Module 3 of 12
Lesson 3: Keyword Research Fundamentals
Teach a repeatable process for App Store keyword discovery, segmentation, and prioritization.
Why this module exists
A keyword bank is infrastructure, not a brainstorm.
Module 3 turns the positioning work into a concrete, segmented keyword bank. Start with a wide seed list, then deepen the picture through competitor and category mining. The point is not to list every possible phrase; it is to capture every phrase that could plausibly belong, so the next two lessons have something honest to score.
Segmentation and a working scoring model are what separate banks that drive metadata decisions from banks that decorate slide decks. Without tiers and a defensible scoring model, every metadata change becomes a debate about taste. With them, the discussion becomes evidence-led: why this phrase moved up, what we expect it to do, and what would move it down again.
Carry the segmented bank into Module 4. Metadata writing collapses fast when the team has to invent the bank on the fly; it accelerates when the bank already exists and the writing is just the implementation step.
Lessons
Lesson 3.1
Build a Seed Keyword List
Start keyword research from problems, outcomes, jobs, features, and audience language.
Lesson 3.2
Competitor and Category Mining
Extract recurring language from competitor names, subtitles, screenshots, and review themes.
Lesson 3.3
Keyword Segmentation Framework
Group keywords into head terms, mid-tail terms, long-tail problems, adjacent intents, and brand-defense terms.
Lesson 3.4
Create a Keyword Scoring Model
Score terms by relevance, competition, conversion fit, and brand fit so the keyword plan becomes actionable.
Key insights
Relevance × achievable ranking × conversion fit is a stronger model than pure volume.
Students should maintain one keyword bank per locale, not one global spreadsheet.
Apply this module
The lessons above are written to be useful in order, but the work compounds when each one ends with a small concrete output: a written decision, a renamed field, a new entry in the keyword bank. Use the prompts below as the bare minimum the team should leave this module with.
Build a seed keyword list.
Mine competitors and category language.
Segment keywords by role.
Score the final candidates.