Where your own apps share a result

Keyword Cannibalization

Search terms where two or more of a developer’s own apps land in the same result. Each app’s keyword report looks fine on its own — the overlap only shows up once you put the whole portfolio next to one live search.

What this answers

Once a developer ships a second app, the two listings start appearing in the same searches — sometimes deliberately, often not. No single app’s keyword report can show this, because each one only ever looks at itself. This loads the whole portfolio, derives search terms from its own app names and categories, and reports the terms where two or more of those apps come back in one live result, with each position.

Want the portfolio numbers instead — downloads, revenue and ratings per app? Publisher portfolios covers that side.

Are two of your own apps competing in the same search result?

If you publish more than one app, some searches return two of them. That is not automatically bad — two slots in one result is an advantage when the apps serve different needs. It is a problem only when they are substitutes and you are splitting your own traffic.

This scans a developer’s portfolio against live search results and reports every term where two or more of their apps appear together, with positions.

How it works

  1. 1Enter a developer, or start from one of their apps. The full portfolio is resolved from Apple’s artist lookup.
  2. 2Candidate terms are derived from the portfolio’s own titles and listings.
  3. 3Each term is run against live search and every result is checked for portfolio members.
  4. 4Overlaps are reported with each app’s position, how many rivals sit between them, and whether they share a genre.

What it cannot tell you

  • It reports observed layout only — no score, no verdict. Whether two of your apps in one result is a problem depends on whether they are substitutes, which is a judgement about your products.
  • No search volume, so a term with an overlap may be searched constantly or never.
  • The empty state is not proof that no overlap exists. It is bounded by the terms scanned, and terms that failed to return are reported separately rather than counted as clean.

Frequently asked questions

Is it bad if two of my apps rank for the same keyword?

Not automatically. Two slots in one result is more shelf space. It only hurts when the apps are substitutes and the searcher would have installed either — then you are competing with yourself.

How do I fix an overlap I do not want?

Usually by differentiating the metadata: let each app own the terms that describe what it uniquely does, rather than both chasing the generic category term.

Does this work for any developer?

Yes. Everything it reads is public, so you can run it on a competitor’s portfolio too.