Apple Search Ads (ASA) is a channel for acquisition that links advertisers with pertinent target markets. Marketers can share their app with users who have a proven interest in specific terms by bidding to appear when a user enters a particular keyword in the App Store. This is a powerful acquisition tool because when users search for particular functions, such as what your app has to offer, they are directly exposed to relevant apps.
Marketers can massively boost their visibility in the App Store by using Apple Search Ads campaigns. The highest bidder's ad appears on the results page for a specific keyword, highlighted in blue at the top. Appearing first on relevant App Store pages is a valuable branding tool, putting your app ahead of competitors with effective app store optimization (ASO). However, this exposure is only as adequate as the strategy behind it: ASA still requires marketers to bid on relevant keywords for their ads to convert users.
Marketing teams can choose between Apple Search Ads Basic and Apple Search Ads Advanced. Whichever one you select will determine which tools are available, with ASA Advanced providing significantly more options for refining your strategy.
Apple Search Ads Basic vs. Apple Search Ads Advanced
With ASA Basic, you can promote up to 50 apps for a monthly budget of up to $10,000 per app. Marketing people who want predictable costs and a straightforward setup should consider this option. For instance, setting audience refinements or crucial keywords won't be necessary for ASA Basic. Instead, Apple does the matching of your advertisement to target audiences. The outcomes of this automation can be seen in your performance dashboard as it matches your ads to relevant users.
ASA Advanced extends these alternatives and gives advertisers more control over their targeting options. Advertisers can choose their keywords with ASA Advanced, decide when users see their ads and use their creative resources. The advertiser must specify their target markets and keywords, as well as the maximum spend per click, based on their KPIs.
Why do app marketers leverage Apple Search Ads to boost their apps?
Apple introduced Search Ads in 2016, enabling app marketers to advertise their apps on the Apple App Store. It operated at the time using the pay-per-click (PPC) model, much like most ad networks. But if Apple weren't continually enhancing and developing its platforms, they wouldn't be Apple. With great functionality and reporting options, Search Ads are one of the most effective tools for app advertising.
The only advertising platform that manages campaigns directly inside the Apple App Store is Apple Search Ads. In essence, it enables your program to bypass the queue. In other words, your app ad will rank above competitors with an organic search result for interested viewers. It would be best if you used Apple Search Ads to increase your user base, raise money, and be successful because 70% of consumers use search to locate new apps.
Best Way to Use Apple Search Ads: 8 Tips
1-Before beginning a campaign, review the app metadata.
Advertisers must check their app metadata (found in App Store Connect) before launching a new campaign. This is because your ad creative's appearance depends on this metadata and cannot be modified once it has been set.
2-Choosing keywords based on your USP
Understanding how your target market will look for your app is crucial if you have ASA Advanced and want to focus on the keywords that will lead to installs. How, for instance, will you promote the USP of your app? This can involve adding the keywords "meal planning" and "step counter" to your health and fitness app.
3-To cross-promote and clone settings, use your current Apple ID.
Make sure to sign up for Apple Search Ads with the Apple ID associated with your App Store Connect account. By doing so, you can cross-promote your advertising to current users and add them as a customer type for your audience. Apple also has an identical feature that makes transferring many of your settings simple.
4-For the most outstanding results, use both match types.
By using match types, you can match user searches with your terms in Apple Search Ads. Broad matches and exact matches are examples of this. It would help if you used both for your marketing for the best results. As you might anticipate, a broad match will include your advertisement in associated search words. Still, an exact match enables you to display advertisements to customers looking for that specific term.
5-Leverage negative keywords.
You can specify which terms you don't want to appear in your bids using negative keywords and broad match and exact match keywords. This ensures that you aren't competing against yourself while reducing the alternatives for your targeted advertisements.
6-Integrating and classifying countries and regions
Advertisers can develop ASA Advanced ads that classify nations and territories according to their shared characteristics. This enables you to adjust based on particular criteria, such as language and customer value. Before this, it is possible to determine any nation's or region's worth by developing and evaluating specific campaigns.
7-Don't neglect the link between ASA and ASO.
It can be simple to overlook the importance of ASO when building up your ASA campaigns. Apple bases its decisions on the metadata associated with your app on the App Store. Therefore it's critical to make sure your ASO is effective.
8-Throughout time, enhance your bids.
Advertisers must continuously modify their strategy to increase installs and ROI by adjusting bids and budgets in response to results. This involves keeping track of whether it makes sense to increase your maximum bid for a specific keyword that you're no longer succeeding with or determining whether your budget would be better used on another keyword.
Apple Search Ads is a practical and accessible avenue to increase iOS app downloads and organic ranking. Since it is the only opportunity to advertise programs directly within the Apple App Store, it is an immediate goldmine for boosting brand recognition and downloads.
On the one side, Apple Search Ads Basic relieves you of some work. Apple Search Ads Advanced, on the other hand, gives you control. The type of Apple Search Ads you employ to promote your app depends on you, your resources, and your budget. To avoid wasting money and failing to achieve your goals, constantly remember to assess whether your choice was the appropriate one.
