Al AndalusDigital Marketing
9 min read

Custom store listings: show each searcher the page they want

Two people search the store. One types "food delivery", the other types "grocery delivery". They open the same app, and both see the same page, the same screenshots and the same first message. One of them will find that page less relevant, and relevance is what makes someone tap Install. Both stores now let you fix this: you can show a different page depending on what the person searched.

The short version

  • Both stores can now show a different page depending on what the person searched, so one app can answer several intents.
  • Ranking does not change. What changes is the share of people who install after seeing the page.
  • On Apple the changes are visual. On Google you can also change the name and the text.
  • It only works for keywords you already rank for, so keyword research comes first.
  • For the UAE, Arabic and English need separate keyword groups and separate pages.

Timeline of what changed

  • 2024, Google I/O: Google Play adds custom store listings that you can target by search keyword.
  • 30 July 2025: Apple lets you assign keywords to custom product pages, so they can appear in organic App Store search.
  • 29 October 2025: Apple raises the limit from 35 to 70 custom product pages per app.
  • Google I/O 2026 (as reported by Admiral): Gemini can draft listings across languages, and a keyword recommendation on the Grow overview page can generate a tailored listing in one click.
  • July 2026 (as reported by Admiral): Play Console store listing reports move from conversion rate to click-through rate, and visitor counting changes.
  • WWDC 2026: Apple announces for fall 2026 an asset library, new creative formats, a product page preview and combined submission of custom pages with in-app events and purchases. Check App Store Connect to see what is available to you now.

How Apple does it

Custom product pages used to be reachable only through a link or through Apple Ads. Since July 2025 you can assign keywords to a page in App Store Connect, and when your app ranks for those keywords, that page can appear in organic search instead of your default page. The rules that matter:

  • Keywords come from your keyword field and are assigned per page. Each keyword combination can belong to only one page. If two pages overlap, one captures the query and the other gets nothing.
  • Assigning keywords distributes what you already have. It does not add new keywords to your index.
  • Per page you can change screenshots (up to 10), app previews (up to 3), promotional text (up to 170 characters), keywords and a deep link.
  • Name, icon, subtitle, description, ratings, in-app purchase information and privacy information are pulled from your default listing and cannot differ.
  • Deep links to a place inside the app need iOS 18 or later.
  • Page metadata goes through App Store review, but you can submit pages without a new app version. A disabled or deleted page sends visitors to the default page.
  • The limit is 70 pages per app, and apps available for pre-order can use them.
  • App Store Connect reports on each page separately and lets you filter by traffic source (organic, Apple Ads, referral), so you can compare.

How Google Play does it

Google Play calls them custom store listings. You can create up to 50 per app, and each can have its own app name, icon, short and full descriptions and graphics. Contact details, the privacy policy and the app category stay shared. You can target a listing by:

  • Search keywords. Each keyword comes with spelling variants and translations that you can select or deselect. You can choose keywords already known to bring traffic or search for new ones.
  • Country. One country can be targeted by one listing at a time, but one listing can cover several countries.
  • User state: pre-registration, churned or lapsed users (lapsed means no opens in 28 days), and buyer segments such as non-buyers or repeat buyers.
  • A Google Ads campaign, by choosing the listing as the landing page in Google Ads. Google says these listings currently show on AdMob only, not on Google Play search ads.
  • A unique URL, for traffic that does not come from Play search or Google Ads.

When you target by keyword, Play may offer to draft descriptions with Gemini, which you can edit or discard. Read every draft. Custom listings are not translated automatically: you choose a default language, and without added translations people in the targeted countries see that language. Google recommends adding translations for every language spoken there.

Apple and Google side by side

  • What you can change. Apple: screenshots, previews, promotional text and the deep link. Google: also the app name, the icon and the descriptions.
  • How many. Apple: 70 pages. Google: 50 listings.
  • How people reach it. Apple: assigned keywords, a unique link or Apple Ads. Google: keywords, country, user state, Google Ads or a URL.
  • What stays shared. Apple: name, icon, subtitle and description. Google: contact details, privacy policy and category.
  • Testing. Apple: Product Page Optimization tests the default page. Google: store listing experiments can also run on custom listings, with up to two variants against the current listing, and they stop automatically after six months, as reported by Admiral.

