How to Do an ASO Audit: A 12-Point Review With Scoring

Checks 1 to 9 can be read from the listing. Checks 10 to 12 need data.

• Name and subtitle. Count characters; both limits are 30.
• Keyword field. The limit is 100 bytes, not characters, so count bytes in non-Latin languages. Apple advises not repeating words from the name, subtitle or category.
• Wasted bytes. Apple advises avoiding plurals of words already included, generic terms and filler. Use the keyword field checker.
• Categories. Both are indexed by search; see choosing categories.
• Localizations. If no localization matches a user's language, the next most relevant one is used, so a missing language falls back instead of showing blank. A new language also starts with the primary language's screenshots and properties, except description and keywords. Look for languages still showing the original screenshots.
• Screenshots. The first one to three appear in search when no preview is available; see screenshots that convert.
• Description. Apple says the first sentence is the one users read without tapping; see writing a description.
• Ratings. Apple says ratings influence search, and the summary rating is per territory.
• Rank. Dead keywords are those where you do not rank and demand is low; track them per country.

1. Export your live listing for every localization.
2. Score the 12 checks per language. Give 1 point per pass.
3. Total the score and list the fails.
4. Rank the fails: fix checks that touch the main language first, then repeated or wasted bytes, then screenshots.
5. Make one set of changes per release and log it; see the update checklist.
6. Re-audit after the changes have propagated; Apple says up to 24 hours.

A hypothetical habit tracker, Streakly, audits its English listing and scores 6 of 12. Fails: the keyword field uses 71 bytes (check 3), the word "habit" repeats between subtitle and keywords (4), "app" and a plural are in the field (5), the secondary category is empty (6) and German and French still show the English screenshots (8). Tracking is missing (12). Fix order: remove the repeat and filler, which frees bytes at no cost; fill the field to 100 bytes; add the category; then translate captions; then start the weekly rank snapshot.

An audit finds problems with the listing. It cannot tell you which keywords your market uses, which needs research, and it cannot prove a fix works, which needs before and after data.

Run the audit per language and keep the scores in a table. LocalASO lists dead, hard and quick-win keywords per country and can compare listing variants; see the Optimize docs and the suggestions docs.