The Most Popular App Store Keywords of 2021
by
Agathe Pradat
, ASO Expert at AppTweak
App Market Insights
What were the most searched terms on the App Store in 2021? We looked at 6 of the largest app markets (United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and India) to find out which keywords reached the highest search volumes last year.
Most popular App Store keywords defined
The most popular keywords are defined as searches that received the highest possible search volume scores at some point last year. The volume score is a number between 5 and 100, calculated and directly received from Apple. The higher the search volume, the more popular the keyword and the higher the frequency of searches for that term on the App Store.
Top 20 most popular App Store keywords of 2021 (US)
- mario kart
- snapchat
- youtube
- zoom
- among us
- faceapp
- disney plus
- widgetsmith
- bumble
- mario-kart
- sleep sounds
- tik tok
- tik-tok
- call of duty
- disney
- free games
- messenger
- parler
The top 20 most searched keywords on the App Store in 2021 were actually the same as in 2020. Not only did these searches reach the highest search volume scores, but their popularity is also consistent.
Most popular App Store keywords across countries:
The table below shows the 20 most popular keywords with the highest search volumes recorded for the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and India.
| United States | United Kingdom | France | Germany | Spain | India | ||||||
| Keyword | Max Volume 2021 | Keyword | Max Volume 2021 | Keyword | Max Volume 2021 | Keyword | Max Volume 2021 | Keyword | Max Volume 2021 | Keyword | Max Volume 2021 |
| 100 | faceapp | 100 | faceapp | 100 | corona warn app | 100 | among us | 100 | face app | 100 | |
| mario kart | 100 | house party | 100 | 100 | corona-warn-app | 100 | faceapp | 100 | 100 | ||
| snapchat | 100 | 100 | mario kart | 100 | covpass | 100 | 100 | pubg | 100 | ||
| youtube | 100 | mario kart | 100 | snapchat | 100 | disney | 100 | houseparty | 99 | tik tok | 100 |
| zoom | 100 | snapchat | 100 | vpn | 100 | face app | 100 | mario kart | 98 | bgmi | 99 |
| among us | 99 | vpn | 100 | scanner gratuit | 99 | 100 | zoom | 98 | ludo king | 99 | |
| faceapp | 99 | disney | 98 | disney | 98 | snapchat | 100 | disney | 97 | fau g | 96 |
| 98 | free vpn | 98 | tous anti covid | 98 | 99 | radar covid | 96 | signal | 95 | ||
| disney plus | 96 | zoom | 98 | plato | 96 | widgetsmith | 99 | telegram | 95 | 95 | |
| widgetsmith | 96 | face app | 97 | signal | 96 | casino | 98 | 95 | zoom | 94 | |
| bumble | 95 | 96 | stop covid | 96 | among us | 97 | scanner | 94 | arogya setu | 93 | |
| mario-kart | 95 | slots | 96 | tik-tok | 96 | houseparty | 97 | skype | 94 | 93 | |
| sleep sounds | 95 | 96 | 95 | luca app | 97 | tik tok | 94 | pubg mobile | 93 | ||
| tik tok | 95 | casino | 95 | tik tok | 95 | mario kart | 96 | tik-tok | 94 | hotstar | 92 |
| tik-tok | 95 | roblox | 95 | widgetsmith | 95 | qr code scanner | 96 | parchis | 93 | snapchat | 92 |
| call of duty | 94 | vpn free unlimited | 95 | among us | 94 | qr-code-scanner | 96 | snapchat | 92 | call of duty mobile | 91 |
| disney | 94 | among us | 94 | messenger | 94 | tinder | 96 | spotify | 92 | call recorder for iphone free | 91 |
| free games | 94 | cheltenham festival | 94 | scanner | 94 | clubhouse | 95 | 90 | google pay | 91 | |
| messenger | 94 | love island | 94 | vpn gratuit | 94 | qr code scanner free | 94 | fortnite | 90 | tiktok | 91 |
| parler | 94 | messenger | 94 | 94 | scanner-app | 95 | call of duty | 89 | youtube | 91 |
While the top 25 most searched keywords in the US remained unchanged compared to previous years, the most popular searches in the 5 other markets experienced a few shifts.
As expected, most of the most searched keywords in each country were brand names, indicating the apps that dominated the App Store in each country. A few of the highest volume searches were for generic keywords in each country:
- USA - 2 searches: “sleep sounds” and “free games”
- UK - 5 searches: “vpn,” “free vpn”, “slots”, “vpn free unlimited”, and “cheltenham festival”
- France - 5 searches: “vpn”, “scanner gratuit”, “stop covid”, “scanner”, and “vpn gratuit”
- Germany - 4 searches: “qr code scanner”, “qr-code-scanner”, “qr code scanner”, and “scanner-app”
- Spain - 2 searches: “telegram” and “scanner”
- India - 1 search: “call recorder for iphone free”
Compared to previous years, there is roughly a similar distribution of branded and generic keywords among the most searched terms. We notice the increase in searches for VPNs, as concerns for online security and privacy have grown and data breaches have dramatically increased over the past year.
Overall, the top keywords are dominated by social media and networking apps such as Instagram, Houseparty, Snapchat, TikTok, or Facebook. Zoom is also still very popular as many continue to work from home.
The COVID-19 pandemic is still impacting daily lives worldwide and the implementation of sanitary passes in many countries in 2021 is also reflected by the popularity of COVID-19 contact tracing apps, like Arogya Setu in India (11th most searched term), Tous Anti Covid in France (8th most searched term), or Corona-Warn-App in Germany (1st and 2nd most searched terms). Searches for QR code scanning apps are also most likely another consequence of the global pandemic.
The third main category of top searches in 2021 was entertainment apps and games. “Mario kart” was among the top 5 most popular searches in the US, the UK, France, and Spain in 2021; in India, the release of Battlegrounds Mobile India, also called “bgmi”, was the most significant change in the most popular searches on the market. Disney+ is also among the top searches in several of these markets.
Expert Tip
The top 20 most popular keywords contain many branded terms. Using competitors’ trademarked keywords in your metadata can be tempting to drive a lot of traffic, but this is not allowed on the App Store and not recommended to include in your keyword field.
Top 500 most popular App Store keywords
Want to unlock more insights? Have a look at the full list of the 500 most popular keywords of 2021 for the past few years:
Top 500 most popular keywords of 2021 -US-UK-FR-DE-ES
Top 500 most popular keywords of 2020 -US-UK-FR-DE-ES
Top 500 most popular keywords of 2019 -US-UK-FR-DE-ES
Top 1000 most popular keywords of 2018 -US-UK-FR-DE-ES
Want to discover the keywords people use when searching for your app or competitors’ apps? Learn more about our App Keyword Research Tools and sign up for a 7-day free trial.
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