Apple Search Ads is a service that helps you promote your app on the App Store, matching customers with your app at the right moments.
Apple Search Ads (rebranded Apple Ads in April 2025) is the advertising platform for the Apple App Store. It places ads directly in front of users who are actively searching for apps, capturing intent at the moment of discovery.
The App Store has 800 million weekly visitors. Over 85% download at least one app during their most recent visit. Nearly 65% of all downloads happen directly after a search. Ads in the top search position convert at around 60%.
The intent advantage
Apple Search Ads runs on a fundamentally different user intent than social or display advertising. Users in the App Store are actively looking for something to download, not being interrupted mid-scroll. This makes App Store search one of the highest-intent surfaces in mobile advertising, particularly for app categories with strong search demand.
How the auction works
Apple operates a relevance-first auction. Apps that don’t match a search query well don’t enter the auction regardless of bid size. The system checks relevance before bidding comes into play, which means high bids can’t buy visibility for irrelevant placements. Advertisers set bids but don’t control exact positions – Apple’s algorithm determines placement based on relevance and bid together.
Ad placements
Apple Search Ads supports four placements. Search Results ads appear at the top of results when users search. Search Tab ads appear before a user types anything. Today Tab ads run on the App Store front page. Product Page ads appear in the ‘You Might Also Like’ section on related app pages.
In March 2026, Apple began rolling out additional ad slots in search results, expanding paid positions per query. Existing campaigns automatically qualify for new placements without any changes required.
Targeting
Targeting options include keywords (broad match, exact match, negative), audience segments (age, gender, device, location), and customer type segments (new users, returning users, users of your other apps). Custom Product Pages let advertisers serve tailored App Store experiences to specific audience segments.
Billing
Apple Ads uses Cost Per Tap (CPT) and Cost Per Install (CPI) models. Advertisers pay only when users tap or install, not for impressions.
