Manage Today tab
ad creative

Understand Today tab ad guidelines

When you create a Today tab campaign in Apple Search Ads Advanced, your ad creative will be based on a custom product page you select. Your custom product page will need to be approved by App Store Connect before you create a Today tab campaign, and your ad creative will require approval by Apple Search Ads.

Learn more about creating Today tab ads

Apple Search Ads will review Today tab ad creative according to the following guidelines:

  • The promotional messaging in each ad creative asset must not contain more than 50 characters or three lines of text. This excludes the text within the screenshot.
An example of one Today tab ad that follows the character and line count guideline and one that doesn’t
  • All ad creative assets must include screenshots of features and functionality from the app you’re promoting. Assets shouldn’t contain promotional, lifestyle, or other images that aren’t taken directly from your app. Ad creative can’t feature images that are considered offensive, sexually explicit, or otherwise inappropriate. Images containing guns, weapons, or graphic violence are not allowed.
An example of one Today tab ad that follows the screenshot guideline and one that doesn’t
  • The app screenshots within the ad creative assets must be prominent and undistorted. App screenshots must also fill up at least 2/3 of each ad creative asset.
An example of one Today tab ad that follows the prominent screenshot guideline and one that doesn’t
  • No pricing offers, free offers, sign-on bonuses, or other incentivized promotions are allowed in ad creative assets. App rankings and app awards claims are also not allowed.
An example of one Today tab ad that follows the pricing, offers, and ranking guideline and one that doesn’t
  • No font styling similar to the App Store Today Card is allowed. The phrases “Game of the Day” and “App of the Day” can’t be used in the ad creative.
An example of one Today tab ad that follows the font styling guideline and one that doesn’t
  • The language used in the ad creative must match the language selected in App Store Connect.
  • App screenshots don’t have to include bezels (the border between the screen and frame of a device). But if a screenshot or image is embedded in an iPad or iPhone frame, its bezel must be accurate to the most current Apple devices.

    Learn more about device bezels

Monitor ad approval, status, and performance from the
Ads dashboard

Ads dashboard

On the Ads dashboard within your Today tab ad group, you might see any of the following statuses associated with your ad:

  • Active: Ad is approved and running.
  • Ad creative in review: Ad is on hold pending review. It may be in review for the first time when you submit a custom product page for approval, or it may be in review because you’ve made updates to your custom product page that require additional approval.
  • Custom product page missing assets: Ad is on hold because assets were removed from App Store Connect. A minimum of four portrait or five landscape images are required for a custom product page to be used as the basis of a Today tab ad.
  • Custom product page incompatible: Ad is on hold because the custom product page selected for it contains assets that aren’t compatible with the ad group’s country, region, or targeted device.
  • Custom product page disabled: Ad is on hold because the custom product page selected for it has been disabled in App Store Connect.
  • Ad creative rejected: Ad can’t run because the custom product page selected for it wasn’t approved for Today tab use.
  • Custom product page deleted: If your custom product page is deleted in App Store Connect, your ad can’t run.
  • Paused: Ad has been paused by you.
  • On hold: Ad is on hold for multiple reasons.

In addition to checking a Today tab ad’s status from the Ads dashboard, you can also do all of the following:

  • Create new ads based on approved custom product pages you’ve set up in App Store Connect. Any new ad you create will require Apple Search Ads approval before it can run on the Today tab.
  • Monitor current and historical performance data for all of your Today tab ads. You can see key metrics such as impressions, taps, average cost-per-tap, installs, and more.
  • Edit an ad’s name by clicking it, making adjustments in the window that appears, and clicking Save.
  • Change an approved ad’s status by selecting the checkbox next to it and choosing Activate or Pause from the Actions menu. Activating one ad will cause your other active ad to pause.
  • Download ad rejection reasons by choosing Download Data from the Actions menu, then selecting Ad Rejection Reasons.

How to make changes to ad creative

If you want to change the ad creative for a particular Today tab ad group, you’ll need to create a new ad. While it’s being reviewed, your previously approved ad will continue to run unless you set its status to Pause. Once your new ad is approved, you’ll need to activate it on the Ads dashboard and your previous ad will be paused automatically.

Tip: Create a general Today tab ad for your app.

Consider setting up a general Today tab ad to run in between ad creative changes. Pause your general ad when you’re ready to run a special or seasonal promotion, then change its status to Active when they’re done to help keep your app in front of potential customers.