What it's for
"Competition is strong" isn't a measurement by itself. Competitor overlap turns it into one: for a given keyword, who are the five apps above you, how many ratings does each have, and how long have they held the position.
- A term where all five are old and heavy is a reason to drop it, not push harder.
- A term where the five above you are recent and thin is a reason to push — the wall is climbable.
How to measure competitor overlap
- Pick one keyword and one storefront — overlap is always per term and per country.
- List the apps ranking above you, or the top ten if you are not in the results yet.
- For each, record the rating count, how long it has held a top position, and whether the keyword is in its title.
- Repeat across your whole keyword list and count how many of your terms each rival appears on.
The last step is what turns overlap into a competitor list. An app in your category that never stands above you on a term you track is not your competitor in search; an app that turns up on most of your terms is, even if it sits in a different category. Storelift's competitor analysis builds its list this way, from the search results you are measured in.
A competitor overlap example
Suppose you track 20 keywords. App A stands above you on 14 of them, App B on 3. App B may be larger in the category chart, but App A is the app you are actually competing with in search, and its listing is the one to study.
The number beside a term is its ratings wall: it shows how established the apps you would compete with on that term are. Use it to compare terms; it does not tell you how many ratings you need or guarantee a rank.
Competitor overlap vs keyword difficulty
Keyword difficulty turns the same competition into a single 0–100 score you can compare across terms. Overlap keeps the names, so you can see who the wall is made of and whether it is one giant or ten mid-sized apps.
The difficulty score is iOS-only; on Google Play, names and positions still give you overlap.
Frequently asked
What is competitive overlap in ASO?
It is the overlap between your keyword set and the apps ranking above you on those keywords — the apps that stand between you and the terms you want, not simply apps in your category.
How do I find my real competitors on the App Store?
Track your keywords, list the apps above you on each, and count how often each app appears. The ones that show up on many of your terms are your search competitors.
Is competitor overlap the same on iOS and Android?
The idea is the same, but each store and each storefront has its own results, so the list of apps above you differs by store and country.
See this for your own app
Paste your store link, add your keywords. Rank, the apps above you and demand are measured every day.
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