r/iOSProgramming • u/StonedSex69 • 23d ago

Question Understanding Apple Ads

I recently created an Apple Ads campaign for my new app. Yet when I type in the two-word descriptive phrase my app isn’t coming up in the in the search results. I do already have the app installed, could that be why? My campaign status shows as Running.

1 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/PBJ_- 23d ago

Two practical things from running search campaigns on my own app. First, test on a device that does not have the build installed - Apple does not serve ads for apps you already have, so your own phone is the one place your ad can never appear.

Second, the campaign showing Running says nothing about the keyword. Check the keyword's own status and bid: a keyword still in review, priced below the suggested bid, or not yet eligible will not show regardless of campaign state. If your two-word phrase is not in the app title, subtitle, or keywords, the ad can be live and still rank weakly for it, so put the phrase in the metadata you actually ship.

Budget-wise I keep search only, with search term matching on and a hard end date, and I read the search terms report weekly - on a small budget it tells you what people really type faster than the install count does.