The Ultimate Guide to Apple Search Ads in 2025

Apple Search Ads provides a strategic way to boost your app’s visibility on the App Store, helping you connect with high-intent users and drive quality installs. By understanding the various ad placements, structuring your campaigns around clear goals, and leveraging tools like custom product pages, you can optimize your ad strategy and maximize return on ad spend (ROAS).

Whether you’re new to Apple Search Ads or looking to refine your approach, this guide covers essential insights to help you get the most out of your campaigns.

Key takeaways

• Leverage Apple Search Ads’ 4 ad placements — search results, Search tab, Today tab, and product pages — to connect with users at different stages of discovery and maximize your reach.
• Organize your search campaigns around clear goals and split them into brand, competitor, generic, and discovery campaigns to align with your objectives and streamline optimization.
• Use a mix of exact match, broad match, and Search Match to balance precision and discovery. Add negative keywords to filter out irrelevant traffic and improve efficiency.
• Optimize your bids using the formula: Bid = target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) × Conversion Rate (CVR) to balance cost-efficiency and visibility.
• Tailor your ads to user intent by directing users to custom product pages. This approach can significantly improve relevance and conversions.

What are Apple Search Ads?

Apple Search Ads is Apple’s paid advertising platform. It lets you feature your app in key spots across the App Store — at the top of search results, in the Today tab, the Search tab, or on other apps’ product pages. These placements give you multiple opportunities to connect with potential users at different stages of their journey — from searching with clear intent to casually browsing for something new. With precise targeting, budget control, and insights provided by Apple Search Ads, you can drive more downloads, improve user acquisition, and grow your app effectively.

Why use Apple Search Ads for app promotion?

Apple Search Ads is a top 3 mobile user acquisition ad network, according to Singular’s Mobile Index report and has become a must-have tool for app marketers looking to boost visibility and drive quality downloads.

• Wide Reach: Over 650 million people visit the App Store each week to discover and download apps.
• High User Intent: With around 65% of all app downloads happening right after a search on the App Store, Apple Search Ads helps you reach users when their intent to download is highest. This strong intent is reflected in the platform’s average conversion rate of 57% (source: AppTweak), highlighting how effective Apple Search Ads is at turning searches into downloads.
• Scale globally: Apple Search Ads is available in 91 regions and countries, making it one of the easiest and quickest way to reach a global audience.
• Tailored Experience: Custom product pages let you adapt your ads to different regions, user preferences, and search behaviors, ensuring a more relevant experience and maximizing ROI.
• Synergy with ASO: Combining ASO with Apple Search Ads creates a powerful growth strategy. Apple Search Ads generates instant visibility and provides insights that strengthen ASO.

How does Apple Search Ads work?

Whether you’re looking for a simple, automated approach or prefer full control and customization, Apple Search Ads offers two solutions: Apple Search Ads Basic and Apple Search Ads Advanced. Understanding these options, along with placements, campaign types, and targeting features, can help you craft a strategy that aligns with your goals and maximizes your app’s growth.

Apple Search Ads Basic vs Apple Search Ads Advanced

Apple Search Ads Basic is designed for simplicity and ease of use. It’s ideal for small businesses and solo developers. Just select your app, choose your target regions, and set your budget. Apple automatically handles ad creation and ensures your ad appears in relevant searches.

How does Apple Search Ads Basic work:

• Automated matching: Apple uses machine learning to automatically match your ad to relevant searches based on your app’s metadata. There’s no need to manage keywords manually.
• Define Cost-per-Install (CPI): Define the maximum amount you’re willing to pay per install, ensuring cost control. Apple provides a suggested max CPI based on your app’s specifics and competitive benchmarks, but you can adjust this to align with your budget and goals.

Apple Search Ads Advanced is designed for full control and flexibility, making it ideal for marketers and larger teams. You can choose where your ads appear, manage your own keywords and customize your bids to optimize performance.

