If you’re still calling it Apple Search Ads, you’re already behind.
Earlier this year, Apple dropped the “Search” and rebranded to simply Apple Ads – a move that signals something bigger than a name change.
The platform is evolving beyond App Store search, and with that shift, the rules have changed.
Tactics that once drove installs and strong ROAS can now drag down performance and waste spend.
The upside: for advertisers who adapt, Apple Ads is fast becoming one of the most reliable paid growth engines on iOS.
Here’s what’s driving results heading into 2026.
Apple Ads’ quiet advantage in the privacy era
In the post-ATT world – Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework – Apple Ads has only grown stronger.
While other platforms lost targeting precision, Apple leaned on its first-party data advantage to maintain performance.
Apple reports industry-leading conversion rates of more than 60% for search result ads, a figure many marketers confirm in practice.
It’s easy to see why: when someone searches in the App Store, they’re not browsing – they’re ready to download.
That high intent translates into some of the most efficient paid acquisition opportunities available today.
The two modes: Basic vs. Advanced (and why Basic may not cut it)
Apple offers two ways to run ads: Basic and Advanced.
Choosing Basic is like turning on “easy mode” in Meta’s Advantage+ or Google’s Smart campaigns – Apple handles decisions, but you give up control.
Basic seems convenient since you pay per install instead of per tap, and Apple manages the matching and optimization.
But the trade-offs add up quickly. You’re:
- Capped at $10,000 per app per month.
- Limited to search result placements (missing the Today Tab, Search Tab, and Product Pages).
- Unable to choose keywords or audiences. In short, you lose control over where your budget goes.
Many marketers start with Basic, hit the budget cap, and then realize they can’t scale without switching to Advanced.
That’s where the real learning begins.
If you’ve managed Google or Meta campaigns, Apple Ads Advanced will feel familiar – you still set bids, audiences, and creative – but the mechanics are different.
Metrics are App Store-specific, placements behave differently, and optimization levers don’t map directly to other platforms.
It’s less a steep learning curve than an adjustment to Apple’s rules of the game.
And it’s worth the effort. Control over keywords, bids, and placements typically delivers better efficiency.
Basic campaigns often carry 15–25% higher CPIs than well-optimized Advanced campaigns, AppTweak benchmark data shows.
The four placements (and when to use each)
Apple Ads offers four distinct placements, each with its own strategy, trade-offs, and opportunities:
- Search results: These trigger when someone types a query. Because intent is clear, conversion rates here often lead the pack. A user searching “budget tracker” in the App Store has high intent and is likely to act right away.
- Search tab: This placement appears before a search even begins. Think of it as prime real estate for capturing interest before users know what they’re looking for.
- Today tab: The App Store’s homepage. These placements are large, high-impact, and ideal for visibility plays – but they come at a premium and require standout creative.
- Product pages: These show in the “You Might Also Like” section when users view an app. They’re great for drawing attention from competitors’ audiences, though rivals can easily return the favor with their own ads.
Strategy is key here. Each placement has its own creative specs, review quirks, and performance patterns.
Don’t spread budget evenly across all four – test them independently, double down on what performs, and reallocate budget accordingly.
Use Apple’s evolving App Store layout to your advantage.
Dig deeper: Apple revamps App Store search layout, emphasizing ads and suggestions
The campaign structure that actually works
After extensive testing, the setup that consistently performs on Apple Ads comes down to four intent-based campaign types.
- Brand campaigns: The non-negotiable foundation. Cover your app name, company name, and common misspellings. Run with exact match and bid aggressively. Too many teams overlook this and end up losing branded installs to competitors. Protect your name like it’s your storefront sign.
- Category campaigns: Focus on non-branded terms that describe what your app does. A meditation app, for example, might target “sleep sounds,” “anxiety relief,” or “mindfulness app.” These drive volume but attract heavy competition and rising CPCs, so monitor bids and performance closely.
- Competitor campaigns: Target rival brand terms. It’s aggressive but effective, especially when paired with Custom Product Pages that highlight your advantages. Expect higher CPIs, but users who convert here tend to stick – they were already comparing options.
- Discovery campaigns: Your testing ground. One ad group uses broad match versions of proven keywords; another runs with Search Match enabled. This setup helps you uncover new terms Apple’s algorithm finds relevant.
Critical point: Always add your exact-match winners as negatives in Discovery.
Otherwise, you’ll compete against yourself and drive up costs unnecessarily.
Custom product pages: The creative game-changer
Remember Creative Sets? Apple retired them.
Custom Product Pages replaced that system and now power your ad variations in Apple Ads.
You can create up to 35 product pages per app, each with its own screenshots, previews, and promotional text tailored to a specific audience or keyword theme.
Analyses show consistent lifts from using CPPs.
When Custom Product Pages align with user intent, conversion rates increase by about 8% for games and 6.6% for non-gaming apps, according to AppTweak’s 2025 guide.
Treat those as directional benchmarks, not guarantees.
Here’s why they work: if someone searches “meal planning,” you can send that tap to a page that highlights meal planning features – even if that’s just one part of a larger app.
Relevance is instant, so hesitation drops.
To activate CPPs, build the pages in App Store Connect, then select the right page as an ad variation inside your Apple Ads ad group.
Dig deeper: App Store vs. Google Play: Tailoring your ASO strategy for maximum impact
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Bidding strategies that won’t break the bank
Apple Ads runs on a cost-per-tap model where you set maximum bids but usually pay slightly less – just one cent above the next highest bidder.
