Ratings (App Store)

Apple states that ratings and reviews can influence how an app ranks in App Store search, and lists downloads, ratings and reviews as examples of the user behavior half of its ranking statement. Search results may also show the app rating next to up to three screenshots or previews, so the rating is part of what a person sees before opening your page and affects conversion rate.

Apple does not publish how much weight ratings carry. Do not trust claims that give an exact figure.

The average (for example 4.6) tells people about quality. The count (for example 12,000 ratings) tells people about scale. ASO tools use the count because it is public and tells how established an app is. LocalASO's volume score uses the log of rating counts of the top 10 results, and its keyword difficulty uses the median and mean log counts and the share of apps with at least 50,000 ratings. Those are estimates and not Apple search counts. See rating count for details.

Two hypothetical habit apps both rank in the top 10 for the same phrase. One has 4.8 stars from 300 ratings; the other has 4.3 stars from 90,000. A new app facing the second has a harder climb on difficulty, but a visitor may trust the first one more at a glance.

• Ask at moments of success, not at launch. Use the system rating prompt.
• Reply to written feedback where possible.
• Know that a ratings reset clears the overview rating and cannot be undone.

Use the keyword research guide to see how top-10 strength changes your keyword choices.

See user behavior signals for how Apple groups them.

Written feedback is covered under reviews, and asking for ratings under the rating prompt.