ASO in Kazakhstan: how to get an app to the top of the stores
A practical ASO guide for Kazakhstan: what the App Store and Google Play index, keywords in Russian and Kazakh, screenshots, reviews, A/B tests, Apple Search Ads.
Search in the App Store and Google Play delivers up to 60–70% of installs for apps that do not spend millions on advertising. Yet most apps in the Kazakhstan stores are poorly optimised or not optimised at all. We have been promoting our own apps — 1Study and 1Work — since 2024, and here is what works.
What the stores index
App Store: the name (30 characters), the subtitle (30 characters), the keyword field (100 characters, comma-separated). The description is not indexed — it is for conversion only. The developer name is also indexed, and in-app purchases partly.
Google Play: the name (30 characters), the short description (80 characters), the full description (4,000 characters). Here the description is the main source of keywords, and the text has to be written for the algorithm and for a human at the same time.
Hence the rule: the copy for each platform is written separately, not copied across.
Localisation: Russian, Kazakh, English
The stores index each localisation separately. For Kazakhstan, the App Store localisations that work are Russian, Kazakh and English (UK) — yes, it is British English that adds indexing for English-language queries in the KZ region. In Google Play: Russian (ru), Kazakh (kk-KZ), English.
Almost nobody fills in the Kazakh localisation. There are fewer Kazakh-language queries in the stores than Russian ones, but there is no competition, and it brings a steady stream of installs practically for free.
Keywords: how to build the list
- Search suggestions in the App Store and Google Play for the Kazakhstan region — the most honest source: people actually type these.
- Competitors' names and metadata in the category.
- Web search queries on the topic (Search Console, Wordstat) — people search for similar things in the stores.
- Local words: Kaspi, Almaty, Astana, names of local services, transliterations (“taxi Almaty”, “kaspi”).
In the App Store, keywords are not repeated across fields — repetition adds no weight. The name is for the most important ones, the subtitle for the second tier, the keyword field for the rest.
Page conversion: icon and screenshots
Search position is half the job. The other half is how many of the people who see the app install it. The first two screenshots are visible in search results without opening the page, and they decide.
What works: a large caption with a benefit on every screenshot, the real interface rather than abstractions, localised captions in Russian and Kazakh, a consistent style. The icon: simple, high-contrast, recognisable at a small size.
Google Play has store listing experiments: you can test the icon and screenshots on a share of traffic. The App Store has Product Page Optimization, which does the same thing. Tests add 10–30% to conversion.
Reviews and rating
The rating affects both position and conversion. An app rated 3.8 loses to an app rated 4.7, all else being equal. What to do:
- Ask for a rating at the right moment: after a successful action (payment went through, lesson completed, order delivered), not on first launch.
- Use the system rating prompt — it does not annoy users and does not break the rules.
- Reply to every review, especially negative ones: the reply is visible to everyone and builds trust.
- Fix the causes of negative reviews — it is cheaper than fighting their consequences.
Buying reviews is a direct route to having the app removed. The stores detect it.
Updates
The stores favour apps that are updated. Regular releases with meaningful “what's new” notes signal a living product. And every App Store update is a chance to change the metadata and test a new hypothesis.
Advertising in the stores
Apple Search Ads — ads in App Store search for your own and competitors' queries. It works in Kazakhstan, and the cost per install is usually lower than on Meta, because the person is already looking for an app.
Google App Campaigns — install ads across Google search, YouTube and Google Play. They need events from the app to optimise.
Both channels strengthen organic results: installs from ads lift search positions.
What to expect on timing
Metadata changes are indexed within days; positions stabilise in 2–4 weeks. Work on ratings and page tests is an ongoing process. After 2–3 months of systematic work an app typically gets 2–3 times more organic installs.
Our ASO service runs from an audit to monthly management. If the app does not exist yet, we start ASO at the development stage: a well-built page from day one is cheaper than redoing it later.
The short version.
Is the description indexed in the App Store?
No. The App Store indexes the name, the subtitle and the keyword field. The description only affects conversion. In Google Play the description is indexed and matters a great deal.
Do I need a Kazakh localisation?
Yes. There is almost no competition for Kazakh-language queries in the stores, and a localisation is indexed separately. It is the cheapest source of installs for Kazakhstan.
How much does ASO cost?
A one-off optimisation from ₸100,000; both platforms with graphics ₸250,000–400,000; ongoing management from ₸80,000 a month.
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