Why ASA Still Scales in 2025
Apple Search Ads reaches people at the moment of intent and offers four placements: Search Results, Search Tab, Today, and Product Pages. Treat Search Results as your scale engine. Use the others for supporting goals and track them separately. Apple’s overview of ad placements explains the roles of each surface, with dedicated pages for the Search Tab, Today, and Product Pages.
On Product Pages, ads appear at the top of You Might Also Like — a high-intent surface people see when they’ve scrolled through a product page to research alternatives. Apple documents that exact placement behavior.
Before the search happens, the Search Tab can drive awareness (Apple notes that over 70% of App Store visitors use search), while Today is for big brand moments. Use strict caps on those awareness placements and keep performance reads separate from Search Results.
ASO vs ASA: a Closed Loop that Compounds
ASA insights should continuously inform ASO, and ASO assets should be tailored to ASA intent.
- Keywords and metadata: Use search term mining from ASA to identify high-intent queries; fold those learnings into titles/subtitles and the narrative of your product page.
- Metadata and traffic quality: Apple lets you build multiple Custom Product Pages (CPPs) in App Store Connect with different screenshots, videos, and promo text — each with its own URL. CPPs are designed to route traffic to the most relevant presentation of your app. (Apple Developer)
- CPPs inside ASA: Within Search Results ad groups, you can create ad variations that point to specific CPPs (and even deep link to an exact in-app destination). This is the cleanest way to align ad promise, keyword intent, and landing content. See Apple’s “Create ad variations” help and the CPP developer overview.
- Proven impact: Apple’s public Facetune case study reports higher tap-through, higher conversion rate, lower CPI, and more downloads after rolling out CPP-based ad variations; Apple’s best-practices page highlights the same metrics. Use it as a pattern, then test your own pages.
How to run the loop, week by week: mine ASA search terms → update your intent clusters → brief a CPP variant that matches that cluster → build an ad variation that points to it → read installs, CVR and CPI at the ad-group level → keep the winners, rotate the rest. Apple’s “measuring ad performance” guide shows how to structure those reads. (Apple Ads)
Creative & CPP Playbook
- Map creatives to intent: Cluster your keywords by problem/benefit, feature, and audience. The first screenshot and hero copy on the CPP must mirror the exact promise in the ad. If tap-through rises while install rate falls, the landing promise is off — fix CPP before touching bids.
- One control, one challenger: Keep a durable control CPP per theme and rotate one challenger at a time so reads stay clean.
- Localize smartly: Start with the CPP headline and first screenshot (fastest conversion lever), then localize the full gallery once you see lift. Apple’s CPP overview explains localization support and how multiple CPPs are managed.
- Ad variations correctly: Build ad variations inside Search Results ad groups using your CPPs; Apple’s help article clarifies setup and deep links.
Match Types, Search Match & Negative Sculpting
- Roles, not opinions: Use Exact for control and pricing precision. Broad to explore adjacent intent. Search Match to automatically discover relevant queries based on your metadata, category, and related apps. Apple documents all three.
- Sculpt to prevent cannibalization: Protect Brand and Exact ad groups with cross-negatives so they own their queries. Maintain shared negatives for “jobs/support/competitor-off-limits,” and audit the search terms frequently. Apple’s negative-keywords doc is the canonical reference.
- Promotion rule (make it explicit): Move a query from discovery (Broad/Search Match) to Exact when it accumulates enough volume at target economics — for example, at least 20 installs within your CPA target (or meets a D7 ROAS target) with stable CVR over seven days. This keeps exploration clean and your control groups potent.
Measurement & Privacy-first Attribution
- Decide on cohorts, not users: Make decisions on D0, D7, and D30 cohorts. Apple’s frameworks support multiple conversion windows and up to three postbacks; model your reporting cadence around those postbacks and your in-app event timeline. See Apple’s docs for SKAdNetwork and for AdAttributionKit multi-window postbacks.
- What to read, exactly: At the funnel layer, track impressions, taps, TTR, CPT, installs, CVR, and CPI by placement and by theme. At the cohort layer, track revenue per install, ROAS, and payback at D7/D30. When you need incrementality, use geo holdouts or time-boxed pauses. Apple’s “reporting options and definitions” and “create custom reports” pages anchor nomenclature and exports.
- Where data comes from: For programmatic campaign and keyword/report access, Apple provides the Campaign Management API (current version 5 as of August 2025). For sales/finance, use App Store Connect API Sales & Trends — it’s not for keyword rankings.
Structure that Scales
Adopt one naming pattern across the account so exports and API filters stay readable: App · Country · Placement · Objective · Theme · Match Type · Cohort Tag.
Build four pillars inside Search Results and keep budgets/reads separate by pillar:
- Brand defense — tight Exact on brand/product names, cross-negatives elsewhere, capped bids and budget.
- Competitor conquest — Exact (and tightly fenced Broad), modest budgets, short feedback loops.
- Generics / core intent — your main scale engine with a clear path from discovery to Exact.
- Discovery — Search Match and themed Broad for harvesting.
Apple’s docs on match types, Search Match, and negatives are the ground truth you can hand to any new teammate.
Keyword Pipeline — Discover → Prove → Scale
Keywords in ASA are very essential.
- Discover. Run Search Match and Broad in tight, themed ad groups; mine search terms twice weekly at launch, then weekly.
- Prove. Elevate promising queries into their own Exact ad groups with precise bids and the right CPP.
