To track a competitor's App Store keyword rankings, pick 3–5 apps that keep appearing next to yours in search. Then record their positions for your keywords, in each country, on the same schedule as your own ranks. Watch for searches where they're in the top 10 and you aren't. You can do it by hand with an iPhone search, or let a tracker do it. TrackASO lets you follow up to 5 competitors per app, shows their positions next to yours every night, lists the searches where they're in the top 10 and you aren't yet, and logs changes to their name, subtitle, icon and version.
Step 1: Pick competitors from the search results, not from memory
Your real competitors are the apps that share your search results, not the biggest apps in your category. Search your 5 main keywords and note which apps keep appearing. TrackASO also suggests competitors from shared top results and Apple's "You Might Also Like".
Step 2: Check each country separately
A competitor that leads in one country may not lead in another. For "habit tracker" on Oct 13, 2026, one app (id 1438388363) was #1 in all six countries we checked (US, UK, Germany, France, Türkiye, Japan). Another app (id 1547137474) was #3 in five of them but #9 in Japan. Only 4 of the US top 10 were also in Germany's top 10. (Data: iTunes Search API, raw files saved. The Search API's order is close to what an iPhone shows but not guaranteed identical.) See tracking rankings by country.
Step 3: Log their metadata changes next to their rank changes
When a competitor jumps, check what changed first: name, subtitle, icon or a new version. A jump right after a subtitle change tells you which words they're going after.
Step 4: Turn gaps into a short list
A gap is a search where a competitor is in the top 10 and you aren't. Before you chase one, check the top 10's rating counts (keyword difficulty). Only go after gaps where those apps are about your size.
By hand vs with a tracker
By hand works for 3 competitors × 10 keywords × 1 country, once a week. Beyond that, a tracker saves the time. It also keeps history, so you can compare before and after a competitor's update.
Where TrackASO is limited here: up to 5 competitors per app, iOS App Store only, no download or revenue estimates for competitors, and ranks down to #250.
FAQ
How can I track competitor App Store keyword rankings? Pick 3–5 apps that share your search results, record their positions for your keywords in each country on a fixed schedule, and note the searches where they're top 10 and you aren't. A tracker such as TrackASO does this every night for up to 5 competitors per app.
Can I see a competitor's keyword field? No. Apple doesn't publish an app's 100-byte keyword field. You can only see the searches where it ranks, plus its name and subtitle.
How many competitors can I follow in TrackASO? Up to 5 per app, on the Indie plan.
Does TrackASO show competitor downloads? No. TrackASO shows positions and metadata changes, not download or revenue estimates.
Related reading
- Competitor keyword tracking
- Rank tracker
- Cheapest ASO tools for indie iOS developers
- ASO MCP server (ask "where are my competitors ahead of me?")