As you know, advertisers can promote their apps in Apple even more efficiently with the help of Search tab campaigns. The promoted app is displayed at the top of the suggested list of the Apple Search tab in the App Store, and this ad placement is available only as a part of Apple Ads Advanced. Below, we will describe how to create and manage Search tab campaigns in SplitMetrics Acquire.
Creating a Search tab campaign
To set up your first Search tab campaign, click the + button > Create campaign.
1. Specify the app you would like to promote and select the ad account (= Apple Ads campaign group).
2. Select Search Tab as your ad placement for this campaign.
3. Set your campaign type: Brand, Competitor, Discovery, Generic, or Custom.
The selected type will appear in the new Campaign Type column in Ads Manager, allowing you to easily organize, filter and sort your campaigns by type for precise optimization and streamlined analysis.
4. Add storefronts for which you would like to run this ad and give your campaign a name. You will also need to set up a daily budget for this campaign.
Once done, click Create Campaign, and your campaign will become live.
Creating Ad Group
❗For your campaign to start running, you must create at least one ad group. Click the + button on any dashboard > Create ad group.
Here, you need to specify the name of the campaign. If you create a campaign with the Search tab ad placement, the settings for your ad group will be adjusted accordingly. Give your ad group a name and set a Default Max CPT Bid — a maximum amount you're willing to pay per tap on your ad.
❗Before the July 19th, 2022, Search Tab Campaigns had CPM model, but now they've been switched to CPT pricing model.
Note. CPA Cap, Search Match, and Dayparting are not available for Search tab Ad Groups.
In the Audience section, you can decide for which devices this ad should be visible: IPad, iPhone, or both. You can also choose a customer type: New, All, or Returning Users.
You can refine your audience, and your ad will be displayed to certain users only. It is possible to select gender, age range, and location. You can also set up start and end dates in the Ad scheduling field, and your ad will be visible within this timeframe only.
Click Create Ad Group once you're ready to complete the setup.
Custom & Default Product Pages now available for Search Tab placement 🎉
With the release of Apple Ads Campaign Management API 5.2, you can now use Custom Product Pages and Default Product Pages as tap destinations in Search Tab Ads. This means:
✅ More flexibility – Choose the most relevant product page to engage users.
✅ Seamless transition – Apple automatically creates a Default Product Page ad for all existing running Search Tab Ads.
✅ You can now create Search Tab Ads with Custom Product Pages (CPP) directly in our interface.
✅ Search Tab Ads now have dedicated Ads and Custom Product Page (CPP) dashboards for better tracking.
📍 Where to find it?
When setting up a new Search Tab Ad, you’ll now need to select either a Default Product Page or a Custom Product Page for your ad.
Managing your Search tab campaign
With time, your ad will become visible to users, and your Apple Ads and MMP statistics will become available in SplitMetrics Acquire.
You can add CPT as a metric to the Total Summary widget, and it will show you the average amount you pay per one tap — Spend/ Taps.
You can also add Ad Placement and CPT columns and use them in filters.
Automation
In SplitMetrics Acquire, you can automate your routine tasks, such as changing the max CPT bid for your Search Tab campaign when the ad performs well or configure sending an alert when CPT is increasing. You can add Ad Placement as a condition and specify that the rule should fire only for Search Tab campaigns, and you can also add CPT as a metric in conditions.
As an example, let's create a rule that will send you an email notification each time your CPT is greater than $5. Go to Automation and click Create Rule > For Ad Groups. Here's what you will need to set:
Additional options
It is possible to duplicate Search Tab campaigns as well as ad groups.
Almost all actions in automated rules for campaigns and ad groups are available for Search Tab campaigns. The only exception is the Change CPA Cap action for the ad group rules.
You can add Change Default Max Bid action to automation rules for ad groups, allowing you to adjust your CPT bid based on how other metrics are performing.
It is possible to add CPT as a default column or as a custom metric to your dashboard.
👉 Read more on our blog: Search Tab campaigns overview by Splitmetrics