You built your app, got it through App Review, and finally launched it on the App Store. Then you search for the exact problem your app solves…and your app is nowhere to be found.

That’s normal for a brand-new app. It has no download history, few or no ratings, and very little data for the App Store to work with.

So… now what?

Apple Ads gives you a way to pay for visibility while you’re building that history. It’s Apple’s advertising platform for promoting apps inside the App Store. The most useful option for many new developers is a search results campaign, which can place your app in a prominent position when someone searches for a relevant term.

As of August 2026, Apple also gives eligible new Apple Ads accounts a one-time $100 promotional credit. That isn’t enough to build a giant campaign, but it is enough to learn how the platform works, test a few keywords, and get some of your first downloads. Check the eligibility requirements.

What are Apple Ads?

Apple Ads lets developers advertise their apps across several locations in the App Store.

You may still hear people call it Apple Search Ads, which was the platform’s previous name. Apple changed the name to Apple Ads in April 2025 as its advertising products expanded beyond search results.

For a beginner, the basic idea is simple:

1. A user opens the App Store.

2. They search for an app that solves a specific problem.

3. Your app appears as a clearly labeled ad within those results.

4. You pay when the user taps the ad or with Apple Ads Basic, when the tap leads to an install.

That search intent is what makes Apple Ads so valuable.

Think about it. The person isn’t randomly scrolling through social media while you interrupt them with an ad. They’re already on the App Store actively searching for an app, using a search term you want to show up for. You’re reaching them at exactly the right moment.

Why Apple Ads can be useful for a new app

A new app has a discoverability problem.

Even with good App Store Optimization, it's difficult to compete against established apps with years of downloads, ratings, reviews, and user activity.

Apple Ads can help you generate initial traffic while you continue improving your product page and app experience.

It’s also relatively simple compared with many other advertising platforms. You don’t need to film a stack of TikToks, design Facebook ads, or hire creators before you can run your first campaign. Apple builds the ad using the app name, icon, subtitle, screenshots, and other assets you’ve already uploaded through App Store Connect.

Apple Ads can also teach you how people search for your app. If you discover that a specific keyword produces affordable downloads in a particular country, you can invest more heavily in that combination. Those insights may also improve your organic keyword strategy and product-page messaging.

Apple Ads Basic vs. Advanced

Apple offers two versions of its App Store advertising product: Apple Ads Basic and Apple Ads Advanced. Despite the name, Advanced is almost always the better option for an independent developer who wants to understand where their money is going.

With Basic, you choose the app, target countries, monthly budget, and maximum amount you’re willing to pay for an install. Apple then decides which searches and users should see the app.

That sounds convenient, but you lose a lot of valuable information. You can’t see or control the individual keywords receiving your budget, and the reporting is very limited.

Advanced lets you choose the placement, country, keywords, match types, and individual keyword bids. It also provides highly detailed reporting so you can analyze which searches are actually producing taps and installs.

You don’t need to be an expert to use Advanced. You can create a very simple Advanced campaign while keeping control over the decisions that matter.

Where can Apple Ads appear?

Apple Ads Advanced currently supports four App Store placements. All four can be useful in a very large marketing strategy, but Search Results is far and away the most impactful for new developers and those without million dollar ad budgets.

Today tab

The Today tab is the App Store’s front page. An ad here can generate broad awareness, but the person hasn’t necessarily shown an interest in your app’s category. This is a prominent placement, but it probably isn’t where I would spend a small first-time budget.

Search tab

A Search tab ad appears at the top of the suggested apps list before the user enters a search.

The person has at least opened the Search tab, but you still don’t know what they plan to search for. It’s more targeted than general awareness advertising, but less targeted than advertising against a specific query.

Search results

Search results ads appear after someone enters a query. Your ad can appear at the top of the results or farther down the page.

This is the bread and butter placement for a small beginner campaign because you can target people based on what they’re actively searching for.

You can’t buy a particular position. Apple decides whether the ad appears and where it appears based on factors that include your bid and how relevant your app is to the search. Throwing a huge bid at an unrelated keyword won’t make an irrelevant app appear. Here's how ads are matched with search queries on the App Store.

Product pages

Product-page ads appear near the bottom of another app’s listing, at the top of the You Might Also Like section.

These ads can reach people who are comparing apps in a particular category, but they don’t give you the same direct keyword intent as a search results campaign.

