Apple Ads setup (formerly Apple Search Ads), step by step

What is Apple Ads?

Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) is Apple's ad platform for promoting iPhone and iPad apps inside the App Store. With Apple Ads Advanced your ad can run in four placements: the Today tab, the Search tab (top of the suggested apps list), search results, and product pages while people browse (at the top of the "You Might Also Like" list). Ads are built from the metadata and assets you already uploaded in App Store Connect, and every ad carries an ad disclosure icon.

This guide focuses on search results ads, because the search term is the clearest signal of what someone wants, and walks through that path end to end.

What do you need before you start?

Apple's checklist for a first campaign is short, and each item can block you:

An app on the App Store. Apple asks you to "have an app live on the App Store". Apps in pre-order can be promoted too, and for them Apple recommends the manual bid strategy (Manage Bids) instead of Maximize Conversions.
The right Apple Account. Use the Apple Account associated with your App Store Connect account. It must have an email address: accounts that use only a phone number are not accepted.
An App Store Connect role that can link accounts. Apple's linking page names Account Holder, Admin, App Manager or Marketing, and you need to sign in to both with the same email.
A payment method. Visa, Mastercard (including Apple Card) and American Express are accepted, plus UPI for payments in Indian Rupees. Prepaid cards, gift cards and digital wallets are not.
A learning budget. Treat the first weeks as the cost of finding out which searches convert.

If your app was just released, Apple notes it can take up to 24 hours before it appears in campaign creation.

Apple Ads Basic or Advanced?

Pick Advanced if you want to choose keywords and see which searches convert; pick Basic if you want a fixed cost per install and no daily management. Both are run by Apple; they differ in control and pricing.

	Apple Ads Basic	Apple Ads Advanced
Placements	Search results only	Today tab, Search tab, search results, product pages
You pay for	Installs, up to a max cost-per-install (max CPI) you set	Taps, up to a max cost-per-tap (max CPT) you set
Keywords and audiences	None: Apple matches the ad for you	You choose keywords, match types, negatives, audiences
Budget	Monthly, up to 10,000 USD per app per month	Daily budget per campaign, no maximum
Apps	Up to 50	Unlimited
Reporting	Quick-view dashboard, no keyword data	Detailed reports, search terms, Insights
APIs	AdServices Attribution API	AdServices Attribution API and Apple Ads Platform API

Apple suggests a max CPI in Basic "based on what we know about your app and what other developers are willing to pay to reach the same users", and recommends using it. If you start creating an Advanced account and try to switch to Basic halfway, you get an error: finish the Advanced account and link it to App Store Connect first.

The rest of this guide covers Advanced, because it is the only option that tells you which keywords work.

How do you create the Apple Ads account?

The account form asks for details you cannot change later, so decide them before you click.

On the Apple Ads site, click Get Started (Advanced) or open the Basic page.
Sign in with your Apple Account and choose your language and date/time format.
Fill in account name, country or region, currency, time zone, legal entity name, whether you act as an agent, the primary contact and email notifications.
Accept the Apple Advertising Services Terms of Service.
Complete Business Details with tax information (legal entity name, business entity status, tax ID such as a VAT ID, registered address).
Add the payment method.

Currency and time zone are permanent. Billing runs on UTC regardless of the time zone you pick. Account currencies are AUD, GBP, CAD, RMB (mainland China only), EUR, INR (UPI only), JPY, MXN, NZD and USD; to use another currency later you need a new account.

How do you link App Store Connect?

You cannot promote an app until an App Store Connect account is linked. As an Account Admin or Campaign Group Manager: on the Campaigns dashboard, click the down arrow above Campaigns, choose Settings, then Link accounts (or Change if one is already linked). Clear your browser cache and sign in again afterwards.

Linking matters for money too. Apple says eligible developers get a one-time 100 USD promo credit on a new account (converted to your account currency, terms apply), but only if the top-level account is linked: if you link only a campaign group, the credit is not applied. You can check it on the Billing page under Account Settings.

