Guide to Structuring Apple Search Ads Campaigns for Optimal Results

Apple Search Ads is a powerful tool for any app marketer looking to boost discoverability and fuel app downloads in the App Store. However, Apple Search Ads is only as good as you make it, and that is entirely dependent on the ad campaign structure. A meticulously organized campaign can help you better measure performance, optimize keyword bids, and scale to new audiences effectively. The structure is one of the things that can greatly improve in understanding of the campaign performance and give you a clearer vision of how the campaign is doing, thus facilitating better decision-making and higher ROI. In this blog, we will delve into the best practices for structuring your Apple Search Ads campaign to achieve the best results.

Understanding Campaign Elements

Before diving into the specifics, it's essential to understand how the different elements of an Apple Search Ads campaign relate to each other. You set your budget and select the countries and regions that your ads will appear in at the campaign level. Within each campaign, you create ad groups where you can select keywords, set bids, and create ad variations. This hierarchical structure allows you to easily manage your campaigns and target your ads to particular segments of the market.

Campaigns are at the top of the hierarchy and are used for budgeting and targeting specific regions. Ad groups within these campaigns allow for more granular control over bidding and keyword selection. You can divide your focus themes up into different campaigns and ad groups and show them ads that are relevant to the audience and therefore increase the performance of the ad and the engagement of the user.

Structuring by Keyword Themes

A robust ad campaign structure involves categorizing your campaigns by keyword themes. These are the 4 main types of campaigns you need to have in your Apple Search Ads account:

*Source* https://searchads.apple.com/best-practices/campaign-structure

• Brand Campaign: Focuses on keywords related to your app or company name. This campaign ensures that users searching specifically for your brand find your app easily. Set keywords to exact match type, turn off Search Match, and apply aggressive max CPT bids to the highest-performing keywords.
  
  
• Category Campaign: Targets non-branded keywords that describe your app’s category or genre. That way you can get to users who would be interested in a type of app like yours. Once again, an exact match for keywords, Search Match off.
  
  
• Competitor Campaign: Focuses on keywords related to apps similar to yours. This strategy captures users searching for your competitors’ apps. Use exact match keywords and turn off Search Match.
  
  
• Discovery Campaign: Aims to reach a broader audience and identify popular search terms. This campaign utilizes broad match keywords and allows Search Match to automatically pair your ad with applicable search words. Within this campaign, create two ad groups:

1. Broad Match Ad Group: Includes all keywords from the other three campaigns but set to broad match with Search Match off.
   
   
2. Search Match Ad Group: This does not include any keywords but has Search Match on.

Utilizing Discovery Campaign Insights

This kind of campaign uses broad match keywords, and Search Match to automatically find keywords related to the search. After these keywords are recognized, add them to the corresponding brand, category, or competitor campaign as new exact-match keywords. This ensures that high-performing keywords are optimized for maximum impact. Additionally, ensure these keywords are added as exact match negative keywords in the discovery campaign to avoid overlap and optimize ad performance.

The insights gained from discovery campaigns are invaluable. They are great for expanding your keyword base and tracking user search patterns. Regularly analyzing the performance of keywords in discovery campaigns can reveal new opportunities and help you stay ahead of competitors. The key is to keep updating your campaigns with the high-performing keywords, and eliminating the non-performing ones, so that your targeting gets more and more refined, and your ad spend becomes more and more efficient.

Managing Campaigns by Region and Budgets

Consider separating campaigns by individual countries or regions, especially for larger markets with dedicated budgets or distinct goals. That way it is easier to track performance and manage a budget. For example, if you have individual campaigns for high-priority markets, you can distribute budgets more accurately and you can customize your strategies to each region's preferences and behaviors. This method can make your advertising more effective in many diverse markets.

For smaller or similar markets, grouping multiple countries into one campaign can simplify management and reduce administrative overhead. This is especially helpful if the grouped countries share similar customer values, languages, or regional traits. Moreover, using the campaign duplication feature can save time and effort when expanding successful campaigns to new regions. This means that you can duplicate the parameters of a successful campaign and apply them to new markets.

Advanced Structuring Approaches

For more sophisticated needs, consider the following advanced structuring approaches:

• Semantics-Based Approach: This method involves breaking down your Apple Search Ads campaigns account into five components—Brand, Generic, Competitors, Discovery, and Proxy campaigns. This structure increases impressions by focusing on high-performing keywords.
  
  
• Value-Based Approach: Here, keywords are grouped into campaigns based on their value, typically measured by user lifetime value (LTV). This approach allows precise budget allocation and performance tracking by keyword value.

Monitoring and Optimization

Regular monitoring and optimization are crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of your Apple Search Ads campaigns. Here are some key practices:

• Performance Analysis: Track post-install performance metrics using tools like Newton which can give you a full-funnel view. This includes monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as tap-through rate (TTR), cost-per-tap (CPT), and conversion rate (CVR).
  
  
• Keyword Refresh: Continuously research and test new keywords. Don't forget to continually update your keyword list with any discoveries from your discovery campaigns. This allows one to keep one step ahead of market trends and competitors.
  
  
• Ad Creative Optimization: Regularly update and test your ad creatives. Use custom product pages to tailor user experiences and improve ad relevance. Not to mention that quality images and a good message can improve user involvement and conversion rates.

So by incorporating these sophisticated techniques into your campaign plan, you will be able to continuously improve and maintain your success with Apple Search Ads.

Optimize and Thrive: Unlock the Full Potential of Your Apple Search Ads

Creating a well-structured Apple Search Ads campaign is crucial for maximizing your ad spend and achieving high ROI. You can improve your ad performance if you organize your campaigns by keyword themes, make good use of discovery campaigns, and manage your campaigns regionally and by budget. For more sophisticated requirements, semantics-based or value-based methods should be used to acquire even more analysis and optimization.

With a strategic and organized structure to the campaign, better performance can be tracked, budgets can be better allocated to the appropriate media, and most importantly the ads can be more relevant. Continuously add/revise keywords from the discovery campaign to keep your campaigns optimized and competitive. So with these tips, your Apple Search Ads campaign can generate significant returns and help to continue app growth.  

If you are looking to achieve an incremental scale for your iOS app, feel free to connect with our Apple Search Ads campaign managers to help set up high-performing paid iOS campaigns.