to get your first 100 app users from the App Store, stop chasing big keywords and win small ones. pick long-tail phrases a new app can actually rank for, make the first three screenshots explain the app, run an in-app event, nominate your launch for featuring, ask for ratings at the right moment, and read your analytics every week.
this is the store only playbook. the full picture, with the other channels that feed the store, is in how to get your first 100 app users.
Why a new app gets almost no search traffic
a new app gets almost no search traffic because it has no ratings, no download history and no reviews, so it loses every broad search to apps with years of all three. that is normal. the way in is phrases so specific that big apps never targeted them, where a small, exact app can rank near the top.
“habit tracker” is a lost cause on day one. “habit tracker for nurses on night shift” might not be. fewer people search it, but the ones who do want exactly what you built, and they convert.
Pick a name, subtitle and keywords you can actually rank for
pick words by asking one question: can a brand new app reach the top five for this phrase? search each candidate on your own phone. if every top result has thousands of ratings, skip it. if the top results are loosely related or small, that phrase is your opening. the best one goes in your name.
a two hour process, free:
- collect 20 phrases. read competitor reviews and Reddit threads for the words users use to describe the problem.
- search each one in the App Store. note the top five apps and roughly how many ratings they have.
- keep the gaps. phrases where the top results are weak, off topic or few.
- place them by weight. name first (“Brand: phrase”), then subtitle, then the keywords field.
- change one field per update, so you know what moved.
| too broad for a new app | long-tail a new app can win (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| budget app | budget app for couples |
| study app | flashcards for nursing exams |
| meditation | sleep sounds for babies |
| workout | home workout for over 50s |
the character limits and field rules for both stores are in the app store optimization checklist. do not repeat words across name, subtitle and keywords; Apple’s search guidance says to skip words already in your name or subtitle.
Screenshots that explain the app in 3 frames
your first three screenshots have one job: tell a stranger what the app does and why they should care, without them reading your description. Apple shows those frames in search results when there is no preview video, so for a new app with no ratings, they carry almost the whole decision. one idea per frame, big captions.
a simple structure:
frame 1, the promise: “plan meals for the week in 5 minutes”
frame 2, the core action: the main screen, caption “tell it what’s in your fridge”
frame 3, the result: the finished plan, caption “a shopping list, done”
when i worked on ZuAI’s growth from 10K to 2M users, raw phone-shot UGC beat polished studio ads. the lesson i carry into store pages: plain words users actually say beat a clever tagline. sizes, layouts and caption rules are in App Store screenshots.
Run an in-app event, even as a new app
an in-app event is a timed moment inside your app, like a challenge or a new content drop, with its own card on the App Store. event cards can show in search results and on your product page, giving a tiny app one more way to be seen. you set it up in App Store Connect, separately from app updates.
the rules from Apple’s in-app events page:
- events can run up to 31 days and be promoted up to 14 days before they start
- up to 10 events can be published at once
- event name up to 30 characters, short description up to 50
- good fits: challenges, competitions, premieres, major updates
- poor fits: daily tasks, price promotions, general awareness campaigns
for a new app, a “7 day challenge” built on your core feature is usually the easiest honest event. it takes an afternoon to set up if the feature already exists.
Nominate your launch for featuring
a featuring nomination tells Apple’s editors about your launch or update through App Store Connect. it is free, takes about 30 minutes, and there is no guarantee. go to Apps, pick your app, then Featuring, then Nominations, and choose App Launch, App Enhancements or New Content. submit weeks ahead, not the night before.
Apple’s nomination help page recommends at least three weeks of lead time, and its getting featured page says up to three months ahead gives wider consideration. you can attach up to five supporting links, such as a TestFlight build. a description template:
[app] helps [who] do [what] without [pain]. it launches on [date] in [countries]. what’s new or different: [one specific thing]. built by [you, one line of honest story]. accessibility: [what you support].
Ask for ratings with the official prompt at the right moment
ask for ratings with Apple’s built in review prompt, right after a user succeeds at something, never on first open and never behind a button. the system shows it at most three times a year per user, so each ask matters. on Android, use Google’s In-App Review API. never pay or reward anyone for a rating.
Apple’s requesting reviews guide says to ask at natural pauses and not in response to a tap. good moments by app type:
| app type | ask after |
|---|---|
| habit or fitness | the third completed day |
| study | a finished quiz with a good score |
| productivity | the first task marked done |
| AI tools | the first result the user saves or shares |
for Google Play, follow the In-App Review API guide.
Google Play basics for a new app
Google Play has no keywords field, so your title and short description do the search work, written for people, not stuffed. the bigger surprise for new founders: personal developer accounts created after 13 november 2023 must run a closed test before they can publish. plan that time into your launch.
Google’s testing requirements page says you need at least 12 testers opted in continuously for the last 14 days before you can apply for production. those 12 testers are also your first real feedback. ask them what confused them, then fix the store listing before launch.
How to read App Store Connect analytics for a new app
for a new app, read three numbers in App Store Connect: impressions, product page views and conversion rate, split by source type. impressions tell you if your keywords work. page views tell you if your icon and first screenshot earn a tap. conversion tells you if the page earns the download.
Apple’s metric definitions note that App Store metrics need at least five first time downloads, and usage data only covers users who agreed to share it. so early numbers are small and patchy. read the trend weekly, not daily.
| what you see | likely problem | fix this week |
|---|---|---|
| few impressions from App Store Search | keywords too broad | swap in longer, more specific phrases |
| impressions, few page views | icon or first frame | rewrite screenshot 1 as a plain promise |
| page views, few downloads | frames 2 and 3, no ratings | clarify the core action, start the review prompt |
| downloads, nobody returns | the product, not the store | fix onboarding before more traffic |
A four week plan to your first 100 store users
a four week plan keeps this from sprawling: keywords and screenshots in week one, the event and nomination in week two, the review prompt in week three, then read the data and change one thing in week four. none of it costs money. it costs roughly one focused day a week.
| week | do | time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | research 20 phrases, update name, subtitle, keywords, rebuild 3 frames | 1 day |
| 2 | set up a 7 day challenge event, submit a featuring nomination | half a day |
| 3 | ship the review prompt after a success moment | half a day |
| 4 | read source type data, change one field, repeat | 2 hours |
the store rarely gets a brand new app to 100 users on its own. it compounds with everything else you do, because every Reddit post, TikTok or launch site visit eventually lands on the same product page.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I get downloads for a new app on the App Store?
target long-tail search phrases the big apps ignore, put them in your name, subtitle and keywords field, and make your first three screenshots explain the app on their own. then run an in-app event, nominate your launch for featuring, and ask happy users for a rating with the official prompt.
How long does it take a new app to get its first downloads from search?
it depends on the phrases you target and how well the page converts, so there is no honest fixed number. what i watch is the trend: impressions from App Store Search should rise within a few weeks of a metadata change. if they stay flat, the keywords are too broad, not too few.
Should a new app buy reviews or ratings to get started?
no. both Apple and Google ban fake or incentivized reviews, and getting caught can cost you the listing. ask real users through the official in-app prompt after a success moment instead. a handful of honest ratings from people who got value is worth more than any number you could buy.