How to Do a Mobile App Competitive Analysis

A useful mobile app competitive analysis identifies apps competing for the same users, compares their public App Store listings and search positions, then turns the gaps into listing priorities. For iOS apps, start with the search phrases and countries where people might find your app.

Define the competitors you need to compare

Start with the problem your app solves and the people who search for it. Search for phrases that describe that job, then review the apps appearing in each country's App Store results. An app is a relevant competitor when it serves a similar need, even if its name or category differs from yours.

Separate direct alternatives from results that only share a word. A broad phrase can return apps aimed at different tasks; those listings are useful context, but weak comparisons for deciding how to position your own app. Keep the phrase, market and reason each app belongs on your shortlist together.

Compare public listings and keyword positions

With Wow Keywords' app competitor analysis, add public App Store apps by name or link. Compare their local keyword ranks with your own app's positions, and review how those ranks change over time. The workflow focuses your analysis on discoverability in App Store search, market by market. To see which phrases a rival ranks for, read how to find competitor app keywords.

For each shortlisted phrase, check the returned apps and their listing wording. Look for the task each listing promises, the features it emphasizes and whether its name and subtitle match the search. Compare apps in the same country because localized phrases and search results can differ by market.

Keep the research tied to your own product. A competitor's keyword position does not show its private keyword field or explain why its listing ranks there. Use public listings and observed positions to find questions worth investigating, not as proof that copying a phrase will produce the same result.

Review the gaps in each market

Compare your listing with relevant competitors on a few practical points:

• Purpose: Can a searcher tell what each app helps them do?
• Coverage: Which relevant phrases appear to bring competitors into search results?
• Local fit: Does the wording sound natural in the market's language, and do the results serve the same need?
• Rank movement: Are the positions stable or changing across your observations?

Use App Store keyword research to assess local phrases alongside their results and relative Volume and Difficulty scores. Those scores help compare phrases; they are not monthly search counts or a forecast of downloads. Check the listings themselves before treating a phrase as an opportunity.

Turn competitor findings into listing priorities

Choose one gap that matters to your app and can be addressed truthfully. If competitors make a useful feature clear in their subtitle while yours does not, decide whether that feature belongs in your own visible metadata. If a phrase brings unrelated apps into the results, refine the research before changing your listing.

Keep your brand and the app's actual purpose clear. Do not copy a competitor's wording just because it ranks. Compare candidate name, subtitle and keyword-field choices with the searches and markets you researched, then prioritize edits that better describe your app to the right audience.

For a broader review of listing coverage, use the ASO audit. It can help identify metadata areas to revisit after competitor research has shown where your listing may be unclear or incomplete.

Track changes over time

Save the phrases and countries that matter, then recheck the same positions after your listing changes. Wow Keywords keeps rank history for selected keywords and public apps, so you can compare observations over time. Note when you make a listing change and review later movement in context; a rank change alone does not establish what caused it.

Repeat the review when your app changes, when you enter another market or when the search results shift. Remove apps that no longer serve the same need, and add relevant public listings that appear for your priority phrases. This keeps the comparison useful instead of turning it into a static list of popular apps.