Apple Ads Search Popularity: What the 1 to 5 Score Means

Apple says the indicator helps advertisers learn which keywords in search results campaigns might be most important for promoting their app. It is an advertising tool first. It does not give a search count, and five steps cannot rank two keywords that both score 5.

Third-party ASO tools show finer numbers, usually 0 to 100, and they have to derive them. LocalASO's volume score is a rank-weighted mean of log10(1 + rating count) over the top 10 results, scaled to 0-100, plus up to 5 points for the number of results. That is an estimate from rating counts of ranking apps, not an Apple search count. Each approach answers a slightly different question, and neither is a search total. The search volume guide compares the approaches.

Two hypothetical keywords for a habit tracker: "habit tracker" scores 5 and "streak counter" scores 3 in Apple Ads. You learn the first is searched relatively more. You do not learn how many times more. A 0-100 rating-based estimate would show more spacing between the two, but it is still not a search count; treat both as directional.

1. Use the Apple Ads number to shortlist keywords for bidding.
2. Combine it with difficulty and your rank before putting a term in the 100-byte keyword field.
3. Check the keyword per country; the ranking by country guide explains why storefronts differ.

Build a keyword shortlist with the keyword research guide. If you pull listing data yourself, mind the iTunes Search API rate limit and the review notes limit when you submit.