With mobile ad growth predicted to exceed 47% this year, Apple is looking to tap into its user base when it comes to search ads. Although Apple Search Ads launched publicly in the beginning of October of this year, with their cost-per-ad quite a bit lower than the other major players, they are proving to be a viable option that can produce a good return on investment. This quick ROI may allow them to overcome the “new to the marketplace” obstacle. Currently, Apple Search Ads account for only 3% of the capital spent on social ad channels.
Gadi Eliashiv, Singular CEO, states, “It’s exciting to see Apple beginning to level the playing field between them and Google Play in terms of capabilities offered to marketers. We see lots of new marketing platforms and advertising channels come online all the time, but it’s not very often that we witness such a dramatic change that impacts both marketers and users in such a profound way.”
Now it is possible for companies to have their app in the spotlight at the top of the search results in the Apple App Store. Thus far, this prominent paid ad space is only allowed for apps available via the US Apple App Store with content related to the app’s description, to ensure that ads are, in fact, related to products that are available via the portal.
The idea of the format is to make it possible for developers and marketers to expose their apps to more potential customers. The ads will be sold via an auction system with no minimums and no exclusives, so that the smaller apps can also seize this opportunity. You can read more basic info on Apple’s site here.
Only time will tell how successful Apple will be with this new strategy. As an affiliate marketer, this is just one more new door that is opened to be a possible revenue source.