How do you create your first search results campaign?

Here is the flow in the Advanced interface, with the choices that matter at each step.

On the Campaigns dashboard, click Create Campaign and choose your app.
Choose the placement: Search results.
Choose countries or regions. Group markets that share language and customer value; give big markets their own campaign. In some countries, such as Brazil, your metadata and screenshots must be in the country's default language.
Click Continue and name the campaign after its theme, for example "US – Category".
Set a daily budget: the average you want to spend per day over a month. Monthly spend will not exceed daily budget × 30.4, and single days can go above it.
Choose the bid strategy (next section). For Maximize Conversions, set a target CPA.
Schedule: start now or later, with an optional end date. To stop a campaign going live the moment a payment method is added, set its status to Pause while creating it.
Create the ad group: name it after the keyword theme, set the default max CPT bid, switch Search Match on or off, add keywords, and keep audience at all eligible users unless you have a reason.
Choose the ad: the default ad (built from your product page) or an ad variation from a custom product page. Then click Create Campaign.

Removing a campaign or ad group is final: it cannot be restored. Pause instead when unsure.

Maximize Conversions or Manage Bids?

Choose Manage Bids if you want to pick keywords and set a price per tap for each; choose Maximize Conversions if you want Apple's auto-bidder to buy installs around a target cost.

	Maximize Conversions	Manage Bids
You set	Target CPA (ideal cost per tap-through install) and daily budget	Max CPT bid per ad group or keyword, daily budget
Keywords	Search Match finds them; you cannot manage keyword bids	You add keywords and choose match types
Ad group	Created automatically, Search Match required	You build each one
Best for	Live apps, broad reach with little management	Control, testing, brand and competitor terms
Pre-order apps	Not designed for them	Recommended by Apple

Apple recommends letting a Maximize Conversions campaign run at least two weeks before changing its target CPA. You can switch strategies later from the Campaigns dashboard (Actions > Edit Bid Strategy).

Either way, an ad is shown only when your app is relevant to the search. In Apple's words: "If your app isn't relevant to what the user is searching for, it won't be displayed — regardless of how much you may be willing to pay." You also cannot choose or bid for a specific ad position. The math behind bids is in Apple Ads cost and bids.

How should you structure campaigns?

Apple recommends four search results campaigns, one per keyword theme:

Campaign	Keywords	Match type	Search Match
Brand	Your app and company name	Exact	Off
Category	What the app does, its genre	Exact	Off
Competitor	Similar apps in your or related categories	Exact	Off
Discovery	All keywords above as broad (ad group 1); no keywords (ad group 2)	Broad	Off in ad group 1, on in ad group 2

In discovery, add every brand, category and competitor keyword as an exact match negative, so discovery only finds new terms. When a search term performs, move it to the right campaign as exact match and add it to discovery's negatives. The full template, with a worked example, is in Apple Ads campaign structure; match types are explained in Apple Ads match types.

Apple also notes that competitor keywords, Search Match and broad match "may not be appropriate for all countries and regions".

Where can Apple Ads run?

Apple lists 91 countries and regions for Today tab, Search tab and search results ads, and 90 for product page ads, which are not available in mainland China. Advertising in mainland China needs your business and app approved first. A separate list shows the countries where advertisers may reside.

Two country rules catch people out:

France (Sapin Law): only the advertiser who owns both the app and the Apple Ads account can promote an app on the App Store in France. Agencies acting for a France-based client cannot.
Language: in some countries, like Brazil, the product page must be in the local default language.

During campaign creation only countries available for the chosen placement appear, and only where your app is for sale.

What should you check in the first two weeks?

