What Are Apple Ads?
Apple Ads, also known as Apple Search Ads (ASA), is Apple’s own advertising platform that helps app developers reach users directly on the App Store. It launched in 2016 and quickly became a must-have channel in mobile marketing.
The idea is simple: when people search for apps, Apple shows your promoted app at the top of relevant results. These users already have strong intent, because they’re searching for something specific right now.
Apple uses its network and first-party data to match the right ad to the right user. This helps increase app visibility, drive more installs, and improve your return on spend.
If you’re new to mobile marketing, think of Apple Search Ads as the place where high-intent users discover apps they are ready to download.
Image suggestion: screenshot of an App Store search with a promoted result.
Why Apple Search Ads Matter in Mobile Marketing
The App Store is one of the most competitive marketplaces in the world. Hundreds of thousands of similar apps compete for attention, and organic visibility alone is not enough anymore.
Apple Search Ads helps solve this problem by:
- giving your app prime visibility where intent is highest
- helping you compete against similar apps
- providing user behaviour insights through search terms
- improving discoverability when launching new features or entering new markets
In 2024, the App Store had over 813 million weekly visitors, which shows the scale of opportunity.
However, the main challenge for marketers remains the same: connecting clicks, spend, events and revenue across the whole funnel. To get a clear picture, you usually need an MMP such as Appsflyer, Adjust, Singular or Branch.
Apple Search Ads: Basic vs Advanced
Apple offers two ways to run campaigns.
Apple Ads Basic
Good for beginners or small budgets.
You set a monthly budget and a maximum cost-per-install (CPI). Apple’s automation does everything else.
Key points:
- suitable for budgets up to 10,000 USD per app per month
- ads are automatically generated from your App Store product page
- limited control and simple reporting
- machine learning handles bidding and targeting based on category, competitors, metadata, region and seasonality
- allows up to 50 apps, which is more than enough for most teams
Tip for beginners: complete Apple’s free training and certification before running your first campaign.
Apple Ads Advanced
This version gives marketers full control.
- unlimited budget
- pay per tap (CPT)
- define your audience
- choose placements
- adjust keyword bids
- set daily budgets
- full campaign structure, keywords, negatives, and reporting
If you plan to scale or run multiple markets, Advanced is usually the better long-term choice.
Apple Ads Placements
Apple Search Ads has four main placements. Each works differently, so your strategy may use one or combine several.
Today Tab
- the first screen users see when opening the App Store
- great for awareness
- often used during seasonal peaks (Black Friday, Christmas, events)
- lower intent because users are not searching yet
Image suggestion: Today tab layout screenshot.
Search Tab
- shown in the Suggested section
- reaches users right before they type their search
- over 70% of App Store users use search, so this placement drives early intent
Search Results
This is the most popular placement.
- appears on top of search results
- users have the highest intent
- 65% of downloads come after a search
- similar to Google Ads: appear above organic results
- use it to protect branded terms or target competitors
- Apple states conversion rates can reach 60% or more
Product Pages
- appears at the bottom of product pages
- can capture users browsing competitors
- helps expand reach without needing to win the main search auction
Apple Ads Campaign Types
To keep accounts organised and scalable, many marketers use a simple internal structure:
- Brand – protect your app name, especially if you have strong awareness
- Competitor – appear when users search for alternatives
- Category – keywords related to the main app purpose or features
- Discovery – broad match to find new keyword opportunities
This structure helps you understand performance by intent and avoid mixing strategies in one campaign.
Targeting Options in Apple Ads
Apple Ads Advanced allows several targeting layers:
- demographics (age and gender)
- location targeting
- keywords
- customer types (new users only, returning users, users of your other apps)
For most performance campaigns, keywords remain the strongest lever.
Understanding Apple Ads Keywords
There are four types of keyword settings:
- Broad – Apple shows your ad for related or similar searches
- Exact – your ad appears only for that specific keyword
- Search match – Apple automatically finds relevant queries
- Negative – exclude unwanted search terms
Most marketers use a mix of all four.
Custom Product Pages
Custom product pages allow you to show users a more relevant App Store page based on their search term.
For example:
- searching for “budget planner” sees screenshots focused on finance
- searching for “habit tracker” sees a different version of your product page
This helps match user expectations and increase conversion rate.
Custom pages are also perfect for testing creative hypotheses.
Campaign Analysis and Monitoring
Running campaigns is only the first step. You also need to understand what happens after the install:
- Did users activate?
- Did they subscribe or make purchases?
- Did they retain?
- What is the revenue per user per keyword?
Because Apple Search Ads does not show the full funnel by default, most teams integrate with an MMP (Appsflyer, Branch, Adjust, Singular, etc). This closes the attribution gap and lets you measure ROI properly.
ASO and Apple Ads: How They Work Together
One of the biggest advantages of Apple Search Ads is the keyword data it provides. You can use this information in your ASO strategy, improving:
- metadata
- title
- subtitle
- screenshots
- long-tail keyword coverage
When ASO improves, campaign performance often improves as well.
ASO and Apple Ads are not separate channels. Together, they help you drive visibility and conversions more efficiently.
Summary
Apple Search Ads is one of the strongest channels for reaching high-intent users on the App Store. It helps apps stand out, grow visibility, and reach the right audience at the right moment.
If you are just starting your mobile marketing journey, ASA is a simple and reliable way to learn how paid user acquisition works. And if you already manage multiple markets or want to scale, Apple Ads Advanced gives full control and deep optimisation options.
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