What are Apple Search Ads?
Apple search Advertisements (ASA) are Compensated Ads located at the Peak 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 so Important?
With iPhone devices today making up as much as 45% of the US Smartphone marketplace, it’s easy to see why entrepreneurs might consider App Store search advertisements to connect the way they work, and ways to begin.
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.
Apple search advertisement maintains an astonishing 50% typical conversions for companies where cellular apps that are not running ASA’s are a significant linking part together with the crowd organically.
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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