Apple Search Ads


What are Apple Search Ads
Apple search ads (ASA) are paid adverts located at the top of the search results page on the iOS App Store. As Apple explains: “Grow your business by promoting your apps at the top of App Store Search.”
In a marketplace where around 70% of visitors use the App Store actively search for apps / games and 65% of downloads occur directly after a search on the App Store, it’s worthwhile optimizing this behaviour by introducing ASA’s into a marketing strategy. However, tread carefully, if an app / game is likely to be found organically by users searching which comes for free, paying for ads can be an unnecessary expense, and lead to organic search cannibalization. Especially when the average Cost per Tap is about $0.84.
There are two options that Apple offers for ASA’s: basic and advanced. These vary in what they provide; the basic provides a simpler dashboard whereas the advanced tool allows more freedom for keyword choice and gives much more detailed analysis on ad performance.
Why Apple Search Ads are Important
As an ad’s primary function is to increase discoverability to directly drive downloads, by investing in them there’s scope for real app growth. ASA’s are really high-quality, high-target ad placements as they engage users who have a high intent for specific keywords. This makes them desirable and the conversion rate (CVR) of more than 50% proves this.
Brand awareness is a key component. People may wonder why big brand names like McDonald’s that have a strong retail and online presence would need to advertise. Well, a brand that’s talked about much less than its competitors runs the risk of disappearing from the conversation entirely. And by applying that logic to apps, to stay front of mind, an app needs to be seen; one way of doing this is by appearing in the search results in the App Store when users are searching for high volume keywords. Not only that, but by advertising on their own keywords, apps can protect themselves from competitors wishing to advertise on them instead.
Brand awareness can also contribute to an increase in ‘branded search’ volumes and installs; users don’t need to directly respond (tap) on an ad to be engaged with it. If users see an ad inside their search results page, a significant portion of them will be driven to explore the app / game either then or at a later stage. Think of it like billboard or television advertising; it’s also about exposure
ASA’s are a reliable advertising avenue as Apple controls the network. They’re without fraudulent installs like many various mobile ad networks which are plagued with them.
And finally, as a boost for UA teams who are always looking for new opportunities to acquire traffic, ASA’s are being rolled out to different Apple apps like Apple News and Apple Stocks.
Apple Search Ads and ASO
Any advertising strategy should include ASO as a key element. ASO teams can A/B test creative sets to optimize them for ROAS, using screenshots that work better for specific placements around specific keywords.
And by investing in keywords- its own, ones it’s not able to rank for or those that are hard to rank for- ASO teams can use search ads to maximize an app’s search visibility to accelerate growth. This covers a broader share of the search market around the app.
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- User Segmentation
- User Acquisition for Mobile Apps
- Paid App User Acquisition
- Organic User Acquisition
- Explorative Users
- Decisive Users
- App Store Update
- Supply Side Platform
- Software Development Kit (SDK)
- Soft Launch
- SKAdNetwork
- Sessions Per Active Device
- Sales Per Paying User
- Google Play Search
- App Store Subtitle
- App Store Seasonality
- App Store Search
- App Store Screenshots
- App Store Screenshot View Rate
- App Store Sales
- App Store Analytics: Standard Downloads
- App Store Analytics: Source Type
- App Store Analytics: App Store Sessions
- App Size
- Rewarded Video Ads
- Return on Ad spend (ROAS)
- Replicated App Store Page
- Real-Time Bidding (RTB)
- Re-engagement
- Google Play Third-party Referral
- Google Play Ranking
- App Store Web Referral
- App Store Reviews
- App Store Review Engagement Rate
- App Store Redownloads
