RankASOA competitor left the App Store: what to do that week
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When a competitor leaves the App Store, pulled by its maker or removed by the store, the searches for what it did do not stop. They go to whichever apps are next on each term, for months. The week it happens is the best week in ASO, and most developers miss it because nobody told them. RankASO's removal watch tells you the day a tracked rival disappears and lists the terms it held, so the week is spent claiming them instead of discovering the gap in a quarterly review. Here is what to do with the list.
Day one: confirm, and read the list
A rival vanishing from one search can be a glitch; vanishing from all of them is a removal. The watch flags it when a tracked rival disappears from every term it held, and the alert lists those terms with the rival's last rank on each. Sort them by the rival's rank: the terms where it sat in the top 3 are the ones where its share of the taps is now unassigned.
In late October one of our own app Escape's rivals left the store. The list showed the terms it had held near the top, and the intent phrases among them went straight into the next keyword field.
Day two: separate brand from intent
The rival's own name will be on the list, with searches that will go on for months. Do not put it in your listing; the store prohibits other apps' names in metadata, and the person typing it wanted that app. Bidding on it in ads is allowed and sometimes pays, in its own small ad group. When it does.
The intent terms are the prize: the generic phrases the rival ranked for that describe the job. Those go into your listing, and you are allowed to want them.
Day three: check the top 10 on each
With the rival gone, each term's top 10 has a hole. Open the term and read who is above you now and whether the slot that opened is reachable. A term where you were at 12 and the rival at 4 is now a term where you are at 11 with one fewer strong app ahead. The verdict will often have moved from Long shot to Climbable overnight; those are the goals for the next version.
The version: claim the open terms
One field change, aimed at the two or three open terms with the best verdicts. Baseline on submit. The store re-indexes within days, and the freed searches land on the new words faster than usual because the demand is already there. Review at two weeks.
What not to do
Do not announce it, copy their name, or mention them in your description. Do not chase every term on the list; most of them were their brand and their quirks. Do not assume the searches will fade; a brand people were used to is typed for a long time, and the intent phrases around it are permanent.
Keep the watch on
Rivals come back, rebrand, or are replaced by a new entrant that takes the open slots before you do. Keep the rival tracked; the watch reports a return as well as a removal, and the daily check shows a new name entering the top 10 the morning it arrives.
Download on theApp StoreFree to start. No account. Data Not Collected.
Questions
What happens to a competitor's keywords when their app is removed?
The searches continue and the ranks go to the next apps on each term. The intent phrases the rival held are open; its brand name keeps being typed but belongs in ads, not in your listing.
How do I know if a competitor was removed from the App Store?
Track them as a rival. RankASO's removal watch alerts you the day a tracked rival disappears from every term it held, with the list of those terms and its last rank on each.
Can I use a removed app's name in my keywords?
No. The store's rules prohibit other apps' names in your metadata whether or not the app is live. Target the intent phrases around the name instead.