Keyword Gap Analysis: Find the Searches Competitors Win That You Don't

List 50 to 100 phrases from your research and from the competitors' visible text; see finding competitor keywords. Add phrases where you know competitors rank. You cannot read their keyword field, so the list is built from observation, not copied.

For one country, search each phrase and record the rank for your app and two or three competitors. Use "not in top 50" for apps you cannot find.

The numbers are hypothetical.

1. Missing (they rank, you do not). Check whether the phrase is relevant to your app. If yes, add it to your name, subtitle or keyword field. Apple states an app is searchable by those fields (Apple: App Store search), so a missing phrase often just is not in your text.
2. Behind (you rank below them). Compare text and strength. If the competitor has the phrase in the name or subtitle and you have it in the keyword field, move it up. If they have far more ratings, text alone may not close it. Apple names user behavior, including ratings and reviews, as a search factor.
3. Ahead. Protect it. Do not edit the words that hold it without a reason.
4. Shared, all low. A weak top 10 across the board is an opening; check difficulty.

• The phrase is not relevant to you (a different audience).
• The phrase is a competitor's brand or name; you cannot use it. Apple's rules do not allow competing app names in the keyword list; see competitor names in keywords.
• The competitor ranks because of ratings or age, and the phrase is hard for you; see choosing keywords you can rank for.

Pick the three to five gaps with the best relevance and a beatable top 10. Change one field at a time, log the date and track the result; see tracking keyword rankings. Repeat monthly because competitors edit their text.

Ranks differ per country, and a gap in the US may not exist elsewhere. Rankings and any volume numbers are from public search results and are estimates. See the keyword gap glossary entry.

Run the full comparison once, then every month check only the rows that were gaps or quick wins. Competitors rewrite their listings, new apps enter, and your own changes move rows between groups. A short monthly review keeps the table current without repeating the whole research.

Add competitors beside your app and LocalASO shows, per keyword, which apps rank ahead of yours with their review counts. In an AI tool connected to the MCP server, competitors_get returns the apps ahead of yours (with ratingCount) and board_get returns your ranks. See the keyword research docs and the MCP docs.