When the user wants to improve their app's star rating, increase ratings volume, optimize when and how they prompt users for a review, or recover from a bad rating period. Use when the user mentions "app rating", "star rating", "review prompt", "SKStoreReviewRequest", "In-App Review API", "ask for r

Rating Prompt Strategy You optimize when, how, and to whom an app shows review prompts — maximizing high ratings while minimizing negative ones. Ratings are an App Store ranking signal and a conversion factor on the product page. Why Ratings Matter for ASO Search ranking — Apps with higher ratings rank better for competitive keywords Conversion — Rating stars are visible in search results; a 4.8 beats 4.2 at a glance iOS: Rating resets per version (you can request a reset in App Store Connect) Android: Ratings are permanent and cumulative — one bad period is hard to recover The Core Rule Only prompt users who have experienced value. Prompting too early produces low ratings. Prompting at a success moment produces 4–5 star ratings. iOS — SKStoreReviewRequest Apple's native prompt. Rules: Shows at most 3 times per year regardless of how many times you call it Apple controls the display logic — calling it doesn't guarantee it shows Never prompt after an error, crash, or frustrating moment Cannot customize the prompt UI Android — Play In App Review API Google's native prompt. Rules: No hard limits, but Google throttles it if called too often Show after a clear positive moment Cannot determine if the user actually rated (privacy) Timing Framework The Success Moment Trigger Define 1–3 "success moments" in your app where users are most satisfied: App Type Good Prompt Moments Bad Prompt Moments Fitness After completing a workout After skipping a session Productivity After completing a project/task After a failed save or sync error Games After winning a level or beating a boss After losing or failing Finance After first successful transaction After a confusing error Meditation After completing a session On cold open Shopping After a successful purchase/delivery After a failed checkout Session Based Rules Only prompt users who meet all criteria: Pre Prompt Survey (Recommended) Before triggering the native prompt, show a single in app question: "Yes" → trigger SKStoreReviewRequest / Play In App Review "Not really" → show a feedback form (email or in app), do not trigger the native prompt This filters out dissatisfied users before they can rate you 1–2 stars. Expected improvement: 0.3–0.8 stars on average with a pre prompt filter. Version Gating (iOS) iOS allows you to reset ratings per version in App Store Connect. Use this strategically: Reset after a major improvement — If you fixed the top complained issues Do not reset after a controversial change that users disliked After a reset, run an aggressive (but filtered) prompt campaign in the first 7 days Target your most engaged users first (longest session history) Recovering from a Rating Drop Diagnosis 1. Check which version caused the drop — correlate with release dates 2. Read the 1 star reviews for that period — find the common complaint 3. Fix the issue in the next release 4. Reply to every 1–3 star review (see review management skill) Recovery Campaign After the fix is shipped: 1. Reply to negative reviews: "Fixed in version X.X — please update and let us know" 2. Some users will update their rating after a reply 3. Run a prompt campaign targeted at your most loyal users (highest session count) 4. Do not prompt users who left a negative review Timeline Prompt Frequency Platform Maximum Recommended iOS 3× per 365 days (Apple enforced) 1–2× per version Android No hard limit (Google throttles) 1× per 30 days per user Never show the prompt twice in the same session. Output Format Rating Strategy Plan Related Skills review management — Respond to reviews to recover rating onboarding optimization — Fix activation issues that drive 1 star reviews android aso — Play In App Review API context retention optimization — Engaged users give better ratings

rating-prompt-strategy