The challenge is finding the balance between bidding high enough to win auctions and keeping acquisition costs sustainable.
A simple framework helps: multiply your target cost per acquisition by your estimated conversion rate.
If your target CPA is $5 and your install rate is 20%, your starting bid should be around $1 – a baseline for profitability.
For deeper optimization, monitor Impression Share.
Apple reports it as a range, giving you a sense of your visibility within the platform.
If you’re only capturing a small slice of impressions, raising bids or budgets can increase volume, but always weigh that against your CPA.
One common mistake: changing bids too drastically.
Sharp jumps or cuts make it hard to read performance trends.
Smaller, incremental adjustments produce cleaner data and give the algorithm time to stabilize.
Audience targeting – and why less is more
As counterintuitive as it sounds, your strongest audience move in Apple Ads is often not targeting by demographics.
When you apply filters like age or gender, users who’ve disabled Personalized Ads are excluded – and 78% of App Store search volume comes from those devices.
Instead, lean on keyword targeting, creative, and Custom Product Pages to attract the right audience naturally.
For example, a fitness app using keywords like “home workouts” or “strength training” will reach its ideal users without shrinking the audience through demographic filters.
The one audience dimension worth applying consistently is geographic.
Separate the U.S. into its own campaigns – competition, costs, and conversion behavior often differ sharply by region.
This gives you the flexibility to adjust budgets and bids accordingly.
Common mistakes that kill campaigns
Before scaling, make sure your foundation is clean.
These common mistakes can distort data, drive up costs, and stall campaign learning.
- Keyword overlap tops the list. Having the same keywords in multiple campaigns splits your budget and makes optimization impossible. Use exact match negatives religiously.
- Ignoring search terms reports is another budget killer. Apple shows you exactly what searches triggered your ads. Review these weekly and add irrelevant terms as negative keywords. In one case I saw, a campaign was overspending on a similarly named app before we cleaned up negatives.
- Launching with cost-per-acquisition caps sounds smart but actually limits your learning. These caps dramatically reduce impressions, making it harder to gather data. Run without caps initially, then add them once you understand baseline performance.
- Using broad match everywhere is tempting but dangerous. Reserve broad match for Discovery campaigns only. For everything else, exact match gives you the control needed for optimization.
- Not creating Custom Product Pages leaves money on the table. Even basic CPPs aligned with your top keywords can boost conversion rates significantly.
How to scale without destroying efficiency
Scaling Apple Ads requires patience and structure. Tripling budgets overnight rarely works.
Start with high-performing campaigns that are delivery-constrained, then raise daily budgets gradually and let results stabilize for a few days before the next adjustment.
Use Apple’s Impression Share reports to see whether limited coverage is the bottleneck.
If share is low and unit economics stay healthy, increase bids or daily budget to unlock more auctions.
To grow volume without overspending, expand keywords in a structured way.
Run Discovery campaigns with Search Match or broad-match versions of proven keywords.
When you find new converters, move them into exact-match campaigns to control bids and add negatives.
Separate campaigns by country or region when budget allows.
The U.S. often behaves differently from other storefronts, and Apple’s own guidance recommends segmenting by geography.
Don’t chase a “perfect” Impression Share. Treat it as directional only, and scale while ROAS or marginal returns stay positive.
Attribution and measurement in 2026
Apple Ads’ attribution model is becoming more sophisticated.
On April 10, 2025, Apple officially registered Apple Ads with AdAttributionKit, giving advertisers a consistent framework for comparing performance across platforms.
Apple also added view-through attribution, which credits installs from ad impressions if they occur within 24 hours – surfacing conversions that previously went unseen.
Because Apple’s measurement is grounded in first-party App Store data, it works even when users opt out of cross-app tracking.
While other platforms lose signal under iOS privacy rules, Apple maintains visibility.
That said, a mobile measurement partner (MMP) is still essential.
Tools like AppsFlyer, Adjust, and Branch integrate with Apple Ads for post-install event tracking, revenue insights, and cross-channel comparisons.
Don’t stop at install metrics. An install means little without engagement and value.
Track what happens after:
- ROAS.
- Trial-to-paid conversions.
- Day-7 retention.
- Revenue per user.
What’s coming next
Apple’s move from “Apple Search Ads” to “Apple Ads” signals a bigger shift.
The company is expanding into streaming ads, remarketing, and tighter platform integration – and getting proficient now means staying ahead of where this ecosystem is going.
Competition and costs are rising, especially cost-per-tap in key markets, but opportunity remains.
Advertisers who master Advanced mode, Custom Product Pages, and disciplined scaling still outperform those relying on basic setups.
Your rollout blueprint
If you’re ready to put these tactics into action, start here.
This rollout sequence keeps your setup clean and your data reliable from day one.
- Launch in Advanced mode – skip Basic.
- Build the four-campaign structure: Brand, Category, Competitor, and Discovery.
- Start with Search Results placement before expanding.
- Create Custom Product Pages aligned with top keywords.
- Integrate an MMP for post-install and revenue tracking.
- Review search terms weekly and build a negative list.
- Scale gradually – patience sustains profitability; aggression burns it.
Apple Ads isn’t the easiest platform to master, but it’s become essential for iOS growth.
The apps winning in 2026 and beyond aren’t necessarily those with the biggest budgets – they’re the ones with the smartest strategies.
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