01The finding
In the same data, the rank correlation between position and review count is −0.158 (n=2,405 competitor records). Moving up the list does not meaningfully travel with having more reviews.
02What it means
If review count were a ranking lever, the top of every result list would be heavy apps. What the measurement shows instead is a two-ended distribution: on the same keywords, both 2.6-million-review giants and 15-review newcomers sit near the top.
The practical consequence: who stands above you on a specific keyword tells you far more than that keyword's general competitiveness. There is no such thing as "this word is hard" — there is "on this word, a six-year-old app with 48,000 reviews is ahead of me", and on the term next to it the app ahead may have 30.
03Turkey vs the United States
| Reviews of the #1 app | TR (n=134) | US (n=93) |
|---|---|---|
| Under 100 | 37% | 24% |
| 100 – 999 | 11% | 9% |
| 1,000 – 9,999 | 16% | 23% |
| 10,000 – 99,999 | 25% | 22% |
| 100,000+ | 11% | 24% |
The Turkish storefront is markedly lighter at the top: the median review count of apps ranking above us is 507 in TR against 2,894 in the US. In the US a quarter of first-place apps carry over 100,000 reviews; in Turkey that share is 11%.
04Method and the limits of the sample
- Date: 13 August 2026, a single day's scan.
- Scope: iOS, the TR and US storefronts, 239 keywords targeted by 6 apps; the 227 keywords with at least one app ranking above us were analysed.
- Data: 2,405 competitor records — each with name, review count, rating, release date and category.
- Review count is the figure the App Store shows in that storefront; it differs by country.
05The finding, measured again
The raw data behind this study was not kept at first publication — meaning the page's one claim, that this was measured, could not be re-run. On 2026-08-26 the same analysis was run again with a reproducible tool, and the data was made downloadable.
| 13 Aug 2026 (original) | 2026-08-26 (repeat) | |
|---|---|---|
| Keywords | 227 | 153 |
| #1 apps under 100 reviews | 32% | 41.8% |
| Rank ↔ reviews correlation | −0.158 | -0.129 |
Both are limited to the TR and US storefronts; comparing them without equalising scope would make the number meaningless. The finding holds: more than a third of apps ranking first have under 100 reviews, and the relationship between rank and review count is effectively absent.
A second finding appears when the scope widens. Across every storefront we measure (315 keywords, 1817 records), 57.8% of first-place apps have under 100 reviews. Smaller storefronts are dramatically emptier — which means a term that looks impossible in the US may be winnable in another country with the same app.
above field carries a sample from the top and neighbouring bands, not every app ranking above us.Frequently asked
Is collecting reviews pointless then?
No — but not for ranking. Review count and rating affect whether people tap and install once you already rank. What the measurement says is that reviews aren't a precondition for getting there.
So what does drive rank?
Relevance of your text fields first: on iOS the name, subtitle and the 100-character keyword field; on Play the title, short and long description. Engagement history on that term follows.
Can I run this measurement on my own app?
Yes. Seeing the apps ahead of you on each keyword with their review count, rating and age is in Storelift's free tier — the table on this page was produced from exactly that data.
See this for your own app
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