Ranking Factors are the inputs an app store uses to order search and chart results — split between on-metadata relevance signals and off-metadata performance signals.
Ranking factors fall into two groups. On-metadata factors are the ones you edit directly: keyword placement in the title, subtitle, and keyword field (App Store) or title and description (Google Play). Off-metadata factors are earned through behavior: download volume and velocity, conversion rate from impression to install, ratings and review volume, retention and engagement, and on Google Play, signals like uninstall rate. The App Store and Google Play weight these differently, but both blend the two groups.
The reason this distinction matters is sequencing. Metadata changes make you eligible to rank; performance signals determine where you rank among eligible apps. Teams that obsess over keywords but ignore conversion and ratings hit a ceiling — they're relevant for terms they can't win because their performance signals are weak.
Example
An app adds "language learning" to its title (on-metadata) but only climbs the rankings once its improved screenshots lift conversion and a review campaign raises its rating (off-metadata). Sequence the work: edit metadata to become eligible, then lift conversion and ratings to climb among the eligible apps.