Thanks for a great article. Do you know if the keywords used in reviews have any impact on rating? I assume not since it's the first thing to be gamed.
Of course, some of these things (like # of ratings, how long ago the app was released, etc) are likely correlated with other factors that are more difficult to measure in the app store.
I am not sure, but I don't think so, for the same reason as you.
However, I have heard your overall ratings (and I suspect comments too) will affect your rankings for keywords in general. One of the best way of climbing the keyword ranks is by getting great ratings.
No idea - whatever we did, we never managed to move apps' positions one way or another.
I've also seen apps that have few downloads, few rankings and lousy reviews, but get positioned higher than competitors that are more popular and have better rankings. Although popularity seems to have some influence.
What I'm telling people is to see if they rank high. If they do - keep the words/phrases. If they don't - forget them, and look for some other ones.
http://blog.sensortower.com/blog/2014/09/07/why-162727-apps-...
Of course, some of these things (like # of ratings, how long ago the app was released, etc) are likely correlated with other factors that are more difficult to measure in the app store.