We have a very strange issue we've contacted Apple about multiple times but haven't received an answer to the question.
We launched our first app last year for running giveaways on Instagram called 'Instagram Giveaway by POPSMASH'. We rank well for most terms, including #1 for 'Instagram giveaways' (plural).
Here's the weird part: For the specific term 'instagram giveaway' (singular) we're completely unranked! There are only a dozen or so Instagram giveaway apps and dozens of unrelated apps appear in search, but we don't. Now, if I run a paid ad targeting the term, we'll appear just fine.
If this was a temporary issue, or we just launched, I get it, but that's not the case since we launched last year.
Does anyone have any idea what's going on here? Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is it possible to somehow get blacklisted on a search term? The ironic thing is we're also the only app in the category that doesn't violate app store guidelines, which is why we built it in the first place. Go figure...