Ads Legendary
●  CHANNEL 08 - APPLE SEARCH ADS · APP STORE INTENT

The last click before install.
Priced properly.

Apple Search Ads owns the highest-intent surface in the app funnel: the App Store search result. We run it paired with ASO Legendary - the paid keyword strategy that respects organic rankings rather than cannibalizing them, with LTV-weighted bids and creative sets tuned to intent tier.

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SEARCH · SEARCH TAB · TODAY TAB
PAIRED WITH ASO LEGENDARY
LTV-WEIGHTED BIDDING BY KEYWORD TIER
Apple Search Ads / Advanced
LAST 28 DAYS ▾
Campaigns
Ad groups
Keywords
TAPS
94K
INSTALLS
38K
TTR
6.4%
CPI
$2.40
KEYWORD
INSTALLS
CPI
brand - exact
14K
$0.90
competitor - exact
6.2K
$3.80
category - broad
11K
$2.60
discovery - search match
6.8K
$2.90
Keyword-precise capture at the App Store - the last click before install, scored on post-install LTV not just CPI.

The honest read.

What actually moves the number

ASA is where paid and organic collide inside the same six-inch surface. Most operators bid on brand terms defensively (cheap installs, zero incrementality) and ignore the mid-tail where the actual leverage lives. Treated as its own discipline - informed by organic ranking data, LTV, and creative-set testing - it becomes one of the most efficient install channels in the stack.

The practice is keyword tiering by intent, bid-by-cohort against MMP-attributed LTV, and creative sets that vary by search context. Custom Product Pages wired to keyword themes. Brand defense priced honestly against the incrementality it delivers. Paired with ASO Legendary so paid bids don't collapse organic rank we already own.

The surfaces.

Where the spend actually lives
SEARCH RESULTS
Highest-intent surface. Keyword tiers built from ASO ranking data - bid where paid actually earns installs organic can't.
SEARCH TAB
Discovery placement pre-search. Efficient for category-defining apps, priced against downstream retention.
TODAY TAB
Reach placement. Priced against brand lift and cohort retention, not CPI.
PRODUCT PAGES
Custom Product Pages per keyword theme. Story matched to intent - different creative for 'budgeting app' vs your brand.
BID STRATEGY
LTV-weighted bids per keyword cohort, MMP-attributed. Not one bid-cap for the account.
ORGANIC INTEGRATION
ASO Legendary rankings inform where paid earns its place. Bidding against your own organic rank #1 is a tax, not a strategy.

How we run it.

The channel playbook
Move 01

Tier keywords by intent

Brand / category / competitor / discovery. Different bids, different creative, different KPIs.

Move 02

LTV-weighted bidding

MMP-attributed cohort LTV feeds bid caps per keyword tier. Not one blended CPI ceiling.

Move 03

CPPs per theme

Custom Product Pages built per keyword cluster - creative matches intent, not brand vanity.

Move 04

Brand defense, priced

Bid on brand only where a competitor is actively bidding, and only at rates the incrementality supports.

Move 05

ASO integration

Where organic rank is #1–3, paid role is defensive. Where rank is #10+, paid earns its slot.

Move 06

Post-ATT measurement

SKAN 4.0 conversion values mapped to in-app value events. AppsFlyer / Adjust as source of truth.

Measurement

Profit reported, not platform ROAS.

How this channel gets scored inside the engine - the metrics that actually make it into the QBR.

  • MMP-attributed cohort LTV per keyword tier
  • SKAN 4.0 conversion values aligned to revenue events
  • Paid vs organic rank interaction tracked weekly
  • Payback window by keyword cohort, not blended
  • Incrementality test on brand defense quarterly

Works better with the rest of the portfolio.

Channel
Google UAC

UAC for reach, ASA for intent capture at the App Store.

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Channel
Meta Advantage+ App

Meta creates the demand, ASA closes it inside the store.

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Channel
TikTok

Creator-native discovery on TikTok, keyword-precise capture on ASA.

The channel page →
CHANNEL 08 - APPLE SEARCH ADS · APP STORE INTENT

Own the last click. Paired with the organic rank.

Book a call →See pricing