# ASO glossary: thirty terms, one line each

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


Thirty terms you will meet in App Store Optimization, defined in one line each, in the order you meet them. Where a term has a post of its own, the link goes there. Where RankASO uses the term on a screen, the definition is the one the app uses.

![The Today screen in RankASO](https://rankaso.app/assets/device-05.png)

## The listing

- **Name (title).** The app's name on the store; the field the search weighs most. Brand first, then one category phrase.
- **Subtitle.** Thirty characters under the name; weighed next; combines with the name's words. [Which words earn.](/blog/app-store-title-and-subtitle/)
- **Keyword field.** 100 hidden characters per locale, comma-separated, matched in combination with the name and subtitle. [The rules.](/blog/app-store-keyword-field/)
- **Locale.** A language version of the listing; some storefronts read more than one. [What each reads.](/blog/app-store-keyword-localization/)
- **Storefront.** One country's App Store, with its own search results; 175 of them. [Which to track.](/blog/app-store-storefronts-aso/)
- **Metadata.** The name, subtitle, keyword field, description and screenshots together; a metadata update is a version that changes any of them.
- **Ignored word.** A word the store does not index, such as "app" or "free"; it costs characters and earns nothing.
- **Dead keyword.** A field word that earns no rank on any tracked term. [Finding them.](/blog/dead-keywords-app-store/)
- **Coverage.** The set of tracked terms a listing's words can match in combination.

## The search

- **Rank.** Your app's position in the neutral search result for a term in a storefront, read daily. [How to check it.](/blog/how-to-check-app-store-keyword-ranking/)
- **Neutral result.** The storefront's search result for a user with no history; what a tracker reads. [Versus your own phone.](/blog/app-store-personalized-search-results/)
- **Top 10.** The ten apps holding a term today; the evidence difficulty reads. [Reading it.](/blog/app-store-search-results-analysis/)
- **Filtered term.** A term the store returns no results for at all; not a rank of zero.
- **Unranked.** Past position 200 in the result; shown as "›200".
- **Completion.** A phrase the store's search field suggests as you type; the best free source of keywords. [The five sources.](/blog/app-store-keyword-ideas/)
- **Brand, generic, intent term.** The three kinds of search term. [The vocabulary.](/blog/aso-keyword-types/)

## The scores

- **Popularity.** A demand figure per term, 5 to 100; in RankASO either the app's estimate (EST) or Apple's figure (APPLE), always labelled. [The two badges.](/blog/apple-ads-popularity-in-aso-tool/)
- **Difficulty.** How hard the top 10 is to displace, from their ratings, the giants among them and the term's words in their names; Easy, Medium, Hard, Wall. [Reading it.](/blog/aso-keyword-difficulty/)
- **Verdict.** One word per term from popularity, difficulty and your rank: Go for it, Climbable, Long shot, Skip. [Choosing keywords.](/blog/app-store-keyword-research/)
- **Facts sheet.** The inputs and the rule behind any score in RankASO, one tap away.
- **Visibility score.** One number for the share of tracked demand you hold across terms and storefronts. [What it means.](/blog/app-visibility-score/)

## The work

- **Baseline.** The ranks on the day a version is submitted; what the after is compared to.
- **Release impact.** Seven days before a version beside seven days after, per term. [The view.](/blog/app-update-aso-impact/)
- **Seven-day cliff.** The fall of launch ranks to what the listing earns, after about a week. [The shape.](/blog/seven-day-cliff-app-store/)
- **Goal.** A target rank on a term, with its distance shown daily. [Setting one.](/blog/app-store-keyword-goals/)
- **Field report.** Per word of the listing, which tracked terms it earns a rank on.
- **Rule checker.** The checks the store's rules imply, run as you type. [The checklist.](/blog/aso-checklist/)

## The rivals

- **Rival.** A tracked competitor whose rank is read from the same search as yours. [Getting above them.](/blog/outrank-competitors-app-store/)
- **Gap.** A term a rival ranks for where you are absent or far behind. [Finding their keywords.](/blog/find-competitors-app-store-keywords/)
- **Removal watch.** The alert when a tracked rival disappears from the store, with the terms it held. [That week.](/blog/competitor-removed-from-app-store/)

RankASO on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6830350753?ct=blog-en-48&mt=8 (Free to start. No account. Data Not Collected.)

## Questions

### What is a keyword field in ASO?

The 100 hidden characters per locale where you list words, separated by commas, that the store matches in combination with your name and subtitle.

### What is keyword difficulty?

A reading of how hard the ten apps holding a term are to displace, from their rating counts, the giants among them and whether the term's words are in their names.

### What is a storefront?

One country's App Store, with its own search results, its own competing apps and its own locale fields. Ranks are per storefront.