Scaling campaigns in Apple Ads is not merely about increasing ad spend or expanding reach; it's about strategically optimizing your advertising efforts to achieve exponential growth while maintaining efficiency. In this article, we'll delve into the importance of scaling campaigns and provide a comprehensive guide with step-by-step instructions and best practices to help you navigate this process effectively.
Evaluate Performance Metrics
➡️ Begin by analyzing key performance metrics such as conversion rates, cost per acquisition (CPA), and return on ad spend (ROAS). Identify which campaigns, ad groups, and keywords are driving the most significant results.
Tip: Determine the right level of analyses of non-performing Non-Brand/Generic campaigns - always go down to the keyword level.
Example: If you notice that certain keywords have a high conversion rate and low CPA, consider allocating more budget to those keywords to scale their impact and vice versa. Read about automating these actions with SplitMetrics Acquire below.
➡️ Compare your performance with Apple Ads benchmarks to identify bottlenecks and revise the KPI: https://splitmetrics.com/benchmarks/
Tip: When comparing your performance with benchmarks, pay attention to TTR and Download rates. If they are low, it can be the reason for low ROI on traffic. On this basis, we recommend actively testing CPP as this can significantly improve TTR and Download rate figures. As a consequence, CPT, CPA, and CPI will become cheaper and the effectiveness of advertising campaigns will increase.
After analyzing and pinpointing problems, work with them using the recommendations from the table below:
Issue | Cause | Solution |
No impressions/Low number of impressions | 1. The keyword is not included in the auction. 2. It has too low Search Popularity (<10). 3. You applied a low, non-competitive CPT bid. 4. There is a high level of competition. 5. Apple considers this keyword irrelevant (Low Relevance). | 1. Increase the bid to improve your chances of winning the auction. 2. Enhance the ASO to boost relevance for the required keywords. 3. Review and update keywords, finding new relevant and popular ones. |
No taps/Low TTR | 1. Keywords are relevant and will be auctioned, but the product does not meet user expectations. 2. Screenshots are not attractive or informative enough for users. | 1. Update the semantic core and refresh the screenshots (run tests). 2. Use Custom Product Pages. |
Low Download rate | 1. Users visit the page but do not proceed with app installation. 2. The product page fails to meet user expectations. 3. The product page does not effectively encourage further actions, such as app installation. | 1. Enhance product page with ASO, PPO, screenshots, descriptions, and metadata to boost attractiveness. 2. Broaden the semantic core and test CPP for similar queries across various subcategories (e.g., communication, dating, video chats). |
Low Install rate | 1. Technical issues on the MMP side or incorrect settings. 2. Discrepancies between Apple Ads and MMP. 3. Specifics of applications with a high number of redownloads (e.g., dating, gambling) that MMP does not consider as new installations. 4. "Heavy" app or loading bugs and other product-related issues. | 1. Bugs and issues on the product side, or problems with tracking in the MMP, will impact all types of campaigns, including branded ones. Therefore, it is important to identify and fix technical bugs such as crashes at startup or freezes, and to check the tracking settings. 2. Be mindful of the variations in approaches to attribution for each individual MMP and Apple Ads. |
Low CVR to in-app (Purchase/Trial) | 1. The keywords are misleading, especially those that include the term "free". 2. The product as a whole has low conversion rates. 3. Some publishers have disorganized end-of-the-funnel metrics due to restricted or impractical payment options, such as offering only annual subscriptions without trial periods. | 1. Remove misleading keywords. 2. Rebuild the semantic core. 3. Improve product funnel and compare conversions in other channels. 4. Diversify payment options by introducing flexible subscription plans and offering trial periods. |
Expensive in-app (Purchase/Trial) | 1. Campaign contains irrelevant keywords. 2. Limited keyword testing. 3. Budget and duration are insufficient for finding performing keywords. 4. Narrow targeting. 5. Overestimated KPIs for this category. | 1. Increase bids, disable expensive keywords, and allocate budget to new keywords in the campaign. 2. Start with no targeting restrictions. 3. Test keywords of products with a related audience, similar functionality, and related topics. |
Expand Keyword Portfolio
By searching and adding relevant keywords, you increase your chances of getting extra impressions, and thus more conversions.
