Nine Steps to a Perfect Synergy of App Store Optimization (ASO) & Apple Ads
Gabriel Kuriata 
Gabriel Kuriata 
Apple Ads and App Store Optimization (ASO) synergy stems from their interrelation, often resulting in enhanced organic visibility and more effective paid user acquisition.
App Store Optimization is concerned with providing visibility and the best user experience on an app’s product page on the marketplace.
Apple Ads is an advertising platform integral to getting your app discovered by more customers on the App Store.
Consequently, Apple Ads and ASO are closely connected, and this article will demonstrate how to maximize the benefits of their synergy.
ASO is the foundation of every successful App Store story, and it remains a high priority for both organic growth and optimizing your Apple Ads campaigns.
App Store optimization benefits all paid user acquisition channels, as your metadata informs customers about your app and can impact their likelihood of downloading it. Still, the relationship between ASO and Apple Ads is particularly potent because your metadata determines your campaign’s relevancy.
ASO has two main areas of focus:
The full scope of ASO-related activities is continuously growing, a trend visible in our best ASO practices, which we recommend following. This is a result of an increasing focus on quality and user experience on the App Store.
ASO must prove to users and any algorithm that the app is of the highest quality. Our experts believe there’s no better quality indicator than metrics such as a high conversion rate, download velocity, or app ratings.
All apps that use Apple Ads for search results campaigns will display their ads next to various organic search results. This is why strategies for both channels must be aligned.
Apple Ads appear only and directly on the App Store. Each placement is integral to your user acquisition strategy, with Today tab ads greeting users who open the App Store on the main page, Search tab ads showing up before they search, search results ads being visible on the top of search results, or ads being displayed among app recommendations on the bottom of product pages.
Strategic creative optimization has a significant impact on tap-through and conversion rates for all ad placements, including those using default product page assets or custom product pages (except for Today tab ads and ad variations that lead to custom product pages, as all ads are created from the default product page creatives).
The App Store is used to find and download apps. Consequently, Apple Ads, by definition, target a highly motivated audience. It’s not just that the advertising platform will drive potential customers to your product page. It will drive high-quality traffic with high conversion rates and a high download velocity of users likely to leave a rating or review, and most importantly, perform a revenue-generating activity after installation.
Regarding potential customers, Apple Ads can deliver quantity and quality. These are essential for an app that aims to achieve organic visibility.
Our experts have observed that the benefits of aligning your App Store optimization strategy with Apple Ads campaigns are often:
As a part of this, ASO will help:
On the other hand, Apple Ads will:
All this can happen with nine easy steps!
Let’s examine how ASO and Apple Ads strategies can be integrated to maximize visibility and convertibility.
ASO competitive research evaluates apps with similar functionality or features. Its purpose is to identify opportunities for growth and areas for optimization. Carrying it out means taking a closer look at:
This step will tremendously impact the ASO and Apple Ads optimization strategies. Any alignment will be impossible without understanding your competitive landscape on both category and market levels, with a particular focus on direct competitors.
Lessons learned during the competitive research phase should translate into better design decisions regarding your product page creatives.
Don’t underestimate the impact of a high conversion rate uplift on your cost per acquisition. Keep an eye on our Apple Ads benchmarks dashboard and familiarize yourself with additional materials on Apple Ads costs to understand whether you can convert better or adjust your bids. Updating key product page visual assets can be much more cost-effective than simply relying on outbidding your competitors, and you should do it first.
If within your budget, resort to A/B testing to ensure your design decisions are data-driven. Follow the A/B testing and validation framework established by experts from SplitMetrics Optimize for the best results.
Apple Ads campaigns will likely impact your organic rankings directly and indirectly. They can provide the necessary download velocity and engagement for your app to be noticed by the algorithm.
The idea we present here is simple. We assume that the ultimate goal of any search algorithm on any app marketplace is to recommend to users only the best apps they’ll download and enjoy. As practitioners, we can reassure you that there are no better performance metrics than historical data showcasing high ratings, great reviews, high download velocity, high tap-through, conversion rates, or even in-app activities leading to generating revenue. It’s not only the volume of people visiting your app’s product page that matters; it’s its quality, proof that an app is worth recommending.
