Agent skill

Keyword Optimizer

by rshankras in rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills

Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability.

MITAuto-check passedMobile

Install Keyword Optimizer

skills CLI
$ npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill keyword-optimizer -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills keyword-optimizer --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/app-store/keyword-optimizer .claude/skills/keyword-optimizer && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
keyword-optimizer
GitHub stars
783
Token cost
~2.4k tokens
SKILL.md length
788 words
Files
4
Skills in repo
41
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability.

  • Works in 3 steps: Keyword Research → Prioritize Keywords → Allocate Keywords
  • Launching a new app
  • SKILL.md covers When This Skill Activates, Reference Files, Information Gathering and Keyword Strategy, plus 8 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Keyword Optimizer is an agent skill from rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills. Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability. Use when launching a new app, improving search rankings, entering new markets/languages, or safely optimizing ASO for an app with existing traffic.

Its SKILL.md is about 2.4k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files (for example `advanced-tactics.md`, `existing-app-strategy.md` and `keyword-criteria.md`).

It sits in Mobile, covering App store release and Transcription. The repository describes itself as: Claude Code skills for Apple platform development (iOS, macOS, iPadOS) — product validation, code generation, App Store optimization, and more. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Launching a new app
  • Improving search rankings
  • Entering new markets/languages
  • Safely optimizing ASO for an app with existing traffic

Example prompts

  • “/keyword-optimizer”

Requirements

  • Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, WebSearch

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Keyword Research
  2. Prioritize Keywords
  3. Allocate Keywords

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 9ffb831. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

    • Read
    • Write
    • Edit
    • Glob
    • Grep
    • AskUserQuestion
    • WebSearch

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Keyword Optimizer loads about 2.4k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 62 tokens; SKILL.md has 788 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~62
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2.4k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills at commit 9ffb831, republished under its MIT licence (© rshankras). 788 words, ~2,377 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/keyword-optimizer/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 3 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
keyword-optimizer
description
Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability. Use when launching a new app, improving search rankings, entering new markets/languages, or safely optimizing ASO for an app with existing traffic.
allowed-tools
Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, WebSearch
last_verified
2026-07-16
review_by
2027-06-22

Keyword Optimizer

Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability.

When This Skill Activates

  • User is launching a new app
  • User wants to improve search rankings
  • User asks about ASO (App Store Optimization)
  • User is entering new markets/languages
  • User wants to analyze keyword opportunities
  • User needs safe optimization for existing apps

Reference Files

Before optimizing, load these reference materials:

FilePurpose
keyword-criteria.mdPopularity/Difficulty sweet spots, opportunity scoring
advanced-tactics.mdCross-localization, screenshot indexing, velocity boost
existing-app-strategy.mdSafe optimization for apps with existing traffic

Information Gathering

Before optimizing, ask about:

  1. App Identity

    • What does the app do in one sentence?
    • What category is it in?
    • What's the current app name (if exists)?
  2. Target Keywords

    • What would users search to find this app?
    • What problem words would they use?
    • Any branded terms to include?
  3. Competition

    • Main competitors?
    • What keywords do they target?
    • Where can you realistically compete?
  4. Goals

    • Brand awareness vs. category traffic?
    • Specific markets to prioritize?

Keyword Strategy

Where Keywords Count
FieldLimitWeightNotes
App Name30 charsHighestMost valuable real estate
Subtitle30 charsHighVisible in search, below name
Keywords100 charsMediumNot visible to users
Description4000 charsLow**Apple says indexed, debated
Keyword Types
  1. Branded - Your app name, company name
  2. Category - Generic terms (e.g., "todo app", "weather")
  3. Feature - Specific functionality (e.g., "offline maps")
  4. Problem - User pain points (e.g., "forget tasks")
  5. Long-tail - Specific phrases (e.g., "minimalist habit tracker")

Optimization Process

Step 1: Keyword Research

Generate Initial List:

1. Brainstorm 50+ keywords
2. What would YOU search for this app?
3. Check competitor names/subtitles
4. Use autocomplete suggestions
5. Consider misspellings users make

Research Tools:

  • App Store Search Autocomplete
  • AppFollow, Sensor Tower, AppTweak (paid)
  • Google Keyword Planner (related terms)
  • Competitor subtitle/keyword analysis
Step 2: Prioritize Keywords

Rate each keyword on:

FactorQuestion
RelevanceDoes it accurately describe your app?
VolumeDo people actually search this?
DifficultyCan you realistically rank?
IntentWill searchers want your app?

