What were the most searched terms in the Apple App Store in 2020? 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 volume during the last year.
Most Popular Keywords Defined
The most popular keywords are defined as searches that received the highest possible search volume scores at some point in the last year. The volume score is a number between 5 and 100, calculated and directly received from Apple. The higher a search volume is, the more popular the keyword and higher frequency of search in the App Store.
20 Most Popular App Store Keywords of 2020 in the US:
- mario kart
- snapchat
- youtube
- zoom
- among us
- faceapp
- disney plus
- widgetsmith
- bumble
- sleep sounds
- tik tok
- call of duty
- disney
- free games
- messenger
- parler
- robinhood
Most Popular App Store Keywords Across Countries:
The table below shows the 20 most popular keywords and the highest search volume recorded for the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and India.
United States | United Kingdom | France | Germany | Spain | India | ||||||
Keyword | Max Volume 2020 | Keyword | Max Volume 2020 | Keyword | Max Volume 2020 | Keyword | Max Volume 2020 | Keyword | Max Volume 2020 | Keyword | Max Volume 2020 |
100 | faceapp | 100 | faceapp | 100 | corona warn app | 100 | among us | 100 | face app | 100 | |
mario kart | 100 | house party | 100 | mario kart | 100 | corona-warn-app | 100 | faceapp | 100 | 100 | |
snapchat | 100 | 100 | snapchat | 100 | disney | 100 | 100 | pubg | 100 | ||
youtube | 100 | mario kart | 100 | 99 | face app | 100 | houseparty | 99 | tik tok | 100 | |
zoom | 100 | snapchat | 100 | disney | 98 | 100 | mario kart | 98 | ludo king | 99 | |
among us | 99 | vpn | 100 | plato | 96 | 99 | zoom | 98 | fau g | 96 | |
faceapp | 99 | disney | 98 | signal | 96 | widgetsmith | 99 | disney | 97 | signal | 96 |
98 | zoom | 98 | stop covid | 96 | casino | 98 | radar covid | 96 | 95 | ||
disney plus | 96 | face app | 97 | tik-tok | 96 | among us | 97 | 95 | aarogyasetu | 94 | |
widgetsmith | 96 | slots | 96 | 95 | houseparty | 97 | scanner | 94 | zoom | 94 | |
bumble | 95 | 96 | tik tok | 95 | snapchat | 97 | skype | 94 | arogya setu | 93 | |
mario-kart | 95 | casino | 95 | tous anti covid | 95 | coronavirus app | 96 | tik tok | 94 | 93 | |
sleep sounds | 95 | among us | 94 | widgetsmith | 95 | mario kart | 96 | tik-tok | 94 | pubg mobile | 93 |
tik tok | 95 | 94 | among us | 94 | tinder | 96 | parchis | 93 | hotstar | 92 | |
tik-tok | 95 | love island | 94 | messenger | 94 | clubhouse | 95 | snapchat | 92 | snapchat | 92 |
call of duty | 94 | messenger | 94 | scanner | 94 | scanner-app | 95 | spotify | 92 | call of duty mobile | 91 |
disney | 94 | tiktok | 94 | 94 | slots | 95 | 90 | call recorder for iphone free | 91 | ||
free games | 94 | spotify | 93 | zoom | 94 | spotify | 95 | fortnite | 90 | google pay | 91 |
messenger | 94 | tinder | 93 | tinder | 93 | scanner app | 94 | telegram | 90 | tiktok | 91 |
parler | 94 | uber eats | 92 | scanner gratuit | 92 | tik tok | 94 | call of duty | 89 | youtube | 91 |
The top keywords are dominated by social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube and TikTok. Mario Kart Tour, Disney Plus and Parler were some of the most popular new apps last year.
As people were looking to stay connected during the pandemic apps like Zoom, Houseparty, Skype and even Hangouts or Plato entered the top 20 most popular keywords in Europe. Video or chat apps did not gain as much search popularity in the US.
Overall, the most popular games are Mario Kart, Fortnite and Call of Duty. In Germany, “casino” was a very popular search keyword. PUBG Mobile was the most popular game in India, reaching a search volume of 100 last year.
Tinder was the most popular dating app keyword in Germany and the UK, whereas in the US, users searched more often for Bumble.
Expert Tip
The top 20 most popular keywords contain many obviously branded terms. Using trademarked keywords in your metadata can be tempting to bring a lot of traffic, but is not allowed by the App Store and not recommended to include in your keyword field.
The keywords that are most searched in each country are frequently brand names, indicating which apps have dominated the App Store in each country. Few of the highest volume searches are generic keywords in each country: USA - 1 search, UK - 3 searches, France - 2 searches, Germany - 4 searches, Spain - 2 searches, India - 1 search. Compared to the previous years, there is roughly a similar distribution of branded and generic keywords among the most searched terms. It would make sense that the most searched keywords are specific phrases that are in the minds of many consumers.
Top 500 Most Popular App Store Keywords
Want to unlock more insights? have a look at the 500 most popular keywords of 2020:
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
Are you interested to know which keywords people use when searching for your app or competitors? Learn more about our App Keyword Research Tools and sign up for a 7-day free trial.