Apple Search Ads Benchmarks Q2-Q4 2020

In the mobile-first world, winning mobile users is becoming the primary aim for iOS publishers. 

Launched in 2008 with 500 apps, the App Store has expanded to include more than 1.8 million apps available worldwide.   

The increasing competition on the App Store goes in hand with the rising user demand for apps. According to AppsFlyer, in 2020 the number of app downloads grew by 33%, which is a 25% increase compared to 2019. This boost results from both marketing efforts and consumer intent driven by the pandemic.

COVID-19 has significantly altered the way we live our lives – doing shopping or sports, studying, working, making payments, or keeping in touch with friends – all these things heavily rely on mobile. Сonsumer behavior during the pandemic indicates that mobile users get value from mobile services, which leads to record high consumer spend – $9.6 billion in May 2020. 

In the mobile-first world, winning mobile users is becoming the primary aim for iOS publishers. 

For those who use Apple Search Ads to promote their app on the App Store, comparing own stats against the industry benchmarks can give an idea of whether you’re successful in doing that. 

SearchAdsHQ team decided to create a free report that covers key Apple Search Ads benchmarks.

Apple Search Ads Benchmarks Report Q2-Q4 2020 provides:

• Average Apple Search Ads TTR: overall, by categories, by countries and regions;
• Average Conversion Rate (CR): overall, by categories, by countries and regions;
• Average Apple Search Ads  Cost per Tap (CPT): overall, by categories, by countries and regions;
• Average Apple Search Ads  Cost per Acquisition (CPA): overall, by categories, by countries and regions;
• Top gainers and losers across the App Store categories; 
• Apple Search Ads cost trends: CPT and CPA overall trends, trends for top App Store categories and most popular Apple Search Ads countries and regions;
• Quarter over quarter (Q/Q) changes in TTR, CR, CPT and CPA from 2018 until 2020.

The report is based on the aggregate data from apps that optimize Apple Search Ads campaigns using SearchAdsHQ. 

The period under review: March – December 2020 (Q2-Q4 2020).

• 1.1M keywords
• 543.6M impressions 
• 43M taps
• 25.8M downloads 

• 15 categories
• 60 countries & regions

Leverage SplitMetrics’ Apple Search Ads Benchmark Dashboard to assess the most recent averages – all key metrics at one place, and don’t bother looking for them anywhere else.

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Sampling

1. Excluded categories: Newsstand, News, Food & Drink, Reference, Medical, Books, Graphics & Design, Weather.

To provide consistent and reliable data, we’ve left out categories with fewer than 5 apps and insufficient spend, which could produce unreliable results in aggregate.

2. Excluded publishers: we’ve left out SearchAdsHQ clients whose policy states that their user data shall not be used in Apple Search Ads Benchmarks report, including the anonymous aggregate form. 

Methodology

To calculate the TTR, CR, CPT and CPA averages, we used the sum of the data values included in a specific App Store category or Apple Search Ads country.

Watch a short video with a few findings from the report:

Download full Apple Search Ads Benchmarks Report Q2-Q4 2020.