How does Apple Search Ads Advanced work:

• Multiple placements: Run ads in search results, the Today tab, the Search tab, and on other apps’ product pages for maximum visibility.
• Keyword management: Choose and bid on specific keywords relevant to your app, giving you complete control over targeting.
• Audience targeting: Refine your audience by demographics, location, device type, and more to reach the right users.
• Custom product pages: Use custom product pages to create ad variants tailored to different audiences, regions, or keywords for more personalized experiences.
• Detailed reporting: Access comprehensive metrics like impressions, taps, conversions, and cost-per-tap (CPT) to optimize your campaigns.

Apple Search Ads placements

Apple Search Ads offers multiple ad placements on the App Store, helping you connect with potential users at different stages of their discovery journey. Each placement serves a unique purpose, allowing you to craft a well-rounded user acquisition strategy.

• Search results: Appear at the top of relevant search queries, targeting users actively looking for apps. With over 65% of downloads coming directly from search, this placement ensures you reach high-intent users.
• Search tab: Display your ad before users even type a query. This prime real estate helps you capture attention early in the search process, increasing brand visibility.
• Today tab: Feature your app on the App Store’s front page, the first thing users see when they open the App Store. Ideal for broad awareness and making a strong first impression.
• Product pages: Show your ad on the product pages of other apps related to yours. This placement helps you reach engaged users who are exploring similar apps, increasing the likelihood of downloads.

By leveraging these placements, you can tailor your Apple Search Ads strategy to meet users at different points of their journey and maximize your app’s visibility and growth. Among these, search results placement stands out as the most technical and strategic, requiring a deeper understanding of keyword management, bidding strategies, and creative optimization.

Apple Search Ads campaign types

It’s recommended to structure your search campaigns based on your specific objectives. Whether your goal is to protect your brand, reach new audiences, or discover untapped opportunities, organizing your campaigns effectively ensures better targeting, budget control and easier bid management. Here’s a breakdown of the key campaign types to align with your goals:

• Brand campaigns: Focus on protecting your brand by targeting keywords related to your app name or company. This ensures users searching for your app find you first, preventing competitors from capturing your traffic.
• Competitor campaigns: Target keywords associated with competitor apps to reach users exploring alternatives. These campaigns can be more expensive due to high competition but are effective for increasing market share and attracting users who are actively comparing options.
• Generic campaigns: Target broad, non-branded keywords related to your app’s category or core features. This helps you capture a wider audience who may not be aware of your brand but are interested in apps like yours.
• Discovery campaigns: Designed to help you find new, relevant keywords and expand your reach. These campaigns are ideal for identifying growth opportunities and uncovering search terms you might not have considered in your other campaigns.

Check out this detailed guide for more precise insights on how to structure your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Apple Search Ads audience targeting options

When setting up your campaigns, Apple Search Ads offers several audience targeting options to help you reach the most relevant users:

• Device type: Target users based on the device they’re using (e.g., iPhone or iPad) to align with your app’s compatibility and performance goals.
• Location: Focus on specific regions, countries, or cities to align with your market goals, seasonal promotions, or launch strategies.
• Demographics: Refine your audience by age and gender to reach users who match your ideal customer profile.
• Customer types: Target based on user relationships with your app:
  • New users: People who haven’t downloaded your app yet.
  • Existing users: People who already have your app installed.
  • Users of your other apps: People who use other apps you own.

These options allow you to create tailored campaigns, improve targeting precision, and maximize your return on ad spend.

Apple Search Ads keyword match types

​​Apple Search Ads offers three keyword match types — exact match, broad match, and Search Match — to help you control how closely search terms must align with your keywords to trigger your ads.

• Exact match: Targets searches that match your keyword precisely or with close variations, such as singular/plural forms or slight misspellings. This match type provides the highest level of control, ensuring your ad is shown for keywords you define.
• Broad match: Allows your ad to appear for a wider range of search terms, including related phrases, synonyms, and variations of your keyword. Broad match helps you reach a broader audience and discover new keyword opportunities, but it requires monitoring to avoid irrelevant traffic.
• Search Match: Automatically matches your ad to relevant searches based on your app’s metadata, category, and related apps. This match type is great for discovering new keywords without manual input but may require adding negative keywords to avoid irrelevant impressions.

