How to Run Apple Search Ads for Your App (Step-by-Step)
To run Apple Search Ads, create an Apple Ads account, pick Advanced (not Basic) so you control keywords and bids, split campaigns into brand, generic, competitor and discovery, attach a custom product page to each theme, and review search term reports weekly. Apple runs the auction and the billing. Infinall AI helps prepare the ad creative and copy for your review; it does not configure or manage your Apple Ads account.
Apple Search Ads is the paid placement inside the App Store: your app appears in search results, on the Search tab, on the Today tab and on product pages when a user is already looking for an app. Apple has been renaming the product to Apple Ads, so you will see both names in documentation and in the dashboard. The mechanics below are the ones you perform yourself in the Apple Ads interface. Check Apple's current documentation before you start, because campaign types, minimums and names change. Infinall AI sits upstream of this: it can prepare research, copy and creative drafts that land in an Approval Queue for you to edit and approve before you export anything.
How to Run Apple Search Ads for Your App (Step-by-Step)
Set up the account and confirm what you can measure
Sign in to Apple Ads with the Apple ID that will own billing, add a payment method, and select the app you are promoting from the App Store. Before spending, decide the single install-quality event you care about (a first purchase, a completed onboarding, a trial start) and confirm how you will see it. Apple's own attribution is available through the AdServices framework on supported iOS versions; many teams also use a mobile measurement partner. Setting up measurement after launch means weeks of spend you cannot judge.
Choose Advanced and map out four campaign groups
Apple Ads offers a simplified option and an Advanced option. Advanced is where you choose keywords, match types, bids and audiences, so it is the one to learn if you want control. A common structure is four campaigns: Brand (your own app name and close variants), Generic (category terms like 'budget tracker'), Competitor (rival app names), and Discovery (Search Match plus broad match to find terms you did not think of). Keeping them separate lets you set different budgets and read results cleanly.
Add keywords, match types and negatives
In each ad group add keywords with exact match for terms you want to control tightly, and use broad match or Search Match in the Discovery campaign to collect new queries. Add negative keywords to keep your exact-match terms from being cannibalized by Discovery. Set a default max CPT (cost per tap) bid per ad group, then adjust per keyword once you see impressions and taps. Start with fewer, clearly relevant keywords rather than hundreds of guesses.
Attach a custom product page to each theme
Create custom product pages in App Store Connect with screenshots and text tailored to one theme (for example, one page for budgeting, one for investing). In Apple Ads, create ad variations that point at those pages so the ad a user taps matches the search that triggered it. Apple reviews custom product pages before they can be used, so build them before launch day. This is often a bigger lever on conversion rate than bid changes.
Set budgets, bid goals and a launch schedule
Set a daily budget per campaign that you are comfortable losing while you learn, and a CPA goal or max CPT that fits your unit economics (what you can pay per install and still reach payback). Start the Brand campaign first because it is cheapest and protects your own name. Give new campaigns time to gather impressions before you cut keywords; very small samples mislead.
Review search terms weekly and iterate
Each week open the search terms report. Promote converting queries from Discovery into exact match, add irrelevant queries as negatives, lower bids on keywords with taps but no downstream events, and raise bids where quality installs are cheap. Refresh custom product pages and ad variations when conversion rate slips. Judge keywords on post-install events, not installs alone.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple Search Ads the same as Apple Ads?
Apple has been renaming Apple Search Ads to Apple Ads, and the products are the same advertising service for the App Store. You may see either name in the interface and in documentation depending on when a page was written. The steps to set up and run campaigns are the ones in Apple's current Advanced interface, so follow Apple's latest docs for exact labels.
Can Infinall AI run my Apple Search Ads campaigns?
No. Infinall AI prepares campaign research, strategy, ad copy and creative drafts for your review. You configure the Apple Ads account, set keywords and bids, publish, and manage spending yourself. Infinall does not buy media and does not manage live ad spend. Everything it generates lands in an Approval Queue where you edit and approve before export.
Do I need creative for Apple Search Ads?
Standard search ads mostly pull from your App Store listing, so your screenshots, icon, subtitle and custom product pages matter more than separate ad artwork. Infinall can draft screenshot concepts, copy angles and video ad drafts to help you build those assets, but you upload and publish them in App Store Connect yourself.
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