Priority Matrix:

High Volume + Low Difficulty = 🎯 Target First
High Volume + High Difficulty = 💪 Long-term Goal
Low Volume + Low Difficulty = ✅ Easy Wins
Low Volume + High Difficulty = ❌ Skip
Step 3: Allocate Keywords

App Name (30 characters):

[Brand Name] - [Top Keyword Phrase]
or
[Brand Name]: [Value Proposition]

Examples:
"Notion - Notes & Docs"
"Calm: Sleep & Meditation"
"Fantastical - Calendar & Tasks"

Subtitle (30 characters):

[Second Priority Keywords] / [Unique Value]

Examples:
"Focus Timer & Daily Planner"
"Simple Habit Building"
"Weather Radar & Forecasts"

Keywords Field (100 characters):

Rules:
- Comma-separated, NO spaces after commas
- No plurals (Apple handles it)
- No duplicates from name/subtitle
- No category name (already indexed)
- Single words perform better than phrases

Example:
"timer,pomodoro,focus,concentration,study,productivity,work,session,break,technique"

Character Optimization

Maximize 100 Characters

Bad (wastes characters):

task manager, todo list, productivity app, reminder app, checklist

Good (efficient):

task,todo,productivity,reminder,checklist,planner,organize,gtd,schedule,daily

Savings:

  • Remove spaces after commas
  • Don't repeat words in different forms
  • Skip obvious words (app, free, best)
Word Combinations

Apple combines words from all fields:

Name: "Focus Timer"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Technique"
Keywords: "study,productivity,work,session"

Searchable combinations:
- "focus timer"
- "pomodoro timer"
- "focus productivity"
- "study timer"
- "work focus"
(and more...)

Cross-Field Deduplication

Apple indexes words from all three fields for the same locale — a word only needs to appear once. If a word appears in Title, don't repeat it in Subtitle or Keywords; if it appears in Subtitle, don't repeat it in Keywords.

Before & After Example
❌ BEFORE (duplicated words waste ~38 characters):
Title:    "Focus Timer - Stay Productive"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Timer & Focus Sessions"
Keywords: "timer,focus,pomodoro,productive,study,work,session,break"

✅ AFTER (zero duplication, 5 new keywords gained):
Title:    "Focus Timer - Stay Productive"
Subtitle: "Pomodoro Technique & Deep Work"
Keywords: "study,concentration,interval,tomato,distraction,block,exam,revision,flowstate,desk"
Quick Dedup Check
CheckRule
Title word in Subtitle or Keywords?Remove from the lower field
Subtitle word in Keywords?Remove from Keywords
Plural/singular variant across fields?Keep only in highest field
Stop words (a, the, and, for)?Don't include anywhere — auto-indexed
Show full SKILL.md (343 more words)Show less

Common Mistakes

❌ Don't Do This:

  • Using spaces after commas in keywords
  • Duplicating words across fields
  • Including your category name
  • Using competitor brand names
  • Adding "app" or "application"
  • Including "free" (filterable separately)
  • Using special characters or emoji
  • Repeating singular/plural forms

✅ Do This:

  • Research before guessing
  • Prioritize relevance over volume
  • Update keywords quarterly
  • Track ranking changes
  • Localize keywords per market

Keyword Template

APP NAME STRATEGY
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Current: [existing name or blank]
Proposed: [Brand] - [Keywords]
Characters: [X/30]
Primary keywords: [list]

SUBTITLE STRATEGY
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Current: [existing subtitle or blank]
Proposed: [keyword-rich subtitle]
Characters: [X/30]
Secondary keywords: [list]

KEYWORDS FIELD (100 chars)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Proposed: keyword1,keyword2,keyword3,...
Characters: [X/100]

EXPECTED COMBINATIONS
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
• [combination 1]
• [combination 2]
• [combination 3]
...

Localization Strategy

Priority Markets by Revenue
  1. 🇺🇸 United States (English)
  2. 🇨🇳 China (Simplified Chinese)
  3. 🇯🇵 Japan (Japanese)
  4. 🇬🇧 UK (British English - can differ!)
  5. 🇩🇪 Germany (German)
  6. 🇫🇷 France (French)
  7. 🇰🇷 South Korea (Korean)
  8. 🇪🇸 Spain (Spanish)
  9. 🇮🇹 Italy (Italian)
  10. 🇧🇷 Brazil (Portuguese)
Localization Tips
  • Don't just translate—research local search terms
  • Some markets search in English even for local apps
  • Character limits may be tighter in some languages
  • Hire native speakers to verify keywords make sense
  • Consider cultural differences in app usage

Tracking & Iteration

What to Track
  • Keyword rankings (use ASO tools)
  • Impressions (App Store Connect)
  • Conversion rate
  • Download sources
When to Update
  • Weekly: Check ranking changes
  • Monthly: Assess underperforming keywords
  • Quarterly: Major keyword refresh
  • Seasonally: Add seasonal keywords
A/B Testing

App Store Connect allows testing:

  • App icons
  • Screenshots
  • App previews

Use Product Page Optimization to test different approaches.