How to structure & set up your Apple Search Ads

Let’s get into the practical steps of how to actually set up and structure your search campaigns. In this section, we’ll guide you step-by-step through setting up campaigns that align with your goals, and maximize your app’s growth.

1. Organize campaigns by goal

The first step in setting up successful Apple Search Ads campaigns is to clearly define your objective. Organizing your campaigns by goal (brand, competitor, generic, or discovery) helps you stay focused, allocate your budget effectively, and optimize performance more efficiently.

2. Set up campaign parameters

When creating a campaign in Apple Search Ads, you need to define the following parameters:

• Daily budget: Set a daily spending limit to maintain control over your costs and ensure consistent ad visibility.
• Countries or regions: Select the markets where you want your ads to run. If budget allows, it’s best to create a separate campaign for each country or region. This approach helps you manage bids and budgets based on the performance of each market.

3. Create focused ad groups

The next step is to structure your campaigns with clear ad groups. Ad groups help you cluster related keywords together, ensuring your ads remain relevant to user searches.

For example, a generic campaign for a fitness app could have ad groups for “workouts,” “nutrition,” and “weight loss.” Each ad group should include a focused set of keywords and ad variants tailored to those search terms.

By segmenting your campaigns this way, you can manage bids, budgets, and performance at a granular level. This approach allows for easier optimization, improves ad relevance, and ensures you’re making data-driven decisions to maximize your return on ad spend.

For each ad group, you have to define the following parameters:

• Ad group targeting: For each ad group, define your audience targeting parameters, including device type, location, demographics, and customer type (new or existing users).
• Max CPT bid: Set the maximum cost-per-tap (CPT) you’re willing to pay.
• CPA cap (optional): Specify the cost-per-acquisition (CPA) cap to limit what you’re willing to spend per conversion. Your max CPT bid will be influenced by this cap using the formula: CPA Cap x Tap-Through Conversion Rate = Bid Ceiling.

Example: If your CPA cap is $5 and your conversion rate is 65%, your bid ceiling is $3.25. If your max CPT bid is set to $4, the bid applied will still be $3.25.

4. Choose keyword match types and select your keywords

Apple Search Ads defaults to Search Match, which automatically matches your ads to relevant searches based on your app’s metadata. This is useful for discovery campaigns.

If you want more control, you can manually select keywords and select the appropriate match type (exact match or broad match) per keyword.

In addition to selecting the right keywords, it’s essential to use negative keywords to filter out irrelevant searches. Negative keywords help ensure your ads only reach the most relevant audience, reducing wasted spend. You can add negative keywords at the ad group level for more granular control or at the campaign level to exclude terms across all ad groups.

5. Define Ad Creatives and Custom Product Pages

Apple Search Ads automatically creates ads using your app’s metadata (app name, icon, and subtitle) from App Store Connect. For more tailored messaging, you can direct users to a custom product page (CPP) designed to match the specific intent of the keywords in your ad group. Using custom product pages can improve relevance and boost conversion rates by providing a more personalized experience.

How to choose keywords for your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Choosing the right keywords for your Apple Search Ads campaigns is crucial for meeting your objectives, improving ad relevance, and driving quality downloads. Each campaign type — brand, competitor, generic, and discovery — requires a tailored keyword strategy to succeed. Here are some tips to help you research and select the best keywords for your campaigns:

• Brand Campaigns: Focus on exact match keywords that include your app name, brand name and common misspellings. Tools like AppTweak can help identify variations and misspellings that users frequently search for, ensuring comprehensive brand coverage.

Negative Keyword Tip: Exclude irrelevant brand variations or phrases that attract low-quality traffic to focus on high-intent users.

