I pretty much summed the problem up in the title. We've recently launched a kids' app called Math for Kids - Fun Way to Practice Math. When I search for 'Math for kids' (exact match) it doesn't show up in search results. I could understand if it were at the bottom of the list since it's new, but it's simply not there. Is the problem here that App Store only shows 500 apps in search results? Isn't those who have exact in the name given priority? Is there anything special about App Store search algorithm that I should know? P.S. How do you guys deal with the terrible competition in the search results? Choose extra specific keywords? Any thoughts appreciated.
I don't think exact matches have priority, it is sometimes very hard / impossible to find products by name, eg I got a time management app called today+, impossible to find since today is such a common key, but if you just released allow a couple of days before your app will appear in searches. App Store search is screaming 'we are not google, why even bother writing a good search algorithm?'
Exact names have a priority. Your app name is very long and the less words you type the more search results you will get. Try narrowing your search by typing something like Math for Kids - Fun or Math for Kids - Fun Way.
I get your point, but if exact names are given a priority, why the apps like Clumsy Bird https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/clumsy-bird-by-fun-free-games/id847932151?mt=8 and many many others that DON'T even have words Math or Kids in the title are showing up for 'math for kids' search and our app is not? When I type in the full name, the app definitely shows up. However, I think that's not because of the exact match with the name, but rather I'm listing the combination of keywords that no one else is likely to have. Which gives me doubts about the priority of the app name.
your doubts are priority of a partial app name. If you type the full name of your app you should expect to find it pretty close to number 1. I tried all of my apps with the name and every single one came up at number 1 in the search. "math" and "kids" are very generic terms and I imagine the for is close to ignored. If your app was called "Math for Kids" then it would show number 1 IMO. Instead it gets buried by apps which are more popular and have an approx match. (That is just what I think is happening).
You might be right, as I mean priority of keywords in the name vs actual keywords when I say 'priority of the name'. Some time ago I was pretty sure that keywords in the name beat those in the keywords list, but it doesn't seem to be working anymore as apps not having the word 'Math' in the title at all showing up in search. Thanks a lot for your input, I guess I should really stick to shorter names for better discoverability (at least by name). What about general keywords? Are downloads and ratings also taken into account now? Anyone knows how exactly App Store search results are formed? Just trying to figure out best keyword strategy in these crazy times.
I don't think anyone knows 100% but it is universally agreed that downloads in one of the key factors. Apple wants to show people apps other people have downloaded because they are ones most likely to be downloaded again. It wouldn't surprise me if Apple as added optimisations in the search engine to stop people using the name as keywords. Some of the names people came up for SEO were completely ridiculous. I would expect that keywords in the name are given the same weight.
As others have indicated here, searching with keywords alone is very difficult to return a result. Usually it's a combination of app name and keywords that will be used by most users.