Does the App Store Description Affect Search Ranking?

Apple states search results are based on text relevance, meaning matches for the app title, subtitle, keywords and primary category, as well as user behavior such as downloads, ratings and reviews. The primary category and the optional secondary category are indexed. The description is not in that list.

Apple's field reference says the description appears on the product page and when users install the app, and that it is used for web engine search results once the app is released. So it matters for web search, not for the in-store search described above. Apple also notes search results may include app tags generated using large language models from the metadata you provide in App Store Connect; Apple does not say which fields feed them.

A hypothetical habit tracker puts "habit tracker" in the name and "routine" in the keyword field. Repeating both ten times in the description adds nothing Apple documents for store search, and Apple advises against it. The same space is better spent on how the app works, which the 4,000 characters allow.

1. Put your highest-value terms in the name, subtitle and keyword field.
2. Do not repeat words across them.
3. Write the description for people, then test whether your changes move rank with your own tracking.

Choose terms with the keyword research guide and check a finished list with the keyword field checker. The same answer holds for promotional text.