➡️ Conduct thorough keyword research to identify new expansion opportunities. Look for relevant keywords with high search volume, search popularity, and low competition to target in your campaigns. When choosing a keyword, consider its impression volume, competition (# of search results), technical and logical relevance, and its avr. CPT Bid. Hence, it’s vital to discover uncommon keywords which are still likely to bring value. If you target only popular keywords, the chances are that a big player will come and outbid you, which will cause your impressions and revenue to immediately drop.
Example: If you're promoting a fitness app, consider expanding beyond generic keywords like "fitness" to more specific and long-tail terms like "home workout routines" or "yoga for beginners." Moreover, long-tail keywords are less competitive and therefore cheaper.
➡️ To scale effectively in Apple Ads, it’s important to constantly test keywords and find the most effective ones. To effectively find new keywords, we recommend using Discovery and Probing campaigns together.
All relevant search queries found in the Discovery campaign by means of Search Match and Broad Match can be moved as Exact Match keywords to the Probing campaign for further testing. Then from the Probing campaign, the keywords will be moved to Brand, Generic, or Competitor campaigns, provided the keywords perform well. Read about running discovery campaigns here and automating these actions with SplitMetrics Acquire below.
➡️ Discover new keywords with ease using SplitMetrics Acquire powerful Keyword Discovery and Keyword Gap tools.
Optimize Bidding With Automation
Bid optimization can be streamlined with automation rules. Rather than manually applying filters every day and sifting through hundreds of keywords to identify those that could help you succeed, you can rely on the system to provide timely insights and take action based on specified conditions. This approach can help you save time and effort while optimizing your campaigns.
Download this guide to find ready-made automation rules you can use to scale your campaigns while meeting your desired KPIs👇
While working with the automation, take into consideration the following:
🔹 Ensure there is enough historical data for the keyword to which you want to apply an action. Otherwise, it may reduce your impressions volume. To set aside keywords without data, we suggest you specify the following conditions: Spend > 0, Installs > 2
🔹 Set a tolerance window — a range for your target metric that you will see as an achieved result. A tolerance corridor is usually 5-10% higher or lower than the target metric, e.g. if your target metric is CPA=$50, choose a condition not in range of $45 - $55 in order not to change bids when we are very close to the value.
🔹 Pay attention to Upper and Lower bid limits when setting up conditions. A Lower bid limit should ensure that keywords will still get into the auction, while an Upper bid limit should prevent overspend. If you set your bid limits too low, keywords might not get into the auction which will cut the traffic, affecting the other metrics down the funnel. Consider reviewing your upper bid limits periodically to ensure they are not being reached when there are opportunities to scale.
🔹 Apply reasonable frequency for your rules. It requires some time for changes in a bid to affect your target metric. It is also important to carefully choose the lookback period for the rule. To set the ideal Run Frequency and Date Range, look at your app's user journey and find out how much time usually passes between the tap and the in-app event you optimize for.
🔹 Ensure that your desired target value is realistic. You can get this number from benchmarking and the historical data of your keywords. When time passes, you will be able to notice some patterns that will help you calculate realistic target values.
🔹 Create separate rules for different storefronts and set realistic values for the target metric since some storefronts can be more expensive than others.
🔹 Exclude strategic high-volume keywords from your regular bidding rules using Labels. New keywords can also be labeled and excluded from bidding rules to give them time to gain traction. Learn how to label keywords here.
🔹 When pausing underperforming keywords, remember to create an additional rule for re-activating late performers. If paused keywords start to bring conversions (which might have a delayed effect), such keywords can be re-enabled to give them a second chance.
🔹 Make sure you have room in your daily budget for scaling non-brand campaigns. Create a Daily Budget alert rule to receive notifications when your Daily budget limit is almost reached with the condition: Spend (Previous day) > 0,8 x Daily Budget, and run it daily. Alternatively, you may want to consider the rule to change the Daily Budget right away when the conditions are met.
🔹 You can optimize your ad campaigns through dayparting and weekparting by automatically adjusting CPT bids at specific times or for particular periods. This helps you align bids and budgets with budget constraints or user demand, ultimately reducing costs and enhancing ad efficiency. Here's a comprehensive guide on how to create such rules.
Read our article with other best practices and recommendations related to automation with SplitMetrics Acquire.
Manage Discovery And Probing Campaigns With Automation
One of the ways to generate new keyword ideas is to run discovery campaigns. Discovery campaigns in Apple Ads are aimed at finding relevant terms, longtail keywords, synonyms, misspellings, seasonal, trendy search terms, and new competitor brands associated with a particular keyword.
