Apple Search Ads 101: What Are They, And How Can You Use Them?

Cherry
6 min readApr 5, 2022

Apple Search Ads is Apple’s native advertising network — a collection of highly engaged audiences looking for an app that will solve their problem, or catch their attention. With favorable ads that blend into publisher content, Apple Search Ads offers a unique way to tap into new audiences and drive valuable installs.

If you are investing in Apple Search Ads, you probably want to make sure that your investment will be worth it. This is why the best way to start should be with a complete overview of everything that’s possible with Apple Search Ads.

There is a lot to learn about Apple Search Ads. They have made some big changes recently and as a developer, getting your ads to perform well can be time-consuming and confusing. Here’s everything you need to learn to master Apple Search Ads from A-Z.

What Is Apple Search Ads?

Apple Search Ads is the advertising platform that displays your ads in the App Store. It was launched by Apple in September 2017 to support its plans to become a significant mobile advertisement provider. According to Apple’s website; “Apple Search Ads helps people discover your app when they search on the App Store, matching customers with your app right when they’re looking.”

Where Are Apple Search Ads Available?

Apple Search Ads are available in a lot of countries but there are still some countries where the platform is not available yet. According to the website of Apple Search Ads, advertisers in Apple are still trying to work on making the platform available for all countries.

You can see the list of countries ASA is available in from here.

How Effective Is Apple Search Ads?

The effectiveness of the platform may vary depending on your app, your ads, and your strategy. If utilized correctly, Apple Search Ads is considered to be one of the best ways of advertising your app and the data supports this claim.

As of 2022, App Store has 3.4 million apps and 984,000 games. 500 million people visit the App Store every week, and the reports prove that the platform is successful.

You can read the success stories shared by Apple Search Ads to learn more about how Apple Search Ads works and helps mobile apps reach success.

What is CPT in Apple Search Ads?

CPT is a Cost Per Tap model; this means you pay every time someone taps on your ad. Your CPT is calculated by dividing your total cost by the number of impressions you’ve received.

When bidding, you will set your Max CPT per Ad Group or Keyword Level. You will never be charged more than the Max CPT you set, but might lose out on bids if you do not decrease your CPT enough to be competitive with other advertisers.

What is CPA in Apple Search Ads?

CPA (cost-per-acquisition) is a metric that plays a key role when it comes to measuring the success of your Apple Search Ads campaigns. It mostly affects your bottom line. In order to ensure high ROI levels, you should test multiple ad sets at a time and identify the winning ones. In a way, it is affected by the Tap-Through rate, the Conversion Rate, and your CPT. Any weaknesses during your user acquisition process can end up increasing your acquisition costs.

How Do I Use Apple Search Ads?

You can read our article where we’ve covered how you can use Apple Search Ads and this article where we’ve covered Apple Search Ads optimization.

Are Apple Search Ads Just For Apps?

Yes, Apple Search Ads is a platform that’s created for mobile apps. You can only advertise mobile apps and reach users who are searching for mobile apps.

What Is the Difference Between Apple Search Ads Basic And Advanced?

While the Basic option works with the cost-per-install (CPI) model and allows a maximum budget of $10.000 with up to 50 apps; the Advanced model allows much more options. The Advanced section of ASA allows an unlimited budget with an unlimited number of apps and gives full control of your bids and keywords. It allows catering your ads specifically to different audiences, regions, and more. This section also calculates your bids with a cost-per-click (CPC) model. It’s important to note that the Basic version of ASA doesn’t have these options and targets your audience by machine learning.

In other words, the Advanced section of ASA is where everything happens. Because you can display your ads to the users who are looking for your app. To learn more, you can read our blog where we’ve covered the topic in more detail.

How Do I Optimize Apple Search Ads?

You can read our article where we’ve covered how you can use Apple Search Ads and this article where we’ve covered Apple Search Ads optimization.

How Does Apple Search Ads Work?

Apple Search Ads allow you to create highly relevant ad groups with one or more keywords, and target them by country, language, device type, and ‘App Category’. Apple App Search generates separate search queries for each of the 24 countries where it is available. The platform works by allowing you to bid on keywords so that your app can appear above organic search results when users type in relevant searches on their iPhones or iPads.

Apple Search Ads lets you set your own budget, target specific audiences, and measure your return on investment (ROI) with real-time data. It’s also a great way to get people who have already downloaded your app to come back and use it again.

Depending on your keyword, bidding, and localization strategy, the ad platform helps you reach your potential users this way.

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By now, you should be pretty familiar with Apple Search Ads. If you’re just getting started, you know the basics of what it is and how to set it up. Apple Search Ads is a great way to maximize your App Store Page visibility. Through careful implementation and ongoing optimization, your Apple Search Ads could be one of the most beneficial places to achieve the goals you have for your mobile app.

The platform offers great opportunities for marketers to expand their reach, but diving into it without a strategy can lead to frustration. If Apple Search Ads seem overwhelming to you, don’t worry. We’re here to help. With our expertise in ad creation, you can rest assured that your campaign will be in good hands.

So, if you are interested and would like to know more,

please drop us an email: “hello@getcherry.app

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