--- static_export_time: "2026-07-30T17:35:22+00:00" title: "How smaller apps use ASO to rise in fitness category" description: "Read to know how apps in the fitness category leverage ASO to improve their ranking and become a success story for organic growth." url: "/en/aso-blog/how-aso-can-lead-to-success-against-giants-in-the-category" locale: "en-US" image: "https://www.apptweak.com/img/2023/03/how-aso-can-lead-to-success-against-giants-in-the-category.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&q=95" --- # How do Smaller Apps Use ASO to Rise in Fitness Category? ![Pratham Hans Marwaha](/img/2023/03/6jFWJxke-pratham.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=200&h=200&fit=crop)by  **Pratham Hans Marwaha** Former Business Developer at AppTweak Last updated on February 13 2024 — 4 min read Summarize with AI Subscribe to our monthly newsletter Subscribe to our monthly newsletter The last few months have seen a change in how we go about our personal fitness. With movement restricted and people finding a way to keep up with their mental and physical fitness, app downloads in the Fitness category have increased tremendously. What’s unique about the development of the Fitness category is the rise of smaller unknown app’s taking a battle to industry leaders. In this blog, we take a look at how apps in the Fitness category **leverage ASO** to improve their **app store rankings** and become a success story for organic growth. * * * ## 1. Weight Loss: Workouts From Home _Workouts from Home_ is a good example of how an app has made a change in their metadata to better their visibility and gain rankings on high volume and competitive keywords. On March 18, they made a **change to their title and subtitle**. The original title was _Weight Loss Organic Fit_ and it was changed to _Weight Loss: Workouts From Home_. This change in their keywords helped increase the [App Power](/en/aso-blog/meet-the-app-power-your-new-performance-based-aso-kpi) from 74 on the March 22 to being a category leader with an App Power of 92 only 2 weeks later. We observed that **organic downloads** for _Weight Loss: Workouts From Home_ started to **increase slowly after the update**. The app **gained top 10 rankings on keywords** like “work out at home,” “at home workouts,” “workouts at home,” ‘at home fitness,” and more. ![Overall report showing the keywords driving the installs Weight Loss Workouts From Home in the Apple App Store in the USA](/img/images/2020/05/13/Blog photo 1 .png?auto=format,compress&q=75&w=1200 "AppTweak ASO Tool")_Overall report showing the keywords driving the installs Weight Loss Workouts From Home in the Apple App Store in the USA_ We also noticed an increase in the **visibility of keywords in their metadata by 80%** towards the end of March. Keywords such as _fitness_, _home_, _loss_, _weight_, _workout_, _workouts_, _lose weight_, and _healthy_ show an average rank gain of 39 positions, indicating the **change in metadata was effective**. [Gain insights into the seasonality trends in the Health & Fitness category to boost your app visibility](/en/aso-blog/identifying-using-health-fitness-category-seasonality-trends-for-app-marketing) ## 2. Fitness Coach by Luni _Fitness Coach by Luni_ is the biggest success story among the apps we have observed during the covid-19 period. A relatively unknown app with a low App Power of 10 as of February 12 when its title used to be “Fit – Workout & Fitness.” The app **changed its branding and title** to _Fitness Coach_ on the 1 March. Soon after, the app’s momentum and movement in the category got a push. The app jumped 400 places in the Health & Fitness category to reach# 1 by April 8. _Movement of Fitness Coach by Lumi through its category in the Apple App Store in the USA_ Following the metadata update, the app started to **gain rank on a wide variety of keywords** – including “fitness coach,” “fitness and workout,” “women fitness,” “fit coach,” etc. On March 16, **organic downloads for the app started to increase rapidly** , as search volume for some of its top ranked keywords soared. Volume for “fitness coach,” for example, grew from 10 in February to 54 at the end of April. _Trend in organic downloads from search for Fitness Coach by Luni in the App Store, US._ ## 3. Zombies, Run! _Zombies, Run!_ is a fun and apocalyptic way to get your fitness in during the pandemic. The app was relatively low in its category from the start of the year, hovering with an average App Power of 26. We observed the app floating around the mid 200’s in terms of ranking through the first few months of 2020. **Rankings started started to rise** towards the end of March to reach #1 by April 7. They made **no visible change to their metadata** during this period. However, the app gained a lot of traction on April 6. On Twitter, the company reached out warning users they were experiencing unusual high traffic. AppTweak’s Keyword Report shows an **increase in the volume and installs of keywords** associated with their brand name “zombies run” and “zombie run” on those dates. _Trend in organic downloads from search for Zombies, Run! in the App Store, US._ With this increase in installs, the **app increased its rankings on relevant keywords** like “running apps” or “workout games.” [Read these valuable tips to optimize your app’s metadata using AppTweak;s keyword research tools](/en/aso-blog/how-to-choose-the-best-keywords-for-your-ios-android-app) Due to the **high velocity of downloads** on April 7, the app also started to rank for general keywords “free apps” or “top apps.” _Trend in keyword visibility and rankings for Zombies, Run! in the App Store, US._ These examples show how ASO can be used effectively to stand tall as an app in a competitive category. The growth track these apps have shown are phenomenal. It goes to show that any app can make itself a **top ranking app in its category by investing in** [effective ASO](/en/aso-blog/how-to-create-an-effective-aso-strategy) strategies. With an ASO tool like AppTweak, you can then analyze and understand keywords and their movement. [Start a 7-day free trial](https://app.apptweak.com/accounts/new) * * * by **Pratham Hans Marwaha** , Former Business Developer at AppTweak Pratham is a former Business Developer at AppTweak India [![](/img/2023/09/aso-book-2022-menu.jpg?auto=format,compress&fit=crop) Advanced App Store Optimization Book Whether you’re an ASO newbie or an industry veteran, explore the foundations of ASO as well as the latest tips, techniques, and best practices for app growth success. Get your copy ](https://www.asoebook.com/?utm_source=apptweak&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=aso-book&utm_content=apptweak-blog) * * * More articles in Advanced ASO, App Market Insights - [ Advanced ASOApp Market InsightsGoogle Play January 25, 2026 How to get your app featured on the App Store and Google Play in 2026 Learn how to get your app featured on the App Store and Google Play with expert tips, examples, and best … ![Oriane Ineza](/img/2023/03/oriane.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Oriane Ineza ](/en/aso-blog/how-to-get-your-app-featured-on-the-app-store) - [ Advanced ASOApp Market InsightsArtificial Intelligence (AI) October 22, 2025 ChatGPT might have changed app discovery: What it means for ASO Discover how OpenAI’s Apps SDK and conversational AI are reshaping app discovery and ASO. Learn what app marketers should do … ![Alexandra De Clerck](/img/2023/03/6dY12u8H-alexandra.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Alexandra De Clerck ](/en/aso-blog/chatgpt-might-have-changed-app-discovery-what-it-means-for-aso) - [ Advanced ASOApp Market InsightsApple Ads February 27, 2025 What is incrementality in mobile app marketing? Ready to learn how to measure the impact of your organic and paid efforts? ![Micah Motta](/img/2025/07/20250220-Micah_Motta.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&w=300&h=300&fit=crop)Micah Motta ](/en/aso-blog/what-is-incrementality-in-marketing) [See all posts](/en/aso-blog)