- Scale. Raise CPT on Exact winners and expand with near-synonyms and long-tail variants that share the same intent.
Every promotion or negative you add should be logged with the “what, why, outcome” so reads remain auditable. Apple’s reporting pages show how to build custom exports for that audit trail.
Budgeting
Start with a pragmatic split: Brand 10–20% (capped), Generics 50–70%, Competitor 5–10% (strict floors), Discovery 10–15% as a learning tax. Each week, add 10–20% budget to any bucket that beats target but paces below 90%, and trim 10–30% from any bucket that misses target for seven consecutive days without a fix in flight. Keep placement budgets and reads distinct (Search Results vs Search Tab/Today/Product Pages). Apple’s measurement guide helps you separate those views.
Bidding
You control CPT. Translate goals into a ceiling you won’t cross:
- From a CPI target: multiply the CPI target by your install-per-tap rate (CVR).
- From an event-CPA target: multiply the CPA target by CVR and by the event rate per install.
- From a ROAS target: multiply revenue per install in your decision window by CVR, then divide by the ROAS target.
Use a simple ladder to explore the frontier: if CPA is ≤ 0.8× target and volume is low, raise CPT by ~20%. If CPA is ≤ target and you still need volume, raise by ~10%. If CPA is above target, cut 10–20% unless a CPP change just went live. When a cluster heats up, it’s fine to raise faster than you cut — stabilize once you find the knee.
International
Expand where demand, CPI, and payback justify it. Duplicate the four pillars. Localize the CPP headline and first screenshot first (fastest conversion lever), then the full gallery. Review negatives per language — don’t auto-translate shared lists. Apple’s CPP documentation covers localization and multiple pages per app.
Compliance & Policy Hygiene
If you bid on competitor terms, keep copy comparative and avoid implying endorsement. Maintain a change log of keyword adds/negatives, creative and CPP links, dates, and approvers. When in doubt, consult Apple’s Advertising Policies, bidding best practices, and terms of service.
Operating Rhythm
Monday: health checks on budgets, CPT, CVR, and CPA/ROAS by placement and theme. Pacing and anomalies.
Mid-week: mine search terms, add cross-negatives, promote winners to Exact. Apply bid-ladder steps.
Friday: rotate one new creative/CPP where you have intent fit; log what/why/outcome. Queue next week’s tests.
Apple’s “create custom reports” article shows how to template these views so you don’t reinvent them every time.
Troubleshooting by Symptom
- High TTR, weak CVR: the ad promise is attractive but the landing page (CPP) doesn’t match. Point the ad variation to a CPP built for that query cluster, per Apple’s ad-variations and CPP docs.
- Great CPI, poor D7 ROAS: acquisition is fine but post-install value is low — tighten your keyword clusters and route to CPPs that foreground the value driver tied to your cohort window.
- Rising brand CPI: check competitor pressure and ensure cross-negatives protect your brand Exact ad group. Review Apple’s negative-keywords guidance.
- Discovery bloat: if Broad/Search Match are cannibalizing Exact, add cross-negatives and enforce the promotion rule to keep discovery lean.
Playbooks by Goal
- Lower CPA at the same spend: tighten negatives; shift volume from Broad to Exact. Route to a stricter CPP. Cut high-CPT, low-CVR pockets.
- More volume at flat CPA: climb the bid ladder on Exact winners. Add near-synonyms; open one new generic theme with a discovery pod ready to promote.
- Max ROAS with capped spend: trim to the highest revenue-per-install clusters. cCp brand CPI. Rotate creatives for efficiency.
- New market launch: start with Brand + one Generic theme + Discovery. Localize the CPP headline first; promote winners before adding more themes.
Automation & APIs
Automate hygiene and speed (alerts for CVR drops/CPT spikes/budget caps; scheduled negative sync; bid steps under clear rules; routine reporting). Keep human judgment for strategy: new themes, structure changes, creative and CPP briefs, and scaling calls.
For programmatic control of campaigns, ad groups, keywords and reports use Apple’s Campaign Management API (current major version 5). For sales/finance, pull via App Store Connect API (Sales & Trends). Apple’s reporting pages explain the metrics/dimensions you’ll see in the UI and exports.
FAQ
Which Apple Search Ads Placement Actually Scales?
Search Results is the primary performance engine. Use Search Tab, Today, and Product Pages for awareness of late-stage research and track them separately (see Apple’s ad placements).
Can Search Results Ads Link to Custom Product Pages and Deep Link?
Yes, build ad variations in your Search Results ad groups and select the CPP (with optional deep link) as the tap destination (see Create ad variations with CPPs).
How many Custom Product Pages can I create per app?
Up to 35 additional versions per app (each with its own URL, assets, and localization), as documented by Apple.
How Should I Measure Under SKAdNetwork/AdAttributionKit?
Deciding on cohorts at D0, D7, and D30, Apple documents up to three conversion windows/postbacks for privacy-safe attribution (see AdAttributionKit multiple conversion windows).
Which API Should I Use for Programmatic Management?
Use Apple Search Ads Campaign Management API 5 (v5.3 as of August 2025) for campaigns/keywords/reports; use App Store Connect API for Sales & Trends.
Conclusion
Scale in ASA comes from three habits: organize structure so Brand, Competitor, Generics, and Discovery don’t cannibalize. Route intent with Custom Product Pages and ad variations so every tap lands on the right promise. Make decisions on D0/D7/D30 cohorts aligned to Apple’s privacy frameworks. Keep this weekly cadence and your results compound.