Keyword Research for a Niche App: Finding Searches That Exist

Niches have jargon outsiders do not know. Potters say "cone 6", "bisque", "test tile". Apple advises choosing words your audience uses and being specific about features (Apple: product page). Read forum threads, supplier catalogs and the reviews of the two or three closest apps. Search hints also help: Apple says hints appear as soon as someone types (Apple: App Store search), so type "kiln" or "glaze" and note the completions.

Tools often show a volume near zero for niche phrases. Apple does not publish search counts, and LocalASO's volume is an estimate from rating counts of ranking apps (volume and difficulty). For each phrase, search and look at the results:

• Results are the right kind of app and several have real ratings. Demand exists. Keep it.
• Results are mostly unrelated apps. Nobody built for this phrase, or nobody searches it. Check with a neighboring phrase before deciding.
• Results are empty or tiny. You can rank easily, but ranking first for a phrase nobody types brings nothing.

Spend most slots on niche and task terms. Add one or two neighbor terms to catch people who do not yet know the jargon. Apple's trade-off applies: popular terms bring traffic with heavy competition, less common ones bring less traffic with less competition (Apple).

Apple indexes the primary and optional secondary category in search (Apple). Choose the category where niche users browse, and do not spend keyword bytes repeating the category name. See category name in keywords and the primary category glossary entry.

Name: Glaze Log: Pottery Notes (24 characters). Subtitle: Track Kiln Firings & Recipes (28 characters). Keyword field: kiln,cone 6,ceramic,test tile,clay,studio,firing log is 52 bytes, leaving 48 for more terms after you learn what the top 10s look like. Check counts with the keyword field checker.

LocalASO labels a keyword Dead when estimated volume is very low. In a niche that label deserves a manual check: if you rank in the top 10 for a phrase and the people you want use it, an estimate based on rating counts may undercount a small but exact audience. Keep it if the phrase is precise and cheap to hold; drop it if it costs a slot you could give to a term with a proven top 10. The dead keywords guide gives the full test.

Add your niche app and two competitors, then check the same phrases in each country you plan to serve. The board shows rank, estimated volume and difficulty per country. Details in the keyword research docs. For a general starting method, see finding keywords for a new app.