

## The product page

13. **The first screenshot's title says what the app does in one sentence,** readable in three seconds. [The seven rules.](/blog/app-store-screenshot-optimization/)

## The measurement

14. **One change this version.** Not the subtitle and the field at once, or you cannot tell what worked.
15. **Baseline recorded on submit day,** review scheduled for two weeks after release. RankASO records the baseline from the daily checks and puts the before-and-after on one screen.

## The one-minute version

If there is time for only three: no ignored words, no duplicates of the name and subtitle, and one change with a baseline. Those three are where most of the characters and most of the learning go.

RankASO on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6830350753?ct=blog-en-37&mt=8 (Free to start. No account. Data Not Collected.)

## Questions

### What should I check before updating App Store keywords?

The field's rules (length, commas, no duplicates of the name, no plurals, no ignored words), that every word is backed by a tracked term, that the coverage simulator shows nothing in the top 10 falling off, and that this is the only change in the version.

### How many characters is the App Store keyword field?

100 per locale, including commas. Spaces count, so leave them out.

### Does the App Store ignore some keywords?

Yes. Common filler such as "app", "free", "best", "the" and "for" is ignored and wastes characters. A rule checker flags them as you type.