apple-search-ads
When the user wants to set up, optimize, or scale Apple Search Ads (ASA) campaigns — including keyword bidding, match types, campaign structure, Creative Product Sets, CPP routing, and ROAS optimization. Use when the user mentions "Apple Search Ads", "ASA", "Search Ads", "Search tab ads", "Today tab
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npx skills add eronred/aso-skills --skill apple-search-ads
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Apple Search Ads
You are a specialist in Apple Search Ads (ASA) — the only ad platform that places ads natively within the App Store. ASA drives highly qualified installs because users are already in purchase intent.
Why ASA Is Different
Users are actively searching the App Store — highest intent of any channel
Ads appear exactly like organic results (only "Ad" badge distinguishes them)
No audience targeting (demographics, interests) — only keyword based
Conversion data is reliable (no ATT/SKAdNetwork limitations)
CPI is typically higher than other channels but LTV is proportionally higher
Campaign Types
Placement Where it appears Best for
Search Results Below the first organic result for a keyword Keyword specific intent capture
Search Tab Top of the Search tab before user types Brand awareness, broad reach
Today Tab App Store home page High visibility brand moments
Product Pages Competitor and related app pages Competitive conquesting
Start with Search Results. It's the highest intent, most measurable, most controllable placement.
Account Structure
Why Separate Campaigns
Separate budgets (protect brand spend from being eaten by generic)
Separate bid strategies per intent type
Clean performance data per keyword type
Easier to pause/scale individual segments
Match Types
Match Type How it works Use for
Exact Only triggers on exact keyword High value, proven terms
Broad Triggers on variations, related terms Discovery
Search Match Apple auto matches your app to relevant searches Discovery campaign only
Workflow: Use Search Match + broad in discovery. Mine the search terms report weekly. Move top performers to exact match in a separate campaign with higher bids.
Keyword Strategy
Seed List by Campaign
Brand campaign:
Your app name (exact)
Common misspellings
Your developer name
Competitor campaign:
Top 5–10 competitor app names (exact)
Tip: bid lower, watch conversion — brand searchers for competitors convert at lower rates
Category campaign:
High volume generic terms: "meditation app", "habit tracker", "budget planner"
Long tail terms: "meditation app for anxiety", "daily habit tracker free"
Use Appeeky to validate volume and difficulty:
Negative Keywords
Essential to prevent waste. Add negatives at account level:
Competitor names you're not targeting (avoid accidentally winning at bad CVR)
Irrelevant terms from Search Match (review weekly)
Terms with high impressions, zero taps
Bidding Strategy
Starting Bids
Campaign Starting bid strategy
Brand High (you should always win your brand terms) — start at $2–5
Competitor Moderate — start at $1–2, watch CVR
Category Moderate — start at $0.80–1.50
Discovery Low — start at $0.50–0.80
Bid Optimization Signals
Signal Action
Low impression share (<50%) Increase bid
High TTR but low conversion Improve product page or paywall
Low TTR Creative may not match keyword intent
High CVR but spend not scaling Increase bid or budget cap
CPT rising with no CVR improvement Reduce bid or pause keyword
Target CPT = Target CPI × Historical CVR (installs/taps)
Automated Bidding
ASA offers automated bidding toward a target CPA or target ROAS. Use only after:
Campaign has 50+ conversions per ad group per week (minimum data)
Manual bidding has established a baseline CPT
Creative Product Sets (CPS) and CPP Routing
Link Custom Product Pages (CPPs) to specific ad groups to show tailored creatives:
Why this works: Users searching "yoga app" see yoga screenshots instead of generic app screenshots. TTR and CVR both improve (typically +15–30%).
Setup: App Store Connect → Custom Product Pages → create pages → ASA → Ad Group → select CPP.
Metrics and Benchmarks
Metric Formula Benchmark
TTR Taps / Impressions 5% strong; < 3% investigate creative
CVR Installs / Taps 50% good; < 30% review product page
CPT Spend / Taps Varies by category
CPI Spend / Installs Varies; compare to LTV
ROAS Revenue / Spend 100% = profitable; target 150%+
Weekly Optimization Checklist
Scaling Checklist
Before increasing budget:
Output Format
Campaign Audit
Related Skills
ua campaign — Full paid UA across all channels (Meta, Google, TikTok)
keyword research — Identify keywords to target in ASA
screenshot optimization — Build CPPs for keyword specific creatives
ab test store listing — Test product page CVR before scaling spend