Learn How to Maximize Your ROI and Visibility in ASA
Are you looking to supercharge your app’s visibility and performance on Apple Search Ads (ASA)? Well, you’ve come to the right place. In this blog, we’ll provide you with five smart tips for optimizing ASA campaigns to achieve stellar results.
Tip #1 Go Big or Go Home
When launching new keyword-based search results campaigns on ASA, the saying “Go big or go home” should be your motto. It’s often wise to start with a high spend, optimizing initially for impression share, rather than focusing on immediate return on investment through install growth. This approach helps you understand where your ads can potentially gain the most visibility and volume. By investing more in the initial stages, you can gather valuable insights on keyword performance and ad group engagement.
Tip #2 Deep Funnel Conversions: The Holy Grail of Optimizing Apple Search Ads (ASA) Campaigns
Deep funnel conversions are the ultimate goal of any ASA campaign. These conversions represent users who not only install your app but also engage in meaningful actions, such as making in-app purchases or beginning a paid subscription. However, optimizing too early for deep funnel conversions can be tricky when your campaign lacks substantial volume, and you don’t have data significance for such conversions. In such cases, it’s crucial to be patiently cautious with your optimization efforts, as insufficient conversion data can lead to poor decisions. Just like Indiana Jones – choose the right grail, or else. Keep a close eye on data quality and consider broader optimization strategies until you have ample data to work with. For instance, rather than optimizing toward a purchase event lower in the funnel, you may initially want to optimize toward an event further up the funnel with more volume (e.g., registration, free trial, or product view).
Tip #3 Lose Strategically to Win Big
No one likes to lose, but winning every keyword bid isn’t always the best approach either. Sometimes, it’s strategically wise to accept temporary losses. If you’re bidding on a keyword whose max bid has suddenly skyrocketed, you may want to back off the bidding war for that keyword. If the term is a high performer or even a brand term that’s just gotten too rich for your blood, consider lowering your bid just enough to maintain a presence as the second highest bid—exerting pressure on your competitors’ spend. This approach will allow you to re-enter bidding when the competitor’s spend is exhausted and/or the keyword’s price realigns with your profitability goals.
Tip #4 Experiment Smart and Measure Everything
ASA offers various ad placement types, such as the Search Tab, Today Tab, Product Page, and Search Results.
- Search Tab: Lets you reach users with an ad at the top of the suggested apps list before they search.
- Today Tab: Lets you reach people on the front page of the App Store, where users start their visit.
- Search Results: Lets you reach users who search for something specific using certain keywords.
- Product Page: Lets you reach users who are exploring similar apps. Your ad appears on the product pages of other apps, attracting potential users already in the discovery phase.
Experimenting with these diverse options can yield different results, so it’s important to manage your spend across ad types with a keen eye. Track your key performance metrics closely to identify which placements work best for your goals and audience. Remember that what works well for one campaign may not be suitable for another, so adjust as needed.
Tip #5 Negative Keywords Are Powerful
One of the most underutilized tools in the ASA toolbox is negative keywords. By including them in your campaigns, you can exclude irrelevant search queries and save budget wasted on taps that wouldn’t otherwise lead to conversions. Additionally, consider taking the exact text of your broad match keywords and treating them as negative keywords. This means you’ll prevent those broad keywords from showing up in your discovery campaigns and, instead, put them in a separate exact-match campaign where they’ll be treated as exact matches. This tactic will help you better assess how well those specific keywords perform while minimizing wasted ad spend.
Your Path to Success Starts Here
Optimizing ASA campaigns for better performance is not a simple task. Your long-term success hinges on your capacity to strategically adapt, experiment, and refine your data analysis approach over time. If you find the process overwhelming, remember that you don’t have to go it alone. If you need help executing your strategy or have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to experts in the field.
To connect with ASA experts at Search Ads Maven, request a consultation here.