ASO Glossary
ASO vs SEO
ASO and SEO are sister disciplines: ASO optimizes for App Store search ranking and conversion; SEO optimizes for web search engines like Google. They share principles but have different ranking signals, fields, and tools.
What's the difference between ASO and SEO?
ASO (App Store Optimization) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are sister disciplines. Both optimize organic discovery for a specific surface and both depend on understanding the searcher, the ranking signals, and the conversion levers. They diverge sharply in the details: the surfaces are different, the indexed fields are different, the ranking signals are different, and the tools are different.
The short version: ASO targets the App Store; SEO targets web search engines like Google and Bing. The skill set transfers, but the tactics don't copy across one-to-one.
Side-by-side comparison
| Property | ASO (App Store) | SEO (web) |
|---|---|---|
| Surface | Apple App Store, per storefront | Web search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) |
| Indexed metadata | Title (30), subtitle (30), 100-char keyword field | Page title, meta description, headings, body text, structured data |
| Ranking signals | Relevance, app authority, conversion (TTR), ratings, downloads | Page relevance, link authority, on-page quality, user signals (CTR, dwell) |
| Conversion target | Tap-through to product page, then install | Click-through to webpage, then engage/convert |
| Iteration cycle | Per app version (typically days to weeks) | Continuous (rolling crawl) |
| Localization | Per-storefront and per-locale metadata | Per-language pages and hreflang signals |
| Backlinks / off-page | Limited public signal; downloads/ratings dominate | Backlinks are a major ranking signal |
What transfers from SEO to ASO
- Keyword research mindset. Both reward understanding how real users phrase their need.
- Intent matching. The keyword you target should match what the user is trying to do.
- Conversion as a ranking input. Both surfaces reward results that users actually engage with.
- Localization discipline. Per-locale optimization beats one-size-fits-all in both worlds.
What does NOT transfer
- The "more pages = more rank" mindset. SEO rewards content depth at scale; ASO rewards a single tightly-optimized listing.
- Backlink strategy. ASO doesn't have a public backlink graph the way the web does.
- Description-as-indexed-text. The App Store description is not indexed for search; the web equivalent (body copy) is.
- Crawler-style schema thinking. The App Store has its own structured fields; you don't add JSON-LD to your listing.
Where RespectASO fits
RespectASO is a local-first iOS keyword research and metadata workflow for ASO specifically. It uses Apple's public iTunes Search API to score popularity, difficulty, and country opportunity, and it pairs with the keyword field counter, title, and subtitle counters to fit Apple's character budgets. The keyword research hub covers the workflow end to end.
If you're approaching iOS ASO with a strong SEO background, the biggest mental switch is treating the listing — not a content portfolio — as the surface, and using country choice (the Country Opportunity Finder) the way you'd use language targeting on the web.
Related terms
Put This Knowledge Into Practice
Use RespectASO to research keywords and optimize your App Store metadata.