How to Leverage Custom Product Pages for Apple Search Ads

by Justin Duckers
App Growth Consultant at AppTweak

May 4, 2023 — 7 min read

Apple Search Ads can be a powerful tool for promoting your app to a targeted audience of users who are actively searching for apps like yours. However, to truly maximize the potential of your Apple Search Ads campaigns, you need to take advantage of all the features and customization options available to you. One of the most powerful of these options is custom product pages (CPP). With custom product pages, developers can offer a consistent and seamless experience from start to finish in the user acquisition journey – from Apple Search Ads to the App Store.

In this blog post, we’ll explore key use cases for custom product pages in Apple Search Ads, and how they can help you improve your app’s engagement, conversion rates, and ROI.

Improve keywords performance with CPP in Apple Search Ads

Custom product pages can be highly beneficial in improving the performance of keywords in Apple Search Ads. With CPP, you can create targeted landing pages that are tailored to specific keywords, thus increasing their relevancy and contextualizing the user’s journey.

By providing users with a more relevant and personalized experience, custom product pages can significantly increase the conversion rate of keywords. This results in a reduced cost per install that allows you to bid more aggressively and be more competitive in auctions. Overall, you’ll get more downloads while paying less for each of these downloads.

Learn how ASO can help you further reduce the cost per install of your keywords

Align user intent to a relevant custom product page

When users search for specific keywords related to your app, you can create a custom product page to showcase the specific features or products that are most relevant to their search intent. This personalized user acquisition journey means that they’ll likely find your CPP more relevant than the default product page, which could lead to higher conversion rates.

For example, if someone searches for “fitness tracker app,” you could create a CPP that highlights your app’s advanced tracking features and personalized workout plans. By showing store visitors that you have exactly what they’re looking for, you increase your chances to convert them.

Expert Tip

To better understand the search intent for a keyword, search for it on the App Store and analyze which apps rank in the top 10.

For the keywords anti-stress, stress relief game, and cozy game, Art Puzzle decided to create a custom product page that puts the emphasis on the relaxing aspect of the game — For the keywords “anti-stress,” “stress relief game,” and “cozy game,” Art Puzzle decided to create a custom product page that puts the emphasis on the relaxing aspect of the game.

Target competitor brand terms in Apple Search Ads with CPP

If you’re competing with other apps in your category, you can use custom product pages to target users who are searching for those apps. Although brand keywords only constitute 24% of all keywords on the App Store, they generate 49% of its traffic. Targeting these can give a tremendous boost to your visibility.

However, remember that store visitors who search for a brand term are less likely to change their mind at the last minute. So, make an extra effort to create a convincing custom product page.

A useful strategy is to pinpoint the shortcomings of the competitor you want to target, for example, by reading their negative reviews on the App Store. Then, display in your custom product page how you solve these shortcomings and offer a better alternative.

For the keyword candy crush, Gardenscapes decided to create a custom product page that puts the emphasis on match-3 gameplay rather than the variety of gameplays it usually showcases — For the keyword “candy crush,” Gardenscapes decided to create a custom product page that puts the emphasis on match-3 gameplay rather than the variety of gameplays it usually showcases.

Find out how to identify your closest competitors on the App Store using AppTweak

Tailor your message to a specific demographic with CPP

Apple Search Ads provides a series of audience targeting options that can be used in combination with custom product pages to further increase the relevancy of your app on specific queries. You can set up your ad groups so they target store visitors based on their age, gender, and/or customer type (new users, return users, users of my other apps).

You have to keep in mind, however, that enabling these audience targeting options for your ads means they won’t be displayed to store visitors who have Personalized Ads turned off. It’s estimated that there’s only 22% of store visitors who have Personalized Ads turned on, so enabling audience targeting options will exclude the majority of App Store traffic from seeing your ad.

Instead of using audience targeting options, you can try to find keywords that are intrinsically linked to a specific demographic (e.g. “period tracker” will be searched almost exclusively by women) and create a custom product page for these keywords. This way, you’ll still reach all eligible users while tailoring your messaging.

Pluto TV decided to target película (movie in Spanish) and create a custom product page that promotes hispanic TV shows and movies to appeal to the large hispanic audience in the US — Pluto TV decided to target “película” (“movie” in Spanish) and create a custom product page that promotes Hispanic TV shows and movies to appeal to the large Hispanic audience in the US.

Win back lapsed users with CPP

Finally, custom product pages can be used to target returning users with new and updated features of your app. The first, easiest option to target returning users is to enable the audience targeting option that Apple Search Ads provides. However, as seen previously, this will exclude the vast majority of store visitors from seeing your ads.

Instead, search for keywords that you think or know are used by your returning users. Then, create a custom product page that puts the emphasis on novelty and shows the main updates, improvements, and additions made to your app in the last weeks/months. This way, you give extra incentive to users who previously downloaded your app to try it again.

Expert Tip

Use the Search Ads console to find keywords used by your returning users to create a custom product page. Target “games/apps like [your brand name]” as they’re keywords most likely searched by users who have downloaded your app at some point. Target competitors’ brand terms to reduce the number of lapsed users you lose to the competition. Monitor the metrics of your CPP to make sure you’re targeting the right keywords.

Angry Birds 2 does a good job of showing in one image how the game has evolved over the years, giving extra incentive to lapsed users to redownload the game — Angry Birds 2 does a good job of showing in one image how the game has evolved over the years, and implying that it will keep evolving, giving extra incentive to lapsed users to redownload the game.

Showcase regional appeal with CPP in Apple Search Ads

Custom product pages can also be used to showcase the local appeal of your app to users in different regions. For example, if you have a food delivery app that operates in multiple cities, you could create different CPP for each city, highlighting the local cuisine and restaurants that are most popular in each area.

By using localized images, copy, and other visuals, you can create a more targeted experience for users in each city/region, and showcase how your app is the best option for them.

Take a look at these practical tips to localize your app or game in international markets

Conclusion

Custom product pages are a powerful tool to boost the performance of Apple Search Ads campaigns. By creating tailored landing pages that align with user intent, developers can offer a consistent and seamless user acquisition journey.

Through offering users a more relevant and personalized experience, custom product pages can significantly increase the conversion rate of keywords, resulting in reduced cost per install. This allows developers to bid more aggressively and be more competitive in auctions.

Overall, taking advantage of all the features and customization options available in Apple Search Ads, including custom product pages, can help developers maximize the potential of their campaigns and improve their app’s engagement, conversion rates, and ROI.

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by Justin Duckers, App Growth Consultant at AppTweak

Justin is an App Growth Consultant at AppTweak, helping apps boost their visibility and downloads. Passionate about sci-fi and fantasy, he spends his free time walking, reading and bouldering.