Can I Change My App Store Keywords, Title, or Subtitle Without Submitting a New Version?

Why is only Promotional Text editable when my app is Ready for Distribution?

Unlike Google Play—where you can edit your store title and description on any afternoon and submit text-only changes without uploading a new `.aab` binary—Apple ties your indexed search metadata (`name`, `subtitle`, `keywords`) and `description` to a versioned binary review:

Which `appStoreState` values let you edit Title, Subtitle, and Keywords?

In Searchbop’s App Store Connect state inspector ([`packages/core/src/aso/connect.ts`](file:///Users/tarik/Desktop/TengrX-SEO/packages/core/src/aso/connect.ts#L7-L8)), a version is recognized as editable if and only if its state matches one of these five values:

export const EDITABLE_STATES = new Set([
  "PREPARE_FOR_SUBMISSION",
  "DEVELOPER_REJECTED",
  "REJECTED",
  "METADATA_REJECTED",
  "INVALID_BINARY",
]);

const LIVE_STATES = new Set([
  "READY_FOR_SALE",
  "READY_FOR_DISTRIBUTION",
  "PROCESSING_FOR_DISTRIBUTION",
]);

Opening a new draft version manually vs. automatically in Searchbop

If your current version (say, `1.3.0`) is `READY_FOR_SALE` and you want to prepare your next keyword and listing update:

1. In the App Store Connect web UI: Click the blue (+) button next to iOS App in the left sidebar and enter the next version number (`1.3.1`). The Keywords, Title, Subtitle, Description, and What’s New fields immediately unlock for editing under `1.3.1 Prepare for Submission`.
2. Automatically via Searchbop: When you click Push to App Store Connect in Searchbop and no editable draft version exists, Searchbop’s [`nextVersion()`](file:///Users/tarik/Desktop/TengrX-SEO/packages/core/src/aso/connect.ts#L79-L85) function automatically increments your live version (`1.3.0` → `1.3.1`), calls `POST /v1/appStoreVersions` to create the draft, and populates all six metadata fields (`Title`, `Subtitle`, `Keywords`, `Promotional Text`, `Description`, `What’s New`) in one click. Whenever you finish your next Xcode build, the metadata is already waiting in App Store Connect.

What if my version is currently `WAITING_FOR_REVIEW` or `IN_REVIEW`?

If you already submitted version `1.3.1` to Apple Review and it is sitting in `WAITING_FOR_REVIEW`, `IN_REVIEW`, or `PENDING_DEVELOPER_RELEASE`, Apple blocks creating a newer version (`1.3.2`) and locks the `name`, `subtitle`, and `keywords` fields on `1.3.1`. Searchbop detects this condition as `state.blocking` and displays a clear warning: you must either wait for the review to complete or click Remove from Review inside App Store Connect (which returns the version to `DEVELOPER_REJECTED`, an editable state) before pushing keyword changes.

How often should you update your App Store keywords?

Wait at least 2 to 4 weeks after a version goes live before judging whether a new keyword set worked. Changing your Title, Subtitle, and 100-byte Keyword field every three days resets Apple’s relevance evaluation before your new keywords have time to settle. When you do update, keep keywords that already rank in positions `#1–#15` untouched, and only swap out terms where your app remains unranked (`> #200`) or where `Popularity < 15`.