How do Apple Ads keywords work?

When you create an Advanced search results campaign, Apple currently offers two bid strategies: Manage Bids and Maximize Conversions.

Manage Bids

Manage Bids lets you choose your keywords and set the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a tap on each one.

This is the option I would use for a tightly controlled $100 experiment. You can select a small group of relevant keywords, monitor the results, and understand exactly what you’re testing.

Maximize Conversions

Maximize Conversions uses an automated bidder and Search Match to try to generate the most installs around a target cost per acquisition.

It may be useful once you have more data and a larger ongoing budget. However, Search Match is required in its automated ad group, and you can’t manage individual keyword bids there. For a small first campaign where the goal is to learn, Manage Bids gives you more control.

Exact match vs. broad match

Apple Ads supports two keyword match types:

Exact match gives you tighter control. Your ad is matched to the specific keyword and what Apple considers close variations, which can include misspellings, reordered words, and other closely related versions. If you're on a tight budget, you want to use exact match.

Broad match lets Apple match your keyword to a larger group of related searches. This can help you discover new terms, but it can also spread a small budget across searches you didn’t expect. This is helpful if you have the budget to experiment.

What is Search Match?

Search Match allows Apple to automatically match your ad with searches based on information such as your App Store metadata, similar apps, and other search data.

It can be helpful for keyword discovery if you have the budget to experiment. If you're on a tight ad budget, turn Search Match off and use a deliberate list of exact-match keywords. That prevents your budget from being spent on experimentation before you understand the basics.

How to use the Apple Ads $100 credit

The goal of your first $100 campaign shouldn’t be to scale your entire app business. To be honest, $100 is nothing when it comes to an ad budget.

The goal should be to learn which keywords and countries show signs of working and to get your first batch of downloads and users.

Here’s a simple starting strategy to maximize your $100 free credit.

1. Confirm that you qualify for the credit

Apple says you must be the registered App Store Connect Account Holder, have at least one app available on the App Store in an eligible market, and link your top-level Apple Ads account to App Store Connect.

You’ll also need to add a valid payment method. Check the Billing page to confirm that the credit has been applied before launching your campaign.

🚨One important warning: Apple won’t notify you when the credit is exhausted. If your campaign spends more than the promotional balance, the additional amount is charged to your payment method. Set an end date, monitor the campaign, and check your invoices. Apple’s promotional-credit terms explain these conditions.

2. Use Apple Ads Advanced

Choose an Advanced search results campaign with the Manage Bids strategy. That gives you control over the keywords, match types, bids, and country being tested.

3. Target one country

Don’t split $100 among ten countries. You’ll end up with tiny amounts of data everywhere and not enough information to make a decision anywhere.

If your app only supports English, you might test Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom rather than immediately entering a highly competitive U.S. auction. (The U.S. will typically be the most expensive keywords to bid on).

Another option is to localize the app and test a specific non-English market. For example, you could translate the app and App Store product page into French and run French keywords in France.

Advertising costs vary by category, keyword, and market, so there’s no guarantee that one country will always be cheaper. The point is to run a focused test rather than spreading your budget too thin. With Apple ads, you should always be running small tests to figure out what works.

4. Choose a small set of long-tail keywords

A broad keyword such as meal planner could attract a lot of competition and may include users with very different needs. A keyword like this will rapidly drain your $100 credit.

More specific searches might include:

• family meal planner

• weekly meal planner for families

• gluten free meal planner

• meal planner with grocery list

• meal planner for picky eaters

These keywords will usually have less search volume, but the intent is clearer. Someone searching for a gluten-free meal planner is telling you exactly what they want.

Start with a handful of highly relevant terms rather than hundreds of loosely related keywords. These long-tail keywords are almost always much cheaper.

5. Use exact match

Set the keywords to exact match so your initial budget stays focused on the searches you intentionally selected. You can experiment with broad match later when you have more money for keyword discovery.

6. Turn off Search Match

For this specific test, turn off Search Match so Apple doesn’t automatically expand the campaign to additional queries.

7. Use a conservative daily budget and an end date

Choose a daily budget that prevents the credit from disappearing in one afternoon. A starting range such as $5 to $10 per day can give you time to monitor what’s happening, although the right amount depends on your keyword bids and available search volume.