- App Store Ratings
- App Store Ranking
- App Store App Referral
- App Store Analytics: Region
- App Retention Rate
- Product Page Conversion Rate
- Proceeds Per Paying Users
- Preloaded Apps
- Pre/Post App Store Tests
- Post-Install Event
- Playable Mobile Ads
- Performance Marketing
- Pay Per Install
- Google Play Product Page
- Google Play Personalization
- Apple’s Product Page Optimization (PPO)
- App Store Product Page Views (Unique Devices)
- App Store Product Page Views
- App Store Product Page
- App Store Proceeds
- App Store Preview Videos
- App Store Pre-Orders
- App Store Pre-Launch
- App Store Personalization
- App Store Paying Users
- App Store Page Scroll Rate
- App Store Analytics: Purchasable Item
- App Store Analytics: Product Page
- App Store Analytics: Pre Orders
- App Store Analytics: Platform Version
- App Store Analytics: Page Type
- Monthly Active Users (MAU)
- Mobile Growth
- Mobile Game Monetization
- Mobile Game Marketing
- Mobile Game Business Model
- Mobile Delivery Platform
- Mobile Bid Adjustment
- Mobile Attribution Window
- Mobile Attribution Manipulation
- Mobile App Retention
- Mobile App Onboarding
- Mobile App Monetization
- Mobile App Advertising
- Mobile Ad Viewability
- Mobile Ad Fraud
- Mobile App Growth
- Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU)
- Average Revenue Per Daily Engaged User (ARPDEU)
- Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU)
- Attribution
- ARPU – Average Revenue Per User
- Apple Arcade
- Apple App Store Connect
- App Store Optimization (ASO)
- App Store Audience Testing
- App Store Analytics: App Version
- App Store Analytics: App Store Active Devices
- App Store Analytics: App Referrer
- App Store Analytics: Active In Last 30 Days
- App Store Acquisition Channels
- App Store A/B testing
- Ad Unit
- Ad Server
- Ad Revenue
- Ad Network
- Ad Mediation
- Ad Impression
- Ad Exchange
- A/B Testing Statistics
- Keyword Localization
- K-Factor
- Google Play Keywords
- App Store Keywords Research
- App Store Keywords
- App Store and Google Play Keywords Optimization
- Interstitial Ads
- Interactive Ads
- Installs Per Mille (IPM)
- In-App Events
- In-App Bidding
- In-App Advertising
- Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)
- App Store In-App Purchases
- App Store Impressions (Unique Devices)
- App Store Impressions
- App Store Icon
- App Store Analytics: Installations
- App Install Rates
- App Influencer Marketing
- Growth Loop
- Google Play Points
- Google Play Pass
- Google Play Experiments
- Google Play Developer Console
- Google Advertising ID (GAID)
- Gametech (Game Technology)
- Game Bundles
- Google Play Short Description
- Google Play Long Description
- Deep Linking
- Daily Active Users (DAU)
- App Store Description Read Rate
- App Store App Description
- App Store Analytics: Device
- App Store Analytics: App Store Deletions
- App Store Analytics: App Download Date
- Google Play Creatives
- CTR (Click Through Rate)
- Cross Promotion
- Cost Per View (CPV)
- Cost Per Mille (CPM)
- Cost per Install
- Cost Per Engagement (CPE)
- Cost Per Completed View (CPCV)
- Cost Per Click (CPC)
- Cost Per Action (CPA)
- Churn Rate
- Casual Games
- Apple’s Custom Product Pages
- App Store Culturalization
- App Store Creatives
- App Store Conversion Rate
- App Store Categories
- App Store Analytics: Campaign
- App Store Analytics: App Store Crashes
- App Conversion Rate
- App Clip Sessions
- App Clip Installations
- App Clip Crashes
- App Clip Card Views (Unique)
- App Clip Card Views
- App Clip Active Devices
Related Terms
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App Store App Description
The app description is a text paragraph explaining to users about the app or game.
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App Store Search
App Store Search is an organic traffic source that includes all users who find an app after searching for a query or keyword in the search tab in the App Store.
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App Store Product Page
The App Store product page is the landing page for a mobile app or game distributed and published on Apple’s App Store.
Related Resources

How to Improve your App Store Optimization Using Apple Search Ads
