Apple Search Ads (now Apple Ads): how to run it well and when to hire an agency

Apple's App Store ads reach people at the moment they search, which makes them powerful and easy to waste. Here's how a well-run account works.

An Apple Search Ads agency helps you buy placements in the App Store, most importantly at the moment someone is searching for an app like yours. That intent is why Apple's ads often bring in some of the highest-quality iOS users, and also why sloppy setups waste money quickly: broad matching, overlapping campaigns and bidding on the wrong terms can eat a budget in days.

Apple renamed Apple Search Ads to Apple Ads in April 2025, though most people still search for the old name. This guide covers how a well-run account is structured, how bidding works today, how to use custom product pages, how to measure results, and when an agency is worth the fee.

What's changed in Apple Ads recently

A few changes matter if you last looked at this channel a couple of years ago:

• More placements. Apple's campaign setup guide lists four: the Today tab, the Search tab, search results, and product pages (the "You might also like" section on other apps' pages). Search results remain the core for most performance advertisers.
• More ad slots in search results. From March 2026, Apple began showing additional ads further down search results, not just in the top position, on devices running iOS and iPadOS 26.2 or later. Existing search results campaigns are eligible automatically, and you can't choose or bid for a specific position.
• Automated bidding. Maximize Conversions, which bids toward a target cost per install, is now available for search results campaigns alongside manual cost-per-tap bidding.

The extra search slots mean more inventory, and also more competition between your own ads and organic listing. Brand and competitor strategy deserves a fresh look because of it.

The four-campaign structure most accounts need

Keeping intent types in separate campaigns lets you set different budgets, bids and goals for each. This is the structure most experienced Apple Ads managers start from:

The discovery loop is where an account improves over time. Each week, review search terms from discovery, move proven terms into exact-match campaigns, and add them as negatives in discovery so the two don't compete. Add irrelevant terms as negatives everywhere.

Split further by country (and sometimes by device) once volume allows, because costs and conversion rates differ a lot between markets.

Bidding: manual CPT vs Maximize Conversions

Apple now offers two approaches for search results campaigns:

• Manage Bids: you set a maximum cost-per-tap bid at the ad group level and override it for individual keywords. Best when you want tight control, for example on brand and high-value category terms.
• Maximize Conversions: you set a target cost per acquisition and Apple's system sets bids for each query, with Search Match switched on. According to Apple's Maximize Conversions help page, the target is an average that can run above or below on any given day, monthly spend won't exceed your daily budget times 30.4, and Apple recommends letting a campaign run at least two weeks before changing the target.

A sensible approach is to keep brand and your best exact-match category terms on manual bids, and test Maximize Conversions on broader category coverage where manual keyword management would be slow. Judge both on cost per downstream event, not just cost per install.

Setting bids that make sense

Start from what an install is worth to you: if 20% of installs start a trial and 40% of trials convert, only 8% of installs become paying users, so a paying user costs 12.5 times your cost per install. If a paying user is worth $50 to you, that caps your cost per install at about $4 before any margin. Then work backward through tap-to-install conversion to a sensible cost per tap. Raise bids gradually on keywords that convert downstream, and lower or pause ones that only bring installs.

Custom product pages: match the ad to the search

Apple Ads can send different keywords to different versions of your App Store page. Per Apple's developer documentation, you can publish up to 70 custom product pages per app, use them as ad variations in search results, and, on iOS 18 or later, attach a deep link so users who open the app land on the relevant screen.

Practical uses:

• A fitness app shows "yoga" screenshots to people searching for yoga, and strength-training screenshots to people searching for weightlifting.
• A finance app shows a budgeting page to "budget" searches and a savings page to "savings" searches.
• Competitor campaigns get a page that explains why switching is easy.

Test pages against your default product page and keep the winners. It's one of the cheapest ways to improve conversion rate across both paid and organic search. For the organic side, see our guide to app store optimization services.

Measuring what Apple Ads actually delivers

Apple Ads reports installs, but you need to know what those users do next. Three pieces make that possible:

1. Attribution in the app. Apple's AdServices framework lets your app or mobile measurement partner attribute installs to Apple Ads campaigns, keywords and ad groups. The standard attribution data doesn't depend on the App Tracking Transparency prompt.
2. Downstream events. Connect those attributions to trials, purchases and retention in your MMP or analytics, so each keyword has a cost per paying user, not just per install.
3. Consistent reporting windows. Compare keywords on the same cohort windows (for example day-7 revenue), so you don't favor keywords simply because their users convert faster.

Expect some differences between Apple's dashboard, your MMP and your backend. A good agency explains the gaps rather than picking whichever number looks best. For the wider iOS picture, read our SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit guide.

Common Apple Ads mistakes

• Running everything in one campaign with broad match, so brand, generic and junk searches share one budget.
• No negative keywords, so discovery and exact campaigns bid against each other.
• Judging keywords by cost per install alone.
• Bidding heavily on competitor names without a page or message that gives people a reason to switch.
• Leaving brand unprotected because "we rank first anyway". With more ad slots in results, that's a riskier bet than it used to be.
• Changing bids daily before the data has had time to settle.

When an Apple Search Ads agency is worth it

You can run Apple Ads yourself, and for a small app with a handful of keywords in one country, that's often the right call. An agency usually earns its fee when:

• You're spending enough that small efficiency gains pay for the fee.
• You run in several countries or languages, with large keyword sets to manage.
• Nobody in-house has time for the weekly search-term review and negative keyword work.
• You need custom product pages designed and tested alongside campaigns.
• Attribution is unclear and you can't connect keywords to revenue.

When evaluating one, ask how they structure accounts, how often they mine search terms, which downstream metric they optimize for, and whether campaigns will run in your Apple Ads account. Apple Ads also works best as part of a channel mix; our guide to choosing a mobile user acquisition agency covers how it fits with Google and Meta.

Apple Ads management at Appryze

Our founder has 12+ years running user acquisition for consumer and fintech apps on Apple Ads, Google App Campaigns and Meta. We set up the brand, category, competitor and discovery structure, connect attribution to your downstream events, and send written updates every week, working in an Apple Ads account you own. See our Growth page for details.

Frequently asked questions

What does an Apple Search Ads agency do?

An Apple Search Ads agency, now often called an Apple Ads agency, structures your campaigns by intent, researches and mines keywords, manages bids and budgets, sets up custom product pages as ad variations, and connects attribution to downstream events like trials and purchases. It should report cost per paying user by keyword, not just installs.

Is Apple Search Ads the same as Apple Ads?

Yes. Apple renamed Apple Search Ads to Apple Ads in April 2025. The product still covers ads in App Store search results, plus the Today tab, the Search tab and product pages. From March 2026 Apple also began showing additional ads lower in search results on devices running iOS 26.2 or later.

How should I structure Apple Search Ads campaigns?

Most accounts use four campaign types: brand (your own name, exact match), category (generic terms for what your app does), competitor (other apps' names) and discovery (Search Match and broad match to find new keywords). Move proven discovery terms into exact campaigns and add them as negatives in discovery.

What is Maximize Conversions in Apple Ads?

Maximize Conversions is an automated bid strategy for search results campaigns. You set a target cost per acquisition and a daily budget, and Apple's system sets bids for each search query with Search Match switched on. Apple says the target is an average and recommends running for at least two weeks before changing it.

Is Apple Search Ads worth it?

For many iOS apps, yes, because users are actively searching when they see the ad, which often means good downstream quality. Whether it's profitable depends on your keyword competition, App Store page conversion and what a user is worth to you. Measure cost per paying user by keyword to decide.

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