Set an end date and check the campaign regularly. Apple Ads campaigns can continue spending until you pause them or they reach their scheduled end.

Fix your product page before buying traffic

Apple Ads can put your app in front of someone. It can’t make them tap or download.

Before spending anything, make sure your App Store listing is in a solid place (especially your icon, subtitle, and first few screenshots).

Your screenshots should immediately answer three questions:

• What does this app do?

• Who is it for?

• Why should I download it instead of the other results?

If the screenshots are confusing, cluttered, or focused on unimportant features, your ad won't get many taps.

The same principle applies after the download. You’re paying to bring someone into the app, so the onboarding and first-time experience need to be clear. Don’t lose a paid user behind an unnecessary sign-up screen, confusing permissions request, or broken onboarding flow.

Before starting your campaign, review the Bitrig guide to App Store Optimization and make sure the product page is ready to convert attention into downloads.

How should you judge the first campaign?

Don’t evaluate a $100 test only by asking, “How many downloads did I get?”

Look at what you learned. Useful Apple Ads metrics include:

• Impressions: How many times the ad appeared

• Taps: How many people tapped it

• Tap-through rate: The percentage of impressions that became taps

• Installs: How many attributed downloads resulted

• Conversion rate: The percentage of taps that became installs

• Average cost per tap: How much each tap cost

• Cost per acquisition: How much you spent for each attributed install

A keyword with many impressions but very few taps may not match your app’s positioning. A keyword with taps but no installs may indicate that your product page isn’t meeting the expectation created by the search.

A keyword that consistently produces affordable installs is worth investigating further. You might raise its bid, test it in another country, or create screenshots and messaging that align more closely with that specific intent.

Even a small campaign can give you useful information about how real customers describe the problem your app solves.

Frequently asked questions about Apple Ads

Is Apple Ads the same as Apple Search Ads?

Yes. Apple Search Ads was renamed Apple Ads in April 2025. The current Apple Ads platform covers App Store search advertising as well as other placements across Apple services.

Does every new account receive a $100 credit?

No. The credit is for eligible new accounts.

Apple currently requires the account to be linked correctly to App Store Connect, with the registered Account Holder and at least one app available in an eligible App Store market. The offer and its terms may change, so check Apple’s official promotional-credit page before creating the campaign.

Should a beginner choose Apple Ads Basic or Advanced?

Advanced is usually the better choice for a developer who wants to learn from the campaign.

Basic is easier to set up, but it doesn’t provide keyword selection or keyword-level data. Advanced with Manage Bids can still be kept simple while giving you much more control.

How much does Apple Ads cost?

There is no fixed price for a keyword.

In Apple Ads Advanced, you set the maximum cost-per-tap bid you’re willing to pay. The actual cost depends on factors such as competition, your bid, and your app’s relevance to the search.

Apple Ads Basic uses a cost-per-install model instead.

Do I need to create separate ad graphics?

Not necessarily. Apple can create ads from the metadata and assets already on your App Store product page.

Advanced campaigns can also use custom product pages and ad variations when you want your screenshots and messaging to align with a particular audience or keyword theme.

Can I guarantee that my app appears in the first position?

No. Search results ads can appear at the top or farther down the page, and advertisers can’t select or bid for one exact position. Apple considers both the bid and the app’s relevance to the search query.

Will Apple Ads improve my organic App Store ranking?

Not automatically.

Buying ads doesn’t guarantee that your app will move higher in the unpaid results. Ads can help you attract initial users, test keyword demand, get app ratings, and improve your understanding of the market. Those benefits may indirectly support your broader growth and ASO strategy, but paid placement and organic ranking aren’t the same thing.

The bottom line

Apple Ads is one of the most direct ways to put a new app in front of people who are already searching the App Store for something similar.

For a first campaign, keep it simple: use Apple Ads Advanced, choose the search results placement, select Manage Bids, target one country, start with a small group of exact-match keywords, and turn off Search Match.

Just make sure your screenshots, product page, and first-time user experience are ready before paying to send people there.

The $100 promotional credit won’t build your entire app business, but it can help you earn some initial downloads and learn how real customers search for an app like yours.

Try Bitrig

When you’re ready to build and launch your app, Bitrig helps new developers create native, high-quality Swift apps with AI. You can focus on turning your idea into a real app, then use tools such as App Store Optimization and Apple Ads to help people discover it.