Apple Asking Developers to Submit Keywords to Facilitate App Store Searching [Updated]
MacRumors has heard that Apple has begun requesting that developers add keywords to their App Store application submissions in order to facilitate improved searching. As detailed in a report from AppleInsider, developers are permitted to enter up to 255 characters' worth of keywords for each application.
Update: Users are reporting that, despite Apple's claims that up to 255 characters are allowed, the actual limit currently appears to be only 100 characters.
"It is important to enter keywords for all applications as soon as possible so your application can continue to be successfully located on the App Store," the update from Apple reads. "Keywords can be updated with the submission of a new binary."
At its quarterly earnings conference call last week, Apple noted that it was working on improvements to App Store categorization in order to combat the "race to the bottom" in pricing that many users have complained is hampering developers' efforts to bring high-quality titles to the App Store at sustainable price points. Improvements to the App Store's search function appears to be a logical first step toward improving users' ability to find relevant applications.Update: Users are reporting that, despite Apple's claims that up to 255 characters are allowed, the actual limit currently appears to be only 100 characters.
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33 months ago
33 months ago
I do love the way Apple just keeps slaughtering your complaints.
Honestly, this is Apple we're talking about. It seems like everyone who visits MacRumors regularly would be a huge fan of Apple and so would be accustomed to knowing that Apple doesn't stand around letting their products falter.
Honestly, this is Apple we're talking about. It seems like everyone who visits MacRumors regularly would be a huge fan of Apple and so would be accustomed to knowing that Apple doesn't stand around letting their products falter.
33 months ago
255 characters? What is this, 1975? Make sure you don't use Unicode for those keywords, it hasn't been invented yet.
33 months ago
seems a good opportunity for a new website that delivers good quality reviews and ratings for iphone apps and weeds out the useless redundant stuff.
is there already such a website?
is there already such a website?
33 months ago
Categorization will definitely help out the search of ALL those apps.....:cool::cool::cool:
33 months ago
255 characters? What is this, 1975? Make sure you don't use Unicode for those keywords, it hasn't been invented yet.
I imagine the 255 characters thing is less a technical constraint than an effort to make sure developers don't just enter every single keyword they can think of. This is an effort to prevent a race to the bottom, and we already know from the internet that one of the ways people race to the bottom and generate more hits is to add excessive number of keywords that barely have anything at all to do with their site (or in this case, app). As long as apple is creating an arbitrary number of characters to limit excessive number of keywords, they might as well choose an arbitrary number that works well with databases.
33 months ago
This is a good step forward. My other big issue with the App store is that it's impossible to find something unless you already know what it is you want, and that's on iTunes. This is magnified 100x on the iPhone.
33 months ago
255 characters? What is this, 1975? Make sure you don't use Unicode for those keywords, it hasn't been invented yet.
I entered 230 characters worth of keywords and I got:
Keywords cannot be longer than 100 characters.
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