Apple Search Ads Basic vs Advanced: How to Choose the Right One?
Gabriel Kuriata
Gabriel Kuriata 
How to promote an app on the App Store? There are many solutions, but we’d point to only one as obligatory: Apple Search Ads. It’s an acquisition channel designed solely for that marketplace, with the capability to reach more than half a billion users that visit it every week.
Mastering a new tool might seem challenging. Luckily, both Apple and their partners help advertisers make the dive into Apple Search Ads as easy as possible. In this article, we show how they do that and discuss what is the best option for a successful start.
Apple Search Ads is a powerful self-service advertising platform provided by Apple that allows app developers and marketers to promote their apps within the App Store. In 2024, it offers four ad placements that allow advertisers to reach users at different stages of their customer journeys. Thanks to the unique value of each of the placements and synergy between them, mobile developers and marketers can use Apple Search Ads to increase their app’s visibility throughout a user’s App Store journey, build brand recognition and most importantly –- drive downloads.
Apple Search Ads is a platform designed to advertise solely on the App Store. It offers four ad placements that work throughout a user’s App Store journey.
Apple Search Ads utilizes an auction system to display ads, with both the value of the bid and ad quality being factors taken into account in allocating ad space. The platform offers two distinct solutions for managing ads: Apple Search Ads Basic and Apple Search Ads Advanced. Basic is a fully automated service, easy enough for beginners, Advanced is a robust system for specialists.
If you’re reading this article, then it’s highly probable that you’re just beginning your journey with Apple Search Ads and wondering which of the two solutions is right for you, or how you should begin your experience with this advertising platform.
In this article we focus on evaluating Apple Search Ads Basic & Advanced, taking into account business goals, budgets, and available resources of advertisers. Although the Basic system may seem like a good point to start with, our service SplitMetrics Acquire might make the deep dive into the Advanced service much easier.
In this article, we touch on the features of both services, but our focus is on the advantages and considerations from the perspective of various types of users, to help you choose the right solution for your advertising needs.
All this information is crucial to understanding the benefits and considerations of the two platforms. Here is their brief overview:
Apple Search Ads Basic is a fully automated, self service advertising platform for placing ads at the top of search results. It offers a streamlined interface and automated ads management, making it easy to set up and manage campaigns with minimal effort.
With Apple Search Ads Basic, advertisers select an app, set a daily budget, and the platform uses intelligent automation to optimize their campaigns and match your ad to interested users, maximizing your results. Advertisers are charged for every download resulting from advertising.
To summarize, Apple Search Ads Basic allows for a truly hands-off approach to advertising on the App Store.
It’s possible to connect Apple Search Ads Basic with a mobile measurement partner, to connect Apple Search Ads campaign data with in-app, revenue generating events. Attribution API is used for this purpose.
Apple Search Ads Advanced provides more extensive control and customization options for advertisers. Configured and managed manually, it offers comprehensive features and useful recommendations such as keyword suggestions, bidding assistance, as well as extensive custom reporting options.
A key feature of Apple Search Ads Advanced are custom product pages which are created in App Store Connect – alternative versions of an app’s product page. They allow for creation of personalized experiences for users. For example, they can be used to showcase different app features that best reflect a specific search query.
Apple Search Ads Advanced allows advertisers to use all four ad placement options available on the App Store: the Today tab ads, Search tab ads, search results ads and ads on product pages. It also grants access to Attribution API and Campaign Management API, allowing for pairing campaign data with in-app events, as well as management through external services. Our SplitMetrics Acquire is an example of such a service.
The option you choose should depend on your expectations and business goals. Capabilities, in terms of human resources and expertise do play a role, but there are solutions for that. Services such as SplitMetrics Acquire can be a significant aid in making a great leap forward in advertising on the App Store and scaling with the channel.
All these depend on business needs and goals.
Extended API: Apple Search Ads Advanced grants access to both APIs, responsible for connecting mobile measurement partners and management through external services.
Choosing between the two platforms depends on your specific advertising goals, resources, and level of expertise. Here are some factors to consider when making your decision:
What about budget and resources? External management solutions such as SplitMetrics Acquire can make this factor much less relevant. Potential gains from increased efficiency and improved optimization may greatly outweigh the time and effort spent on learning Apple Search Ads Advanced.
Apple Search Ads is a powerful marketing tool. However, many large publishers and agencies choose to work with it via platforms like SplitMetrics Acquire. Our service communicates with Apple Search Ads through API and provides a vast, additional layer of management and reporting options for marketers. It allows for manual control & setup while still offering a robust automation system working on your specific terms and conditions. Read more about it in this article.
Remember, that ultimately your app will outgrow Apple Search Ads Basic and will need Apple Search Ads Advanced in any event. Ultimately, the choice between the two services depends on your unique circumstances and goals.Consider your campaign complexity, and desired level of control to determine which option aligns best with your needs and resources. Remember about solutions that expand the default experience with Apple Search Ads and allow companies to take full advantage of the Advanced platform from the start with ease.