• Competitor Campaigns: Similar as with brand campaigns, target exact match keywords related to your main competitor’s app name or brand name and common misspellings. If you are targeting a wide range of competitors, consider grouping them in different ad groups. This segmentation allows you to adjust bids for each competitor, ensuring efficient budget allocation. You can create ad variants with custom product pages to highlight your app’s advantages over specific competitors, improving relevance.
• Generic Campaigns: Segment keywords based on user intent and create ad groups tailored to each intent for more precise targeting. Use general, non-branded keywords that reflect your app’s category, features, or functionality. For example, a meditation app might target keywords like “stress relief,” “guided meditation,” or “breathing exercises.” Balance high-volume keywords with long-tail variations to capture a wider audience while maintaining relevance. Use exact match to precisely control where your ads appear.

Negative Keyword Tip: Exclude overly broad or irrelevant terms that could lead to wasted spend, such as generic phrases that don’t relate to your app’s features.

• Discovery Campaigns: Leverage Apple’s Search Match to automatically identify new, relevant keywords based on your app’s metadata and user search behavior. This helps you uncover search terms that you might not have considered. Once you identify high-performing keywords from these campaigns, transfer them to your brand, competitor, or generic campaigns for more manual control and optimized bidding.

Negative Keyword Tip: Add exact match keywords from your other campaigns as negatives in Discovery campaigns to avoid bidding on the same terms and overlapping efforts.

You can use Apple’s built-in keyword recommendations feature to quickly identify new keywords to add to your campaigns. However, for more extensive keyword research and optimization, it’s recommended to use a platform like AppTweak’s Search Ads Manager. AppTweak offers over 12 keyword picking tools designed to streamline the process of finding high-performing keywords and easily adding them to your campaigns.

How to define the right bids for your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Defining the right bids for your Apple Search Ads campaigns is all about balancing visibility and cost-efficiency. Here are practical steps to help you set the optimal bid for your keywords:

1. Review Apple’s metrics: Start by analyzing the Estimated Cost Per Tap (CPT) and competition levels provided by Apple Search Ads. For high-intent or competitive keywords, you’ll likely need higher bids to secure visibility. For niche or long-tail keywords, lower bids can often still deliver good results.
   
2. Run small tests to gather data: When you are just getting started, run short tests with different bid amounts and let your campaign run for a few days. Track key metrics like Tap-Through Rate (TTR), Conversion Rate (CVR), and Cost Per Acquisition (CPA). This testing phase helps you understand how your keywords perform and provides the data needed for accurate bid adjustments.
   
3. Use a bid formula: Once you have historical data, use this simple formula to guide your bidding: Bid = Target CPA × Conversion Rate (CVR)

For example, if your target CPA is $5 and your CVR is 20% (0.20), your ideal bid would be $1.

This formula helps ensure that your bids align with your budget and performance goals. It works well because it combines budget control and real performance data. The Target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) keeps you within a predefined spending limit, while the Conversion Rate (CVR) reflects how effective your keywords are at turning taps into installs.

4. Adjust bids based on performance: Continuously monitor your campaign’s performance. If a keyword is performing well but your ad isn’t getting enough impressions, increase the bid slightly. If the costs are high and conversions are low, consider lowering the bid or revising your keyword strategy.

Tools like AppTweak’s Apple Search Ads Manager can simplify bid management with automated bid suggestions based on real-time data and performance trends. This helps you stay competitive without constant manual adjustments.

More tips on when to raise your bids for your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Ad Variations with Custom Product Pages (CPP)

You can optimize your Apple Search Ads campaigns by directing people to a custom product page instead of your default App Store product listing. With custom product pages, you can create different versions of your App Store product page, each with unique screenshots, app previews, and promotional text. When used strategically, custom product pages can significantly improve relevance and boost conversion rates.

What are custom product pages?

Custom product pages (CPPs) allow you to highlight different features, benefits, or visual elements of your app to match specific user intents or search terms. Instead of directing every user to the same generic product page, you can send them to a tailored variation that resonates better with their needs and expectations.