This assumption suggests that you’ll achieve better organic visibility by running Apple Ads. The platform can deliver high-value users to your app’s product page.
| LTV ($) | 0D | 1D | 7D | 14D | 30D | 45D | 60D |
| iOS | 0.3937 | 0.4447 | 0.6065 | 1.24 | 2.23 | 2.68 | 3.17 |
| Android | 0.0086 | 0.0093 | 0.0112 | 0.0129 | 0.0129 | 0.0142 | 0.0162 |
However, don’t expect miracles without data-driven keyword distribution in your app’s metadata. Assume with certainty that qualitative parameters will only benefit your visibility, but remember that the exact workings of the ranking algorithm are undisclosed and include possibly many more factors.
Pre-order campaigns on the App Store can help your app achieve a successful launch. Upon release, users will receive a push notification encouraging them to download the app they pre-ordered. This results in a rapid surge of new users upon app launch, which may be further amplified by the “new app boost.”
According to our ASO experts, there’s a possibility that new marketplace apps may receive a temporary uplift in organic rankings that can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks after launch. Sometimes referred to as the “new app boost,” it may increase the visibility of new apps in search results and categories during their initial launch phase. While not guaranteed, considering this potential opportunity will help you prepare for a successful app launch.
The sooner users download, use, and rate your app, the sooner the algorithm will receive valuable feedback to rank your performance and grant you visibility. Apple Ads are an effective way to promote an app during its pre-order phase.
Apple Ads provides a handful of keyword metrics that can be used effectively in App Store optimization:
In practice, ASO platforms like App Radar use their technology and algorithms to offer comprehensive metrics and analytics on keyword popularity and ranking difficulty. However, Apple Ads will always be a dynamic, reliable source of information for any ASO practitioner.
The free SplitMetrics Acquire Starter Plan also has additional metrics and analytics that can help you align your Apple Ads and ASO strategies: organic rank, organic results (the number of apps ranking for a particular keyword), impression volume, keyword type (brand or generic), brand protection (whether a branded keyword is bid on by its owner), and impression volume.
Aligning organic and paid keywords means maximizing the situation when your app reaches the top of the charts while also being visible through search results ads.
The interrelation between search results ads and organic results opens up several possibilities when you hit those top positions organically:
You can consider optimizing bids for keywords that feature your app in organic search results. The best way to maintain optimal bids is to focus on key Apple Ads metrics, such as cost per acquisition (CPA) and cost per goal (CPG), which are relevant to in-app purchases or subscriptions. These metrics will reflect any fluctuations in traffic that occur when both the ad and organic search results occupy the first page.
The free SplitMetrics Acquire Starter Plan’s Ads Manager can show organic ranks for keywords. Customize columns to streamline Apple Ads management and easily align the channel with ASO.
Custom product pages can showcase varying themes and features to ensure the perfect alignment of messaging with a specific keyword you target with your ads. Their value goes beyond immediate downloads or higher conversion rates.
Sometimes, custom product pages perform so well that they may become new default pages when a different color palette, imagery, or messaging connects particularly well with your audience.
Keep track of your target Apple Ads metrics to make the channel’s and ASO’s synergy profitable. App Store optimization works best when progress is data-driven and incremental, relying on A/B testing. It may take some time before all the pieces fall into place. All ranking algorithms consider many factors, and their exact mechanisms are undisclosed. Assuming the same for the App Store’s ranking algorithm is in our best interest. The synergy between ASO and Apple Ads can happen organically when best practices for both are followed. Remember:
Both must ultimately lead to downloads and the realization of post-installation goals, driving revenue for the app. In Apple Ads, never lose focus on your cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per goal (CPG). Organic and paid traffic must still be profitable.
In Apple Ads, advertisers pay only for taps on their ads, not for impressions.
We have some fantastic Apple Ads and ASO synergy cases to share. See how all this works in practice:
Apple Ads and App Store optimization will work hand in hand – a growth engine even a beginning advertiser can build easily and quickly. In today’s user-centric app marketing, only a holistic approach to app growth yields the best results.
Always follow the best practices for Apple Ads and App Store optimization. The path from a beginner to an expert in App Store marketing isn’t that long, and the synergy between Apple Ads and ASO will be a great reward for taking it. Managing Apple Ads through our platform will help you align these two channels.