Because Google lets you change the name and the text, a Google keyword listing can answer a search more directly. Because Apple keeps the text fixed, the work on Apple is mostly visual, so the first screenshot carries most of the weight.

A real example

AppTweak documented a custom store listing that Booking created for the keyword "flights", with a different app name and different screenshots from its default listing. The principle applies to any app: when the search is about one job, the first thing on the page should be that job.

How to choose keyword groups

Group keywords by what the person wants, not by how the word is spelled. Two spellings of the same need belong together. Two different needs that share a word do not. Useful splits:

  • A feature the person already knows they want.
  • A problem they are trying to solve, without naming a feature.
  • A category word, such as the type of app.
  • A competitor or brand name, only where the store allows it and your claims are accurate.
  • A language or a place, such as an Arabic query or a UAE-specific need.

Start from keywords that already bring impressions. A page for a keyword you do not rank for will not be seen. On Google Play, one more caution: literal translations of English keywords rarely match what local users type, so do not accept a machine draft for Arabic without checking it against real searches.

A worked plan for a UAE delivery app

This is an illustration, not a result. Imagine an app that does food and grocery delivery, with an English and an Arabic listing.

  1. Group A, "food delivery" and close variants: the first screenshot shows ordering a meal and the delivery tracker.
  2. Group B, "grocery delivery" and close variants: the first screenshot shows a weekly basket and a delivery slot.
  3. Group C, the same two needs searched in Arabic: separate pages built right to left, written in Arabic from Arabic research.
  4. Each page repeats its promise in the first screenshot, the first line of text and the preview.
  5. After two weeks, compare each page with the default page for the same dates.

How to measure it

  • Compare each custom page with your default page over the same dates, so seasons and promotions do not distort the result.
  • Change one thing at a time. If you change the screenshots and the text together, you will not know which one worked.
  • Give every page at least two weeks, and longer if it has few visits.
  • On Google Play, a listing only appears in the performance report once it gets enough visitors. Zero visits usually means the listing was not approved, or has too little traffic.
  • Play Console store listing reports moved from conversion rate to click-through rate in July 2026, and visitor counting changed, as reported by Admiral. Do not compare numbers from before and after that change. Build a new baseline of at least 28 days, split by country, language and listing.
  • In those reports, "Google Play search" covers only searches for your app name or brand. Generic searches fall under "Google Play explore". Keep that in mind when you judge a keyword listing.

If a page converts worse than your default, that is useful information too: the group of keywords may have a different intent from the one you assumed.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Creating many pages at once. You will not have enough traffic on each one to learn anything.
  • Putting the same keyword on two Apple pages. Each combination needs one clear destination.
  • Stuffing keywords into the text. Google's listing guidance warns that repetitive or irrelevant keywords can get an app suspended.
  • Making claims the app does not support. This is the fastest way to a rejected page and a bad review.
  • Forgetting the Arabic side. A custom page in English does nothing for someone who searched in Arabic.
  • Never looking at the result. A page that was published and forgotten is only extra work.

When it is not worth it yet

If your default listing is weak, fix that first: title, subtitle or short description, the first two screenshots and the Arabic localization. If you rank for few keywords or get few visits, a custom page will not have enough traffic to teach you anything. Custom pages reward apps that already have impressions and several clearly different intents.

For the UAE

Users search in Arabic and in English, and the Arabic queries are not translations of the English ones. Each language can have its own keyword groups and its own custom page, which is a strong reason to plan them as separate work. On Google Play the custom listings are not translated for you, so the Arabic page needs its own text. On both stores, build the Arabic screenshots right to left, with Arabic headlines, instead of reusing the English set.

Where this comes from

Google's Play Console Help page on custom store listings; Apple's custom product pages documentation as summarised by Adapty; and published ASO guides from AppTweak, MobileAction and Admiral. Items marked "as reported" come from vendor guides, not from Apple or Google, and fall 2026 Apple features were announced, not confirmed as shipped. Store rules change, so check the current documentation before you build.