You can create up to 35 custom product pages per app, giving you the flexibility to target a wide range of audiences, search terms, or marketing campaigns. Each custom product page allows you to customize key elements, including:

• Screenshots: Display visuals that emphasize specific app features or use cases. For example, a fitness app can showcase yoga classes for users searching for yoga or emphasize cardio workouts for those interested in cardio.
• App previews: Use tailored video previews to showcase features that appeal directly to different segments of your audience.
• Promotional text: Craft messaging that aligns with the specific needs or desires of users coming from different keywords or ad campaigns.

You can optionally add an app deep link to your custom product page to optimize the user experience. When users click ‘Open’ on your custom product page, the app deep link directs them to specific content in your app.

Custom product pages integrate seamlessly with Apple Search Ads at the ad group level. When setting up or editing an ad group, you can choose a custom product page that aligns with the keywords you’re targeting. This ensures that users clicking on your ad are taken to a product page that aligns with their search intent.

Why use custom product pages with Apple Search Ads?

When running Apple Search Ads, relevance is everything. By aligning your ad groups and keywords with custom product pages you can:

• Increase relevance: Ads that direct users to tailored product pages perform better because they address user intent more directly.
• Boost conversion rates: When users land on a page that speaks to their specific needs or interests, they’re more likely to download the app.
• Gain insights: Compare performance metrics across different custom product pages to understand which features, visuals, or messaging drive the most conversions.

AppTweak data underscores just how impactful custom product pages can be. In a recent study by AppTweak, apps that incorporated custom product pages into their Apple Search Ads campaigns experienced an average 6.6% increase in conversion rate. For mobile games, the impact was even greater, with conversion rates increasing by up to 8%.

Case Study: How SoundCloud increased conversion rates by 58% with custom product pages

SoundCloud used custom product pages (CPP) to enhance the relevance and effectiveness of their Apple Search Ads campaigns targeting competitor keywords. By analyzing customer reviews, they identified key advantages — the ability to skip tracks freely and fewer ads compared to competitors. SoundCloud created a custom product page highlighting these benefits and linked it to their competitor-focused ads.

This approach resulted in a 58% increase in conversion rate and a 39% reduction in cost-per-install (CPI).

Tips to leverage custom product pages for Apple Search Ads

• Align custom product pages with ad group themes: Group your keywords into themes and create custom product pages that match each theme. For example, a fitness app can create one adgroup and custom product page for “yoga workouts” and another for “cardio training.” This improves relevance and conversion rates.
• Leverage custom product pages for seasonal or promotional Campaigns: Create custom product pages for time-sensitive campaigns, such as holiday promotions or major updates. For example, a shopping app could create a custom product page highlighting Black Friday deals to match seasonal intent.
• Leverage custom product pages for competitor campaigns: When targeting competitor keywords, create custom product pages that highlight your app’s unique advantages, such as standout features, or superior user experience. Subtly address competitor pain points or weaknesses and position your app as the better alternative.
• Localize for different regions: If you’re targeting multiple regions, create localized custom product pages with language and visuals that resonate with each market. This enhances relevance and boosts engagement.
• Use compelling visuals and messaging: ASO best practices still stand when creating custom product pages. Ensure your screenshots and app previews highlight the features users are searching for, and use clear, benefit-driven captions in your screenshots that reinforce your message.

Apple Search Ads campaign analysis & monitoring

Regular analysis and monitoring of your Apple Search Ads campaigns are essential to maximize performance and optimize your return on ad spend (ROAS). By keeping a close eye on key metrics and insights, you can identify what’s working, adjust your strategy, and ensure your campaigns are aligned with your goals.

Key metrics to monitor your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Tracking the right metrics is essential for understanding the performance of your Apple Search Ads campaigns and making data-driven decisions. Here are the key metrics to focus on:

• Impressions: The number of times your ad is shown to users. A high number of impressions indicates good visibility.
• Tap-Through Rate (TTR): The percentage of users who tapped your ad after seeing it. A high TTR suggests your ad is relevant and engaging.
• Conversion Rate (CVR): The percentage of taps that lead to installs. A strong CVR indicates your ad and landing page (or CPP) effectively match user intent.
• Cost-Per-Tap (CPT): The average amount you pay for each tap. Monitoring CPT helps manage your budget and optimize bids.
• Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA): The average cost of acquiring a new user (usually an install). Keeping CPA low ensures efficient spending and helps you achieve your acquisition goals within budget.
• Spend: The total amount spent on your campaign. Tracking spend helps you stay within budget and allocate resources effectively.
• Share of Voice (SoV): The percentage of total impressions your ads receive compared to competitors for the same keywords. A higher SoV indicates strong visibility and dominance within your target category. Monitoring SoV helps you understand your competitive standing and identify opportunities to improve market share.

