This week saw a big shake up in how titles work in the App Store and iOS 10 Apple has introduced a new 50-character guideline for all iOS apps, in a surprise move to coincide with the launch of the new iPhone 7. The change sees Apple move in line with Google’s 30-character limit, which although cleaner and more aesthetic makes optimization a more difficult and shrewd game.
What does this mean?
If you’re an app owner or developer, you will no longer rank for any keywords hitting or exceeding your 50-character allocation, in fact, if your titles are longer than 50-characters your app will not be accepted. Apple will flag any app, already in the App Store, which does not fit in with the new guidelines, and developers will have 30-days to implement the changes.
From when!
Now! We’ve already seen keyword stuffed apps losing ranking so clean up your titles. You must resubmit specifically for the new shortened title, as not only will it limit the damage to your app store optimization effectiveness, but also show to Apple that you’re serious about working with them and being trusted developer for iOS 10.
Why is this happening?
Apple are enacting this to clean up and streamline the App Store they are also using this opportunity to delete hundreds, maybe thousands of dormant and abandoned apps which have cluttered up the App Store for years, we also suspect the move is to make search ads more effective and attractive to users. If your app has been removed from the App Store, it will not affect any user who has previously downloaded it.
What should I do?
Take some time to clean up your title and make sure it still conveys the message you want and has your core terms included. Tweak your keyword string too, to make sure the keywords and long tail phrases that you’ve lost from your title are stilling working for you in ASO.
If in doubt get in contact with us and we can help.