Visibility Score is a composite metric calculated by third-party ASO tools, typically weighting an app's keyword rankings by each term's search popularity — not an official Apple or Google metric.
A visibility score condenses hundreds of keyword positions into one number. The general idea is shared across tools: a top-three rank on a high-popularity term contributes far more than a page-two rank on a niche one, and the weighted total approximates how often the app is likely to be seen in search. The details are not shared. Each vendor chooses its own keyword universe, popularity model, position curve and scale. Neither store reports anything comparable: App Store Connect breaks impressions and product page views down by source type, and Play Console reports store listing performance, including the search terms that drove visits.
The score is a trend line, not a verdict. A rising score after a metadata release suggests the new keyword set is working; a drop can flag lost rankings before installs move. It is unreliable for comparing apps across tools, or within one tool across a model recalibration or keyword-list change. Practitioners pair it with first-party data: if the score climbs but App Store search impressions stay flat, the gains are probably on terms few people search, or on terms the app isn't relevant enough to convert. Apple's search source also counts Apple Ads views, so paid changes need ruling out.
Example
After a subtitle change, a note-taking app's visibility score in its ASO tool rises for three weeks. With its Apple Ads budget unchanged, the team confirms the gain in App Store Connect, where search-sourced impressions also grew, before crediting the release — and never compares it with a rival's score from another tool.