iOS app marketers frequently make several mistakes that can negatively impact the performance of their Apple Search Ads keyword campaigns.
Here are the top four common mistakes compiled by Team FoxData:
1. Overbidding and Underbidding on Keywords
New iOS app marketers often get swayed by the popularity scores of Apple Search Ads keywords. While popularity scores indicate how many people are using a particular search query, they do not measure quality. A highly popular keyword might work for another app in your category but not necessarily for yours. For instance, in the health and fitness app category, the keyword "calorie tracking app" may be extremely popular but might not be relevant if your app doesn't offer that feature.
When bidding on Apple Search Ads keywords, focus on performance rather than popularity. Start with A/B testing to determine which keywords work best for your app. Avoid overbidding on extremely popular keywords and underbidding on long-tail, low-traffic keywords. Prioritize quality over quantity.
2. Ignoring Negative Keywords
Negative keywords are those that are irrelevant to your campaign and can waste your marketing budget. Failing to mark such keywords as negative in your Apple Search Ads campaign setups can reduce the efficiency of your campaigns by displaying your ads to the wrong audience. This can lead to high ad spends on low-performing campaigns, increased Customer Acquisition Costs (CACs), lower Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), and fewer auction wins for important keywords.
Update your negative keywords list monthly, covering brand, category, competitor, multilingual, and seasonal keywords. A refined negative keyword list can streamline and optimize your high-value Apple Search Ads campaigns.
3. Irregular Updates to the Target Keyword List
Regularly updating your Apple Search Ads target keyword list is crucial. Aim for a bi-weekly or monthly cadence to update keywords across categories such as brand, competitor, category, seasonal, and multilingual. Search queries are influenced by viral trends, pop culture, trending hashtags, and local festivals. Therefore, it's essential to prioritize your target keywords for each month or quarter.
Maintaining a strong Share of Voice (SOV) in your category impacts your keyword bidding and the performance of your ads. A strong SOV makes your app appear credible and relevant for your targeted keywords. Regular updates to your keyword list also allow you to leverage moment marketing and capitalize on viral trends that align with your brand.
4. Lack of Analytics to Optimize Strategy
Many app advertisers focus solely on impressions and downloads for their Apple Search Ads initiatives. However, with privacy-oriented marketing platforms, it's important to consider more attribution and first-party data to make informed decisions. For iOS app advertising, marketers should analyze data from the entire user journey.
Key metrics to consider include:
- Which keywords generate the most impressions?
- Which keywords lead to the most downloads?
- Which keyword-led conversions yield the highest Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) after downloads and signups?
To gain full-funnel transparency, integrate the Apple Search Ads platform with Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs). Analyze both pre-install and post-install data to identify your top-performing App Store keywords.
By avoiding these common mistakes, you can significantly improve the performance and efficiency of your Apple Search Ads keyword campaigns.
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