Metadata audit

Metadata Audit

Score the listing with ASOScan's ASO score, find the gaps, and draft better copy — specific, within limits, and honest.

When to use

• "Audit / optimize my app listing." · "What's my ASO score and how do I raise it?"
• "Rewrite my title / subtitle / description." · "What metadata changed recently?"

Calling the ASOScan API

Base https://asoscan.com/api/public/v1 · header Authorization: Bearer $ASOSCAN_API_KEY. JSON, camelCase. If the key is unset, hand off to asoscan-setup.

1. Find the app — GET /apps → note the id and platform (Apple vs Google — the rules differ).
2. ASO score (authoritative) — GET /apps/{id}/aso-score?country= (1 credit) → { overall, metadata, ratings, conversion, conversionIsProxy, grade, platform, recommendations[]{ category, severity, title, description } } (0–100; severity critical|warning|info). Use this as the headline number; don't invent one.
3. Current metadata — GET /apps/{id}/metadata?country= (1 credit) → { title, subtitle, promotionalText, keywords, shortDescription, description, whatsNew, releaseDate }. A 404 = nothing captured yet.
4. Change history — GET /apps/{id}/metadata/changelog?country= (1 credit) → [{ field, oldValue, newValue, changedAt, oldVersion, newVersion }].
5. Target keywords — pull winners from keyword-opportunities / keyword-intelligence.

Platform rules to enforce (Apple/Google official, current)

Apple — indexed search text = Title + Subtitle + hidden Keyword field (+ primary category):

• Title 30 chars, Subtitle 30 chars, Keyword field 100 characters (non-Latin scripts consume it faster).
• Keyword field: commas between terms (a space is allowed within a phrase but costs a character — most list single words and let Apple recombine them across name + subtitle + keywords).
• Don't repeat a word already in Title/Subtitle/category; skip plurals of included words, generic terms (app, game), filler (the, to), and competitor/trademarked terms.
• Long description is NOT indexed for Apple search — optimize it for conversion. Promotional text (170 chars) isn't a search signal (but updates anytime, no release).
• Screenshots: the first 1–3 appear in search results.

Google — indexed search text = Title + Short description + Full description:

• Title 30 chars, Short description 80 chars, Full description 4,000 chars and it is indexed — weave keywords in naturally (Google penalizes stuffing).
• Title bans: emojis, ALL CAPS, "best/#1/free", CTAs.
• Screenshots: up to 8 per device type.

If a limit is decision-critical, verify against Apple's/Google's official docs first.

The audit

Use ASOScan's overall + pillar scores as the quantitative backbone; weight your emphasis toward the lowest pillar. Grade Title/Subtitle, Description, Keywords, Ratings, Conversion (conversionIsProxy: true = estimated until store analytics are connected), and Freshness.

Output template

### Metadata audit — {App} · {platform} ({country})   ·  credits left: {remaining}

**ASO score: {overall} ({grade})**  (metadata {metadata} · ratings {ratings} · conversion {conversion})

**Top 3 quick wins (<1h):** 1) {exact new text + char count}  2) …

**Field-by-field**
- **Title** ({used}/30): "{current}" → "{new}" ({N} chars) — {why}
- **Subtitle/Short** ({used}/{30|80}): "{current}" → "{new}" — {why}
- **Keywords** (Apple, {used}/100): "{current}" → "{new}" — no dupes vs title/subtitle
- **Description / What's new:** {fix}

**ASOScan recommendations:** {surface each by severity}

Every suggestion must be concrete (exact text + char count) and tied to a real keyword or conversion reason. Point the user back to ASOScan to re-score after edits.

Errors, credits & honesty

• 401 → asoscan-setup · 403 no API access · 402 out of credits · 404 no metadata yet · 503 not enabled yet. Each read = 1 credit.
• No invented claims/awards/"#1" superlatives (also banned in Google titles). Respect limits exactly. Recommend the outcome, not a guaranteed rank.
• Full reference: https://asoscan.com/api/developers

Related

• keyword-opportunities / keyword-intelligence — choose the keywords to target.
• competitor-analysis — benchmark against rivals.
• review-insights — turn recurring confusion into clearer copy.