By regularly tracking these metrics, you can identify what’s working, refine your strategy, and ensure your Apple Search Ads campaigns are optimized for success.

Tips to optimize Apple Search Ads campaign performance

Running a successful Apple Search Ads campaign requires more than just setting it up — continuous optimization is key to achieving the best results. The following practical tips will help you maximize performance, improve efficiency, and get the most value out of your budget:

• Move high-performing keywords from discovery campaigns to stable campaigns: Discovery campaigns are excellent for identifying new keyword opportunities, but once you find high-performing keywords, transfer them to your stable campaigns (brand, competitor, or generic) for more control over bids and targeting. After transferring, add these keywords as negative keywords in your discovery campaigns to prevent bidding overlap. This approach allows you to continuously expand your keyword pool while keeping your discovery campaigns focused on new opportunities.

• Adjust your bids: Regularly analyze your Cost-Per-Tap (CPT) and Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) to see where your budget is being spent most effectively. Increase bids on keywords and ad groups with strong Tap-Through Rates (TTR) and low CPA to maximize visibility and conversions. For keywords that are costly or underperforming, lower bids or reallocate the budget to better-performing areas.
• Monitor your Impression Share: Review your Impression Share or Share of Voice (SoV) to understand how visible your ads are compared to competitors. A high SoV means your ads are dominating search results, while a low SoV indicates room for improvement. If your SoV is low for critical keywords, consider increasing bids to improve visibility and ensure you’re capturing your target audience effectively.
• Pace your budget to avoid saturation: Relying solely on daily budget caps can lead to budget exhaustion early in the day, causing your ads to stop running and missing valuable opportunities. Instead, manage your spend through bid adjustments. Lower bids for underperforming keywords to reduce their spend and ensure your budget lasts longer throughout the day.
• Utilize automation for efficiency: Managing bids and budgets manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Use automation tools like AppTweak’s Search Ads Manager to streamline your campaigns. Set up automated rules to adjust bids based on real-time performance metrics like Cost-Per-Tap (CPT), Conversion Rate (CVR), and Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA). For example, automate bid increases for keywords with a high TTR and low CPA, or decrease bids for keywords with poor performance. Automation helps maintain efficiency and ensures you’re making data-driven adjustments consistently.

More tips and best practices on how to optimize your Apple Search Ads campaigns

Benefits of a multi-placement Apple Search Ads strategy

A multi-placement Apple Search Ads strategy helps you connect with potential users at various stages of their discovery journey, ensuring your app maintains high visibility and drives consistent growth. By utilizing search results, Search tab, Today tab, and product pages, you can optimize your ad reach and engage users in different contexts.

• Maximize brand exposure: Each placement offers a unique way to showcase your app, keeping it top-of-mind for users. The Today tab and Search tab placements help build brand awareness by displaying your app before users even start a search. This early exposure increases familiarity and can lead to higher engagement later.
• Capture high-intent users: Search results placements allow you to target users actively searching for apps similar to yours. These users are closer to making a download decision, making this placement ideal for driving conversions.
• Engage users exploring similar apps: Product page placements let you advertise on the pages of apps similar to yours, helping you attract users who are already evaluating options in your category. This strategy increases the likelihood of capturing users interested in your app’s features.

Synergies between ASO & Apple Search Ads

ASO (App Store Optimization) and Apple Search Ads are two sides of the same coin, working together to improve your app’s visibility and downloads. When combined effectively, they create a continuous feedback loop that benefits both organic and paid user acquisition.

