Apple doesn't publish a schedule for App Store search rankings. Its search page only says results are based on text relevance (title, subtitle, keywords, primary category) and user behavior such as downloads, ratings and reviews, and that Apple is "constantly evolving how search works" (Apple: App Store search). In practice, ranks can move any day, so for most indie apps a daily check on the keywords that matter and a slower check on the rest is enough.
What you can actually observe
Store data isn't always in sync across countries. In one pull of the public iTunes Search API on Oct 13, 2026, the same app showed different versions in different storefronts:
| App ID | US version | Germany version | Source file |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1438388363 | 2.25.1 | 2.25.2 | search_habit_tracker_us.json / _de.json |
| 6443918070 | 1.18.1 | 1.18.2 | search_habit_tracker_us.json / _de.json |
Rating counts are also per storefront: app 1438388363 showed 147,824 ratings in the US and 23,060 in the UK in the same pull. Two lessons follow. A metadata change may not show up everywhere at the same moment, and a rank in one country tells you nothing about another.
How often should you check?
- After a metadata update: check the keywords you changed every day for a couple of weeks. You want to see when the new words start ranking.
- Steady state, keywords near the top: daily is useful because a drop out of the top results costs real traffic.
- Long-tail keywords far down the list: every few days is plenty. Day-to-day noise there rarely changes a decision.
- Don't react to a single day. Wait for a trend over several checks before rewriting your metadata.
How trackers handle refresh frequency
Checked on each vendor's site on Oct 13, 2026.
| Tool | Refresh cadence as stated by the vendor | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Astro ASO | Not stated on its homepage; it's a Mac app (macOS 14+) | $108/year (tryastro.app) |
| AsoBeast | "daily keyword rankings" | From $10/month or $100/year (asobeast.com/pricing) |
| ASO Pulse | You choose: weekly, monthly or on demand | $0.005 per check (aso-pulse.com) |
| TrackASO | Every tracked keyword is checked every night | $9.99/month or $79.99/year, taxes may apply (trackaso.app) |
Checking ranks by hand
You can search the App Store on a device for each keyword, but results can vary with the storefront and device, and it gets slow past a handful of terms. The iTunes Search API (`https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=...&country=us&entity=software`) is free and returns public results as JSON, but its order isn't guaranteed to match what an iPhone shows, so treat it as a rough check.
FAQ
Does Apple say how often App Store rankings update? No. Apple's search page describes ranking factors but no update schedule (Apple).
How long after a metadata change will my rankings move? Apple doesn't publish a timeline. Track the changed keywords daily after the update goes live and judge on the trend.
Why is my rank different in another country? Each storefront has its own results, and store data such as versions and ratings is kept per storefront, as the table above shows.
Is checking ranks every hour useful? For most indie apps, no. Hourly swings are mostly noise; decisions come from the trend over days.
Why do two rank trackers show different positions? They check at different times, from different setups, and may count results differently. Spot-check a few keywords on a device.
If you'd rather not search each keyword by hand, TrackASO checks your ranks in the cloud on the schedule above, so your Mac can stay off.
See also: how often you should check your rankings.