What’s your App Store Power Level?

Your APL (App Store Power Level) is a score from 0 to 100. Every point comes with a reason you can check and the source it comes from. The APL is a weighted average of four areas. We read the first three screenshots, the ones Apple shows in search results, and your public listing for the country in your link.

Clarity 30%

Can a stranger tell what your app does from the first three screenshots, the ones Apple shows in search results? We check captions, their length, whether they sell a benefit, one idea per screenshot, and your strongest feature up front.

Design 25%

Caption size and contrast at thumbnail size, text kept under 20% of the image, a consistent style, real app screens instead of splash or login, and how many screenshots you use.

ASO 25%

How your title and subtitle use their 30 characters, repeated words, the first sentence of your description, and whether your listing and screenshots are translated in eight big markets. The private keyword field can’t be seen, so it isn’t graded.

Trust 20%

Average rating, number of ratings, and how recently the app was updated. People check these before they tap Get, and Apple says they influence search ranking.

How sure each rule is

Not every rule weighs the same. Each criterion in your report says where it comes from:

Apple

Apple’s own documentation or App Review Guidelines.

Google Play

Google Play’s official guidelines, good practice but not an Apple rule.

Industry data

A/B tests and studies published by ASO companies. Useful, but their methods are rarely public.

Common practice

What ASO professionals agree on, without published data behind it.

For example, “show the app in use, not a login or splash screen” is an Apple rule (App Review Guideline 2.3.3). “Sell a benefit, not a feature” is common practice, but we found no published test that isolates it, so it weighs less.

Heads-up notes don’t change your APL. They flag things App Review can reject, like price claims or “#1” in your metadata.

The potential is your APL after the three fixes listed. For ratings we count a realistic goal, 100 ratings averaging 4.5, not the numbers of the biggest apps. Results are cached for 24 hours, so a change you publish shows up the next day.

• Apple’s guide to creating your product page Apple
• Apple’s guide to App Store search Apple
• Apple App Review Guidelines 2.3, Accurate Metadata Apple
• Google Play preview asset guidelines Google Play
• SplitMetrics on localized screenshot tests Industry data
• NP Digital on ratings and conversion Industry data
• AppTweak on screenshot best practices Common practice
• Appfigures on improving App Store screenshots Common practice

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