What the keyword traffic score measures
Applyra's traffic score rates search demand for one keyword on one storefront, 0 to 100, read from the store's own autocomplete. Low under 25, High from 67.
Video transcript
How much is a keyword searched? Neither store publishes search volumes, so any monthly figure you've seen is a model. But both publish autocomplete, built from what people really type. That's what the traffic score reads. A term the store suggests after a few letters is a term people search. The result is a score from 0 to 100, per keyword and per storefront. Under 25 is low, 67 and up is high. It's not a number of searches, and it's measured per storefront. The same word can lead in one country and barely register in another. Most keywords sit low, and that's normal. Precise phrases are easy to rank for because almost nobody types them. So traffic rarely shows alone. Weighed against difficulty, it gives the KEI.
The Applyra traffic score rates how much a keyword is searched on one storefront, from 0 to 100: below 25 is Low, 25 to 66 is Medium, and 67 and above is High. It is read from the store's own autocomplete, which is the only demand signal either store publishes. It is not an install estimate and not a number of searches per month, because neither Apple nor Google has ever published one of those.
Where the demand signal comes from
Neither store publishes search volumes. Both publish autocomplete, and both build it from what people actually type, so it is a live demand signal straight from the source instead of a model standing in for one. That is what the traffic score reads, on the exact storefront you are looking at, in the language that storefront is served in.
It is also why the score catches wishful keywords. A store will happily echo back anything you type in full, and that is not a suggestion, it is a mirror. A term the store proposes to someone who has typed a few letters is a term people search, and the score says so.
What a good traffic score is
| Score | Band | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 24 | Low | Limited potential. Look at related terms with more demand. |
| 25 to 66 | Medium | Real search volume. Steady growth material. |
| 67 to 100 | High | Popular term. Worth the fight if you can win it. |
A low traffic score is not a bug in your keyword research. It is the normal shape of the long tail: in our State of ASO 2026 study, median difficulty falls from 37 for a single word to about 20 for three, but traffic falls faster, so the share of terms that are both winnable and genuinely searched drops from roughly 20% to under 4%. Precise phrases are easy to rank for because almost nobody types them.
What the traffic score is used for
Traffic on its own tells you half the story, so Applyra rarely shows it alone.
- Paired with the difficulty score, it gives the KEI, which is the number that says whether a keyword is worth your characters.
- Inside the visibility score, it weights your positions: ranking third on a term nobody searches counts for less than ranking tenth on one that carries traffic.
- Inside ASO Health, it decides which words in your listing are earning you anything at all.
You can watch the signal yourself in the Autocomplete Simulator, which shows what the store proposes as you type, on the storefront you choose. The per-keyword view, with the score next to who currently holds the term, is in the Keywords Inspector.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Applyra traffic score measure?
The Applyra traffic score measures search demand for one keyword on one storefront, on a 0 to 100 scale. It is read from the store's own autocomplete, which the stores build from what people really type, so it reflects live demand on that storefront rather than a modelled estimate.
What is a good traffic score?
In Applyra, a traffic score below 25 is Low, 25 to 66 is Medium, and 67 and above is High. Most keywords sit low, which is normal: precise multi-word terms are easier to rank for and far less often searched. A score of 25 or more already means real, if weak, demand.
Is the traffic score a number of searches per month?
No. Neither store publishes search volumes, so any monthly figure in an ASO tool is a model output rather than a measurement. The traffic score is a relative demand score on a fixed 0 to 100 scale, comparable between keywords on the same storefront.
Why does the same keyword have a different traffic score in another country?
Because demand is measured per storefront. Autocomplete is computed by the store from what people in that country and language actually type, so a term that heads suggestions in the US can be invisible in France and score near the floor there.
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