Here are some best practices for managing discovery campaigns:
Create a separate discovery campaign for each storefront and set a comfortable budget.
Create a separate broad match ad group within the same campaign with broad match keywords and Search Match disabled.
Create the second ad group without keywords and with Search Match enabled. If this ad group is bad at finding search terms, check your app metadata, because Search Match relies on it.
Add your top-performing exact match keywords from performance campaigns to the broad match group as broad match keywords to speed up the process. Add all these keywords as exact match negatives in the discovery campaign to avoid competition for impressions.
Create automated rules for the system to find top-performing keywords and transfer them into the Broad Match ad group changing their match type.
Create automated rules for transferring search terms from the Discovery campaign into the Probing campaign with higher bids, changing them to Exact Match and negating in that Discovery campaign.
Get ahead with our comprehensive guide featuring ready-made automation rules for both Discovery and Probing campaigns👇
Utilize Ad Variations
One of the ways to scale your campaigns is to make use of ad variations tailored for specific audiences and campaign strategies. Start using more Custom Product Pages to continuously rise TTR and this way decrease CPI, get more purchases out of the same impressions, and boost ROAS. This will not only help to boost volume for further qualitative tests of CPPs but also improve your TTR for higher relevance in Apple auctions.
Within your Apple Ads Advanced search results ad groups, you can make new ad variations based on custom product pages you’ve set up in App Store Connect. You can build up to 35 custom product pages with different app preview videos, screenshots, and promotional text.
To improve your Apple Ads campaign, take into consideration these steps:
Develop a strategy for your custom product pages. Ensure that the visual assets and messaging on your creatives align with the product page.
Group your Apple Ads campaigns based on related themes or offers.
Connect your Apple Ads keywords with the messaging on your creatives.
Create relevant and engaging creatives to use on your custom product pages.
Read more about setting up custom product pages in our blog.
Expand Targeting
In addition to the core strategies outlined above, leveraging new storefronts and placements within Apple Ads presents an excellent opportunity to scale your campaigns and reach a broader audience. Here's how you can incorporate these elements into your scaling efforts:
➡️ Explore new storefronts: Apple Ads offers the flexibility to target specific App Store regions or countries, allowing you to expand your reach beyond your primary market.
Example: If your app has seen success in the US market, explore opportunities to expand into other English-speaking regions like the UK, Canada, or Australia.
Tip: New LATAM storefronts are already available in Apple Ads including Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, and Paraguay. China is also often overlooked as a sizable market with low competition and favorable costs.
➡️ Experiment with new placements: Apple Ads offers four ad placements, including Search tab, Search Results, Product Page, and Today Tab. Experimenting with different placements can help you attract more traffic.
Example: If you primarily focus on Search Results, consider testing the Today Tab placement to increase your brand awareness and therefore the volume of conversions.
Tip: When targeting new storefronts or placements, it's essential to adapt your creative assets to resonate with the preferences and cultural nuances of the target audience. Localize your ad copy, imagery, and app store listing to ensure they align with the language and preferences of users in each region.
Note that our platform has all the capabilities to automate those placements as well 🙌
➡️ Apply your audience settings wisely: It is better to change the targeting to 'All users' because if 'New users' is selected, it will directly affect the traffic volume. With New users targeting, there may be a lot of re-downloads due to the Limited Ad Tracking privacy settings, and Apple may not recognize if they are new users and will not show them ads, resulting in a loss of traffic. If you enable Age/Gender targeting, ads will also not be shown to users with Limited Ad Tracking enabled. It is better not to enable this targeting so that all users see the ads. Read about modifying audience settings here.
➡️ Be careful when applying CPA Cap to ad groups: You can set a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) cap at the ad group level in your search results campaigns. This cap specifies the maximum amount you're willing to spend for a conversion, creating a bid ceiling for all keywords in the ad group, even if individual max CPT bids are higher.
The bid ceiling is calculated as:
CPA Cap x Conversion Rate
For example, if your CPA cap is $5 and your conversion rate is 65%, the bid ceiling would be $3.25 ($5 x 0.65). This means the highest CPT bid applied will be $3.25, even if a keyword's max CPT bid is higher. If a keyword's max CPT bid is lower than $3.25, the lower bid will be used.
Applying a CPA cap can limit the performance of effective keywords by enforcing the cap across the entire ad group.