Apple Search Ads is launching soon in more countries, expanding into the Latin America region. Ads will soon start appearing in the App Store for Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Paraguay.
That means app developers will be able to market in more than 70 countries through Apple Search ads. With “Search Ads”, ads can be targeted to show up in the Today app, at the bottom of app product pages, at the top of search results and in the Search tab’s “Suggested” section.
Today’s news brings the advertising platform to more geographies, with Brazil representing one of the largest App Store markets worldwide. It includes all the same features as offered in other regions, including the recently-redesigned Today tab slot that features animated custom art backgrounds.
Apple says Search Ads helps developers grow their audience, on an integrated and trusted marketing platform. The company says Search Ads help deliver up to double the impressions of organic results, with small developers benefiting the most. They also see conversion rates as high as 60% on promoted apps in search results, thanks to strong user intent signals and relevant keyword targeting for a given search query.
However, Apple’s venture into App Store Search Ads has been controversial in the community. Smaller developers are often frustrated that apps with much bigger bankrolls can appear above them in search results, even when customers search specifically for their app’s name. In addition to paying 15-30% of commission on all in-app purchases from their apps to Apple, developers now feel like they are pressured to allocate funds to Search Ads marketing spend as well.
Following the rollout of product page ad placements in 2022, users started seeing gambling and casino apps appearing in the “You Might Also Like” section beneath the description and screenshots of (wholly unrelated) productivity and indie apps. In response to developer backlash, in October 2022, Apple said it has “paused ads relating to gambling and a few other categories” from appearing in those slots. Seemingly, that ‘pause’ is still in effect today.
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