Promoting apps using Apple Search Ads(ASA)

In mobile marketing today, there are many strategies and tools to capture users' attention and increase app recognition. One such tool is ASA, which is designed to help developers find their target audience. The full name of this tool is Apple Search Ads.

What ASA is for

This is a tool for promoting apps in the App Store. It is carried out by means of keywords, as in the usual organic rendition of popular search engines, or by analyzing user preferences. One of the most important advantages of this store is that its visitors are considered more inclined to buy compared to those who visit other sites, in particular Google Play.

It should be noted that ASA is also applicable for attracting audiences to cryptocurrency-related apps. While this channel is not particularly popular in 2024, the success of such campaigns can depend on many factors and it is not easy to predict their performance. Nevertheless, if you have multiple iOS apps, it's worth considering testing this method. Even if one app is successful, it could result in a return on investment (ROI) of more than 100%.

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How to run ads in ASA

Create an ad account for yourself using your Apple ID. During registration you will be offered to choose Advanced or Basic mode. In the first case you will have to set up keyword targeting, which requires preliminary preparation of a list of keys. In the second case, the system itself selects the appropriate queries for your application.

After the account creation is complete, you will be required to connect the payment method and start setting up an advertising campaign to promote the application. You need to give it a name, decide on the launch date, daily budget limits, add keywords if the conditions require it, and specify the parameters of the upcoming targeting.

Targeting options in ASA

Targeting in ASA is possible according to the following parameters:

• Keywords. The mechanism of operation is similar to contextual advertising. Your ads will be shown to users who enter relevant queries. The system matches your application with the interests of users based on their queries;-.
• Audience. You can choose target users among those who have already shown interest in your products or among users of your other applications;
• Demographic targeting. Based on age and gender;
• Device. You'll be able to target iPad or iPhone owners.

You can launch an advertising campaign in ASA on your own, it is encouraging that there are no restrictions on the minimum budget. Usually these tasks are handled by an ASO specialist. The success of promotion through ASA is directly related to the position of the application in organic traffic. The higher they are, the more effective your work will be.

There is no one advertising campaign for all countries, each one requires a separate one. The structure of ASA ads is very similar to the ad groups and adsets in Facebook. You can pay for advertising according to the CPT model in an advanced account or according to the CPI model in a basic account.

You can analyze how effective your advertising campaign is in the advertising cabinet. There you can track various metrics and evaluate custom screenshots used in ads.

Difference between ASO and ASA

ASO can be compared to SEO, where mobile apps are optimized instead of websites, and app stores act as search engines. ASA, on the other hand, involves buying ads, requires a budget and management through ad cabinets.

Not sure where to start? In this article, we've explained how to work with ASO traffic. Follow the link and read the material.

The use of ASA is most effective when combined with ASO. The higher the latter, the more useful the former is. However, it's worth considering that using ASA can reduce the volume of organic traffic, so it's important to strike a balance in applying these tools. For example, if your app already ranks high for rare keywords, additional advertising may be redundant. ASA ads should be assigned to an ASO specialist.

Why this is important to consider

As it became clear from the article, ASA is a potentially lucrative but risky source of traffic. The aforementioned method is effective for legal niches, although it can sometimes bring success in the iGaming sphere as well. Due to possible banning this source is not very convenient for affiliate marketing, but it is useful to know about it, because working conditions on the sites may change, and webmasters are always in search of new opportunities.