App Store Promotional Text (170 Chars), Description & What’s New: What Apple Indexes vs. What Converts

Why Searchbop’s `keywordCoverage()` only checks Title, Subtitle, and Keywords

If you look at [`keywordCoverage()`](file:///Users/tarik/Desktop/TengrX-SEO/packages/core/src/aso/rules.ts#L61-L66) in Searchbop’s core ASO engine, you will see this exact rule:

export function keywordCoverage(
  fields: AsoListingFields,
  terms: string[]
): { covered: string[]; missing: string[] } {
  // Only Title, Subtitle, and Keywords are indexed by Apple for search ranking!
  const indexed = new Set([fields.title, fields.subtitle, fields.keywords].flatMap(wordsOf));
  const covered: string[] = [];
  const missing: string[] = [];
  for (const term of terms) {
    (wordsOf(term).every((w) => indexed.has(w)) ? covered : missing).push(term);
  }
  return { covered, missing };
}

Why doesn’t `keywordCoverage()` include `fields.description` or `fields.promotionalText`? Because counting a keyword as “covered” just because it appeared in paragraph 4 of your Description would give you a false sense of security—and your app would rank Unranked for that term on the App Store.

What the 170-character Promotional Text field is actually for

Promotional Text appears at the very top of your Description on the App Store product page, above the “more” truncation fold. It has one superpower that no other text field in App Store Connect possesses: you can update Promotional Text at any time on a live `READY_FOR_SALE` version without submitting a new app binary or waiting for full App Review.

• What not to do: Do not paste comma-separated keywords or repetitive SEO phrases into Promotional Text—Apple does not index it for search queries.
• What to do instead: State your single strongest value proposition, seasonal event, or trust hook in plain, high-converting human language under 170 characters (for example: “Scan receipts to PDF in one tap, track deductible freelance expenses offline, and export clean CSVs for tax season—no monthly subscription required.”).

How to write an iOS Description for conversion and AI relevance

Even though Apple’s classic keyword search engine does not index the 4,000-character Description for organic search queries, your Description still serves three high-value jobs:

1. Above-the-fold conversion hook: Only the first 2 to 3 lines (~150–220 characters) of your Description are visible before a user has to tap more. Those opening lines must immediately confirm to the searcher that your app solves the exact problem they just searched for.
2. Apple Ads & contextual categorization: Apple’s ad relevance engine and editorial categorization systems read your listing’s text and genre metadata to understand what your app does—and competitor ASO tools also scan public descriptions to map category terms.
3. Web search indexing (`apps.apple.com`): Google Search and Bing index your public `apps.apple.com` web preview page! Including clear feature headings and natural terminology in your 4,000-character Description helps your App Store web URL rank on Google and get cited by AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity).

Why “Bug fixes and performance improvements” wastes a conversion touchpoint

When a user who previously installed your app—or a meticulous buyer checking whether an app is actively maintained—visits your App Store page, the What’s New block is prominently displayed. Note one technical detail enforced in Searchbop’s [`connect.ts`](file:///Users/tarik/Desktop/TengrX-SEO/packages/core/src/aso/connect.ts#L202-L206): on a brand-new `1.0` version that has never been released before (`!state.live`), App Store Connect does not accept a `whatsNew` field (it only exists on updates from a prior live version). Searchbop automatically skips `whatsNew` on initial `1.0` releases and writes it cleanly on every subsequent update (`1.0.1`+).