Basic | Overview

How ads are created

Apple Search Ads Basic uses the app name, subtitle, description, preview videos, and screenshots approved for your App Store product page to create your ad. The first sentence of your App Store product page description is the most important — this is what users can read in your ad without having to tap to read more. If you change your App Store metadata, it can take up to 24 hours to be reflected in the ad preview within your account, and up to two hours for it to be reflected in your ad on the App Store.

Tip: Review app metadata.

Since ad content relies on metadata, take the time to review your app metadata in App Store Connect before you start.

Review App Store metadata best practices

How ads appear

When a user searches on the App Store, a single, sponsored ad may appear at the top of the search results.

All ads have a blue background and an ad disclosure icon. Ads can appear in one of several formats, depending on the user’s device and what may work best for the search query and user.

Whether your ad shows over another developer’s ad is determined by the combination of your app’s relevance to the search query, your maximum cost-per-install, and other factors.

Apple Search Ads doesn’t show ads for apps that aren’t relevant to what the user is looking for regardless of how much you may be willing to pay.

To see an example of what your ad will look like, sign in to your account, and select the promoted app you wish to view. An example of your ad is shown to the right of the screen.