AdSitter

Apple Ads wordsin plain English.

The words you meet in Apple Ads, each in a sentence or two, with one line on why it matters to a small app. Where Apple defines a term, the definition follows Apple’s own pages, listed at the end. Two terms, money back per $1 and shadow mode, are AdSitter’s own, and say so.

Last updated Part of the AdSitter guides

A

Ad group

A set of keywords inside a campaign, with their bids and the ad to show.

Why it matters. It lets one campaign's budget cover a few themes while you still see how each one does. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Attribution (AdServices)

Working out which ad led to a download. Apple’s AdServices tells your app, when someone opens it, which campaign, ad group and keyword the download came from, without identifying the person.

Why it matters. It is how revenue gets tied back to a keyword. Apple sends no attribution for ad groups that use age or gender settings, so leave those off.

B

Brand keyword

A keyword for your own app or company name. These belong in a separate brand campaign, set to exact match.

Why it matters. Brand downloads are often cheap, but many would have happened anyway, so count them apart. More in Bidding on your own app name.

Broad match

The default match type for new keywords. Your ad can show for related searches and variants, which can include names of similar products.

Why it matters. Good for finding new searches, but it reaches further than you might expect. Keep it to discovery. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

C

Campaign

The top level in Apple Ads, where you set the budget and choose the countries your ads run in.

Why it matters. Budgets live here, so how you split campaigns decides how your money is split. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Category keyword

A keyword that describes what your app does or its genre, not a name. These belong in a category campaign, set to exact match.

Why it matters. For a new app nobody knows yet, these are where most new people come from. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Competitor keyword

A keyword for an app similar to yours. These belong in a competitor campaign, set to exact match.

Why it matters. The least certain way to spend a small budget. AdSitter adds it once category searches have a known cost. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Conversion rate

Of the people who tapped your ad, the share who downloaded. The tap-through conversion rate is installs from taps divided by taps.

Why it matters. A low rate often points at the App Store page, not the ad. Taps that don't download still cost money.

Cost per download (cost per install, CPA)

What one download from your ads cost you. Also called CPA, cost per acquisition: spend divided by the taps that led to installs.

Why it matters. The number most people judge ads by. Compare it with what a new user is worth to you. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

Cost per tap (CPT)

What you paid for one tap on your ad. Reports show the average, and the price comes from an auction.

Why it matters. You pay per tap, not per download, so this and your conversion rate together set your cost per download. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

Custom product page

Another version of your App Store page, with its own screenshots, videos and text, built in App Store Connect. You can make up to 70 and use one as the ad for an ad group.

Why it matters. Optional. Worth it later for a theme with its own reason to download, not in week one. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

D

Daily budget

What a campaign should spend per day on average over a month. A single day can go over.

Why it matters. Plan from the month. Divide what you want to spend in a month by 30.4. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

Default ad

The ad Apple builds for you from the screenshots and previews on your App Store page. It runs in any ad group without a custom ad.

Why it matters. You don't have to design an ad to start. Your App Store page is the ad, so make it good. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Discovery campaign

A campaign for finding new searches. It uses broad match keywords and Search Match, in two ad groups.

Why it matters. It feeds the other campaigns. Searches that work here get added to them as exact match keywords. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

E

Exact match

A match type that shows your ad for the search you chose and close variants, like typos or a different word order.

Why it matters. Fewer impressions, tighter control. It is the recommended type for brand, category and competitor keywords. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

I

Impression

One time your ad appeared on the App Store. In search results you pay per tap, so an impression on its own costs nothing.

Why it matters. No impressions means no chance of a tap. It usually points at the bid, relevance or search volume. More in Why Apple Ads stop showing.

Impression share

How often your ad was shown for a search, out of all the searches for it in the same countries.

Why it matters. A low share on a search that works means you could get more by bidding a little higher. More in Bidding on your own app name.

Install (download)

A download of your app from your ad. New downloads and redownloads count within 30 days of a tap, and separately within one day of someone seeing the ad without tapping.

Why it matters. The 30-day window means the last week's numbers are still growing. Don't judge on them yet. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

K

Keyword

“A relevant word or term someone may use when searching for an app like yours”. You choose keywords and bid on them.

Why it matters. A few relevant keywords beat a long list, so focus on the most relevant ones. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

M

Max bid (max cost-per-tap bid)

The most you are willing to pay for one tap. You never pay more, and may pay less.

Why it matters. Work back from what a customer is worth. For example, $2.50 a customer at 40% of tappers downloading gives a $1.00 bid. More in Manual bids or Maximize Conversions.

Money back per $1 spent

An AdSitter number, not an Apple one: the money your app kept from sales tied to Apple Ads, after Apple's cut and taxes, divided by what the ads cost. It needs RevenueCat.

Why it matters. Above $1 the ads are paying for themselves. Downloads alone can't tell you that.

Monthly cap

The most a campaign can spend in a month: its daily budget times 30.4, the average days in a month.

Why it matters. It is a safety net per campaign. Your total ceiling is the sum across campaigns. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

N

Negative keyword

A term that stops your ad from showing for certain searches. The default match type for negatives is exact.

Why it matters. The cheapest way to stop paying for taps from people who want something else. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

R

Relevance (ad rank)

How well your app fits a search. Apple weighs relevance and your bid to decide whose ad shows, and an app that isn’t relevant won’t be shown whatever it bids. Relevance also affects the price.

Why it matters. You can't buy your way onto searches that don't fit your app. Your App Store page drives relevance.

S

Search Match

Automatic matching. It shows your ad for relevant searches using your App Store listing, similar apps and other search data, without you listing keywords.

Why it matters. A cheap way to find searches you didn't think of. Keep it in its own ad group. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Search term

What someone actually typed in the App Store. The Search Terms tab shows which search terms matched your keywords.

Why it matters. The best source of new keywords, and of new negative keywords. More in Apple Ads campaigns for beginners.

Shadow and live (AdSitter)

AdSitter's two modes. In shadow mode it only watches: it reads your Apple Ads, works out what it would change, and records that, but changes nothing. In live mode it makes those changes in Apple Ads.

Why it matters. You can see what AdSitter would do on your real account before it does anything.

T

Tap

One time someone tapped your ad. In search results you pay per tap.

Why it matters. Every tap costs money, whether or not it becomes a download. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

Tap-through rate (TTR)

Taps divided by impressions: of the people who saw your ad, the share who tapped.

Why it matters. A low TTR on a search usually means the search doesn't fit your app, or your icon and screenshots don't sell it.

Trial

A free period before a subscription starts charging. Apple asks apps to show how long the trial lasts and the price billed once it’s over.

Why it matters. Money from ads arrives after the trial ends, so judge keywords on revenue only once the trial is over. More in How much to spend on Apple Ads.

Sources

Facts about how Apple Ads works come from Apple’s own pages, listed below. We read them on . Apple changes them, so check the page itself before a big decision. Anything marked as AdSitter’s rule of thumb is our own judgment, not Apple’s.

Rather not do this by hand?AdSitter can run it for you.

You set a hard monthly limit. AdSitter picks the keywords, sets the bids, pauses what wastes money, and explains every change in plain English. You can set up and connect Apple Ads today, in about 5 minutes.

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