ASO Checklist for Every App Update

1. Snapshot ranks. Record your rank for every tracked keyword in each important country. This is your "before".
2. Decide what is changing in metadata. Apple describes the subtitle and description as updatable when you submit a new version. Languages and other attributes can be managed only while the app status is editable.
3. Write What's New in every language. It is required for versions after the first, is limited to 4,000 characters and can be localized. New features and product changes must be clearly described; simple bug fixes may use a generic line. Follow what to write in What's New.
4. Check the icon. Changing the icon after publishing needs a new version. If you plan an icon test, the alternate icons must be in the binary; see app icon and conversion.
5. Check for repeated words. A new subtitle or name can repeat a word in the keyword field. Run the cannibalization checker on the final text.
6. Look at custom product pages. A page's screenshots, previews, promotional text and keywords cannot be modified while it is under review; withdraw the submission if you need to edit.
7. Decide whether to reset the rating. Only for a major rebuild, and not by default; read when to reset.

8. Count characters and bytes for every changed field in every language; see the metadata limits tool.
9. Update promotional text whenever the message changes. It does not need a version; see the promotional text playbook.
10. Submit the version. Note the date.

11. Wait for propagation. Apple says up to 24 hours.
12. Snapshot ranks again the day after and again after a week, in the same countries.
13. Watch ratings and reviews. Reply to any review about the issue you fixed; see responding to reviews.
14. Log the change. Date, version, fields changed, reason, before and after ranks.
15. Schedule the next check. One change per release is easier to read than five.

A hypothetical habit tracker, Streakly, releases 2.4 with a widget and a new subtitle in English, German and French. The checklist shows 3 What's New texts to write and 3 subtitles to review, so 6 texts. Streakly snapshots ranks for 20 keywords in 3 countries, 60 numbers, before submitting. After release it takes the same 60 numbers on day 1 and day 7. Only the subtitle changed in metadata, so any rank movement is read against the subtitle and not the widget, which is not searchable.

Product changes that do not touch the listing do not need ASO steps. A bug-fix release can carry a short generic What's New, so the list shrinks to the snapshot, the character check and the log.

If you maintain many languages, do not re-check all of them at every release. Check the primary language fully, then only the languages whose fields changed. Keep a table with one row per language and one column per item in this checklist, and tick a cell only when you have looked at the live text. A language with no ticks for three releases is a candidate for the next review round; the same table doubles as the log for client reports.

Keep the checklist in your release template. LocalASO stores rank history per keyword and country, writes What's New per language with your AI and uploads it as a draft you check in App Store Connect; see the Optimize docs.