Quick Reference

Prohibited Terms
  • "Free" (use pricing filter instead)
  • "#1" or "best" without verification
  • Competitor names
  • "App" or "application"
  • Pricing information
Always Include
  • Core functionality words
  • Problem/solution words
  • Category-relevant terms
  • Action verbs users would search
Character Limits
App Name:      30 characters
Subtitle:      30 characters
Keywords:     100 characters
Description: 4000 characters (low SEO value)

Indie Developer Strategy

For building apps that generate $200-2,000/month:

The Sweet Spot Formula
Target keywords where:
- Popularity > 20 (enough traffic)
- Difficulty < 60 (beatable competition)

Ideal: Popularity 25-50, Difficulty < 45
Process
  1. Find underserved keywords using ASO tools (Astro, AppTweak)
  2. Build simple, single-feature apps around those keywords
  3. Double down on winners, abandon losers
  4. Portfolio effect compounds (30 apps × $500 = $15k/month)

See keyword-criteria.md for detailed scoring and evaluation.

Advanced Tactics Summary

Cross-Localization (Double Keywords)

Add Spanish (Mexico) locale with English keywords for US market. See advanced-tactics.md for all locales.

Screenshot Text Indexing (June 2025)

Apple OCR reads screenshot captions for keyword ranking. Put keywords in top/bottom of screenshots.

Existing App Optimization

Never change what's working. Use phased rollout. See existing-app-strategy.md for safe optimization.

© rshankras, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 3 other files in skills/app-store/keyword-optimizer of rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • advanced-tactics.md
  • existing-app-strategy.md
  • keyword-criteria.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 9ffb831

Compare with similar skills

Keyword Optimizer next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Keyword Optimizer compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Keyword Optimizer this skillrshankras/claude-code-apple-skills783—~2.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Asc Localize MetadataCamilleScholtz/swmpc2395 repos~2.8kAutomated safety check: PassEUPL-1.2
Krankie Auditn0an/VivaDicta131—~1.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Android Readme Screenshot Studiopermissionlesstech/bitchat-android7.8k—~3kAutomated safety check: PassGPL-3.0
App Store Optimizationdpearson2699/swift-ios-skills1.2k—~4.3kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Metadata Optimizationappeeky/aso-skills2.2k—~1.5kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

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Questions about Keyword Optimizer

What does Keyword Optimizer do?

Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability. Keyword Optimizer is an agent skill from rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills. Optimize app title, subtitle, and keywords for maximum App Store discoverability.

When should I use Keyword Optimizer?

Keyword Optimizer fits situations like: launching a new app; improving search rankings; entering new markets/languages; safely optimizing ASO for an app with existing traffic.

How do I install Keyword Optimizer in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill keyword-optimizer -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/app-store/keyword-optimizer in rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills) into .claude/skills/keyword-optimizer in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Keyword Optimizer in Codex?

Run `npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill keyword-optimizer -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/app-store/keyword-optimizer in rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills) into .agents/skills/keyword-optimizer in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Keyword Optimizer in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills --skill keyword-optimizer -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/keyword-optimizer, .gemini/skills/keyword-optimizer, .github/skills/keyword-optimizer and .opencode/skills/keyword-optimizer in your project.

What does Keyword Optimizer need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Keyword Optimizer is instructions for the agent only. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, WebSearch.

Does Keyword Optimizer access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Keyword Optimizer safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Keyword Optimizer use?

Keyword Optimizer is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Keyword Optimizer use?

About 2.4k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 9.5k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Keyword Optimizer?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Keyword Optimizer: Asc Localize Metadata (CamilleScholtz/swmpc, 239 stars), Krankie Audit (n0an/VivaDicta, 131 stars), Android Readme Screenshot Studio (permissionlesstech/bitchat-android, 7.8k stars) and App Store Optimization (dpearson2699/swift-ios-skills, 1.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Keyword Optimizer?

rshankras (a GitHub user) maintains it in rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills, which has 783 GitHub stars. The repository holds 41 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 24, 2026.

Source: rshankras/claude-code-apple-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.