Will learning how to touch type make me a better player?
Don't use the default lay-out, it will force you to hunt and peck if you are new to touch typing.
Instead, use the grid lay-out which feels on par with touch typing.
You don't have to learn all the key locations anymore if you use this as you can simply use relative positioning to determine the key you want to press and this comes a habit over time.
So, practicing to get up to speed with touch typing helps you improve your speed. But solely that…
As it is more important to improve how you play first before improving your APM. :)
For example, there is no sense in hitting a lot of keys if you:
Forgot to scout that your opponent went for two gas.
Forgot to scout what your opponent planned to do with those two gas.
There are suddenly Collosus / Thors at your front door or Mutalisks at your mineral lines.
You didn't slow down his BO or don't have enough counter unit against it so your opponent wins.
APM doesn't necessarily make you better, if you focus too much on it you could even become worse.
My answer, yes, but just a little.
As it was told too many times (day9 in its shows, on SE, etc): you skills are determining your APM (not your APM will determine your skills). Lets assume you are doing 4 gate push. In this case the most important thing to get you army under opponent door AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE!!! That means:
- constant probes production;
- no supply block;
- saving chronoboos for WarpGate technology;
- building proxy in time in proper location;
- ... know EXACT sequence of building building...
- (as helped in comments, but I forgot to mention) SCOUT - actually that is a MAJOR point.
These things does NOT require high APM (as a result it doesn't matter how do you touch keys). They require you to know WHAT to do and WHEN to do; and be accurate. You don't need to know a lot of keys for that:
- b+g - build gateway;
- 5 - ssss - build 4 stalkers;
- 5 - zzzz - build 4 zealots;
- 4 - e - build probe...
To execute that you don't need to know how to touch keys, you don't need to know what are ALL OF THOSE KEYS...
Though, that's true: with higher APM you will be able to handle your forces more accurate. But more important is to be on opponent base on 6 minute with 2 zealots + 4stalker (for example) while he has 1 zealot and 2 stalkers yet...
Yes, higher APM will help you your 4 stalkers to survive if your opponent has 5 own stalkers... but the main fail here not a survivability, but timing: why he got 5 stalkers but you have only 4 yet?
P.S.
I print with speed around 180-200 characters per minute, but my APM is around 50-55. Sometime it is 60.. but rarely... Yes, usually high APM is a sign of top players... I never see anybody with 100+ APM in league lower then diamond... But yes, 1st are skills... if you think quick enough your APM will grow up. But that is not required to be in diamond. I played against 1 terran (30-40 APM, diamond) that was killing me easy (I was gold newbie in that time).