Your iOS app is built and launched. Now it's time to get it found. With Apple Search Ads campaigns, you can get your app to the top of search results in the Apple App Store. But how do you optimize these campaigns, and what's the right game plan?
In this blog post, we'll dive into optimization together, looking at which factors matter most and how to re-engage potential users.Want to know right away how discoverable your app is? Check your score in our ASO-tool!
Campaign structure
When you set up campaigns, it's best practice to keep things organized. You can do this by keeping your naming simple.An example of a campaign name that's easy to filter on is: NL Discovery Coffee Digital.
Each campaign type offers different possibilities when it comes to reach, what you use it for, and what kind of data it delivers. Let's take a look at the following four campaign types:
Brand campaigns: These campaigns focus on your brand name and are meant to secure the top spot for keywords containing your brand name. All keywords in this campaign are related to your brand name.
Generic campaigns: A campaign focused on your app's functionality and category. For a digital newspaper app, for example, this could be "digital newspaper."
Competitor campaigns: There will always be competitors with a similar app. So it's important that when people search for a competitor's brand name, you show up in the results too. This gives users more choice, and it's up to you to win them over.
Discovery campaigns: An important campaign type, since it helps you attract new potential users. It's aimed at a broader audience. The great thing about this campaign is that it surfaces new keywords through the use of broad match keywords. We'll dive deeper into this later.
Keywords
Choosing the right keywords is crucial when it comes to reaching the right people. We can split keywords into three categories.
Broad match keywords: These ensure that people searching related keywords also see your ad. This means you'll attract potential users, but also people looking for something else. So it's important to track and exclude irrelevant keywords.
Exact match keywords: The name says it all: these are keywords your ad is shown for only when a user searches the exact keyword you've set. You use these to reach a specific target audience.
Search Match: Apple Search Ads gives you the option to use Search Match. Search Match uses metadata from your App Store product page and connects your ad to relevant search queries in the App Store. This is especially useful if you want to advertise in countries whose language you don't know, since Search Match handles the right translations for you.
Zoals eerder besproken kunnen we ook zoekwoorden uitsluiten (negatieve zoekwoorden). Hiermee filter je de zoekwoorden uit die onrelevant blijken te zijn. Dit kunnen bijvoorbeeld zoekwoorden gerelateerd aan concurrenten zijn waarmee je niet wilt concurreren.
Bidding & Budget
In Apple Search Ads, you can set a cost per conversion cap, so you can decide for yourself how much you're willing to pay for a conversion at most. Don't set this too low, since that would limit your number of impressions. Start by testing what works best for you, then adjust your budget later. This way, you avoid unnecessary costs.
You also have the option to adjust the budget for keywords in bulk. For example, this lets you test well-performing keywords from your discovery campaigns with a higher budget and see what impact it has.
It's important to know that your monthly budget is based on your daily budget. Apple ensures you never spend more than your daily budget multiplied by 30.4 (the average number of days in a month).
Campaign analysis
As mentioned earlier in this blog post, campaigns often need time to gather the right (useful) data. So keep an eye on your campaigns using the necessary analytics tools, and don't hesitate to adjust things here and there. Budgets and bids can also be adjusted at any time. Below is a handy overview of analytics tools that can help you:
- Apptweak: Perfect for competitor and keyword research
- Google Analytics: The tool for taking a deeper dive into your data
The tools above can give you a helping hand in making data driven decisions.
Conclusion
A combination of optimization on every front can lead to a successful Search Ads campaign. You're competing with many others, and benchmarks vary by category and country. So what actually counts as a good CPI, CR, or TTR?
- The average conversion rate across all App Store categories is around 30%.
- The average download percentage is around 3.9%.
- The navigation category has the highest conversion rate (104.5%), while game apps score the lowest (2.3%).
Also check out our blog post on the ranking factors Apple uses. This can give you insight into how to achieve organic growth as well.Want to brainstorm about how to grow your app most effectively? Feel free to get in touch, no strings attached.