1. ASO improves discoverability and conversion

ASO focuses on optimizing your app’s keywords, metadata, and visuals to help users find your app through organic searches. A well-optimized app store listing ensures that when users search for relevant terms, your app appears and encourages them to download.

2. Apple Search Ads boosts keyword reach

Apple Search Ads can accelerate your organic efforts by placing your app at the top of search results for a wider range of keywords. This helps you capture immediate traffic and downloads, even for keywords where your app might not rank highly yet.

3. The feedback loop between ASO and Apple Search Ads

The real power lies in the continuous feedback loop between ASO and Apple Search Ads:

• Keyword insights: Apple Search Ads provides detailed data on which keywords drive the most conversions. Use these insights to refine your app’s metadata and keyword strategy for organic growth.
• Custom product pages (CPP): Directing Apple Search Ads to targeted custom product pages increases the relevance of your ads and boosts conversion rates. High conversions signal to Apple that your app is highly relevant for those keywords, which can positively influence your organic rankings.
• Lower Apple Search Ads costs: Strong ASO improves your app’s relevance score in Apple Search Ads, which can reduce your cost-per-tap (CPT) and make your paid campaigns more efficient.

4. Sustainable growth

By continuously improving your ASO and leveraging insights from Apple Search Ads, you create a cycle that enhances both organic and paid performance. This integrated approach ensures you’re maximizing your app marketing strategy and driving long-term growth.

Whether you’re taking your first steps with Apple Search Ads or refining an existing strategy, adopting these best practices will ensure you stay ahead in an increasingly competitive app ecosystem. By continuously analyzing, optimizing, and embracing a data-driven mindset, you’ll unlock the full potential of your campaigns and drive sustainable app growth.

To maximize efficiency and stay competitive, investing in a tool like AppTweak’s Search Ads Manager can be a game-changer. With features like, keyword recommendations, competitor intelligence and automated bid adjustments, AppTweak simplifies campaign management and optimization.

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FAQ

What is the difference between Apple Search Ads Basic vs Apple Search Ads Advanced?

Apple Search Ads Basic is simple and automated. Just set your budget and max cost-per-install (CPI), and Apple manages the rest. Ideal for small businesses or solo developers.

Apple Search Ads Advanced offers full control. You manage keywords, bids, and placements, and can target specific audiences. Perfect for marketers and larger teams who want to optimize their campaigns with data-driven insights.

How to get started with Apple Search Ads?

To get started with Apple Search Ads, go to searchads.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID. Once your account is set up, choose between Apple Search Ads Basic or Advanced based on your needs. Basic is ideal for quick, automated promotion: select your app, set a budget, and define your max cost-per-install (CPI) — Apple handles the rest. Advanced offers more control, allowing you to select keywords, set bids, choose ad placements (Search Results, Today Tab, etc.), and refine audience targeting by location, demographics, or device type. After setting your budget and campaign parameters, launch your campaign and monitor key metrics like impressions, tap-through rate (TTR), and cost-per-acquisition (CPA) to optimize performance.

What is the cost of Apple Search Ads?

Apple Search Ads operates on a cost-per-tap (CPT) model, meaning you only pay when someone taps your ad. The cost of each tap depends on factors like keyword competitiveness, audience targeting, and your bid. You can set a maximum CPT bid to control how much you’re willing to pay per tap.

What is the minimum spend on Apple Search Ads?

• Apple Search Ads Basic: The minimum budget is $5 per month.
• Apple Search Ads Advanced: There is no minimum spend requirement. You have complete flexibility to set your own daily budget and maximum CPT bid based on your goals.

How to automate Apple Search Ads?

To automate Apple Search Ads effectively, use AppTweak’s Apple Search Ads Manager. This tool streamlines campaign management with automated bid adjustments and performance-based rules. Set up custom automation rules to increase bids for high-performing keywords, pause underperforming ones, or manage budgets in real-time based on key metrics like tap-through rate (TTR), cost-per-tap (CPT), and cost-per-acquisition (CPA).