Day 1: campaign status is Running, not On Hold. Apple lists the reasons for On Hold: no valid payment method, a declined card, an end date in the past, or a policy violation.
Day 1–2: the ad preview shows your current screenshots. Metadata changes can take up to 24 hours to reach the preview and up to two hours to reach the live ad.
Day 2–3: impressions are coming in. If a relevant, popular keyword has few impressions, you may be outbid; Apple suggests trying a higher bid, using its recommended bid as a guide.
Day 3–7: open the Search Terms tab. Terms appear only after at least 10 impressions; below that you see "low volume".
Day 7: add obvious mismatches as negative keywords; move terms with installs from discovery to exact match.
Day 7–14: compare cost per install by campaign. Lower bids on keywords that get taps but cost more per install than your target.
Day 14: for Maximize Conversions, this is the earliest Apple suggests changing the target CPA.
Every day: spend is in line with daily budget × 30.4 over the month.

What are the most common setup mistakes?

Wrong currency or time zone. Both are permanent.
Linking only a campaign group. The new account credit then is not applied.
One campaign for everything. Brand, category and competitor terms then share a budget and bid, and you cannot tell which theme pays.
Broad match everywhere. Apple's bidding guidance says "most of your traffic should come from exact match".
No negatives in discovery. Discovery then buys the same terms your exact campaigns already target.
Changing a match type in place. You cannot: pause the keyword and re-add it with the new match type.
Judging after three days. Search term data needs impressions, and the auto-bidder needs time.
Advertising a weak product page. Taps you pay for land on it; fix screenshots before raising bids.

Where does Uptika fit?

Apple Ads shows paid results; Uptika puts them next to your organic rank. On paid plans (Starter and up), after you connect your Apple Ads account in Settings > Integrations with your API credentials, Uptika's Apple Ads pages show Performance (spend, impressions, taps, installs, TTR, CR, CPT, CPA against the previous period), your Campaigns, Opportunities (search terms that convert but are not exact keywords yet, terms that spend without installs, keywords far above your target cost) and Ads and search rank, which lists per keyword your organic rank today and 7 days ago, Uptika popularity, Apple's search popularity (1–5) and the Apple Ads state and results. Every change Uptika proposes needs your explicit confirmation and can be undone.

For keyword ideas before you spend, check terms in the free Keyword Atlas and see how your product page reads in Listing X-Ray. In the panel, Kelime avı (keyword hunt) suggests new terms from the store's own autocomplete and from what rivals rank for. Create an account to start.

Questions

How do I set up Apple Search Ads?

Sign up for Apple Ads with the Apple Account linked to your App Store Connect team, fill in account and tax details, add a payment method and link App Store Connect. Then click Create Campaign, choose your app, the search results placement and countries, set a daily budget and bid strategy, create an ad group with a max CPT bid and keywords, and choose your ad. Your app must already be available on the App Store.

What is the difference between Apple Ads Basic and Advanced?

Basic runs only in search results, has no keywords or audience settings, and charges per install up to a max cost-per-install you set, with a monthly budget of up to 10,000 USD per app and up to 50 apps. Advanced charges per tap, runs on the Today tab, Search tab, search results and product pages, and gives you keywords, bids, custom product page ads, full reporting and the Platform API.

How do I create an Apple Search Ads account?

Click Get Started on the Apple Ads site (or open the Basic page for a Basic account), sign in with your Apple Account, choose language and date format, and fill in account name, country or region, currency, time zone, legal entity name and primary contact. Accept the terms, complete Business Details with tax information and add a payment method. Currency and time zone cannot be changed later.

Is Apple Ads available in my country?

Apple lists 91 countries and regions for Today tab, Search tab and search results ads, and 90 for product page ads (not mainland China). A separate list shows where advertisers may reside. Check Apple's Countries and Regions page, because your campaign can only target places where both Apple Ads and your app are available.

Do I get free credit when I start Apple Ads?

Apple says eligible developers get a one-time 100 USD credit on a new account. You must be a developer and registered account holder in App Store Connect with at least one app for sale, and you must link your top-level Apple Ads account (not a campaign group) to App Store Connect. Terms and conditions apply.

Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) setup, step by step