Ad placement options

Understand where your ad can run on the App Store

Apple Search Ads Advanced offers four different ad placements to help you drive visibility and downloads of your app:

  • Today tab

  • Search tab

  • Search results

  • Product pages — while browsing

These placements help you promote your app throughout the App Store user journey. Here’s more information about each placement option:

  • Today tab ads let you reach people with high-impact creative on the front page of the App Store, where users start their visit. The ad creative for this placement is based on a custom product page you set up in App Store Connect, and must be approved for advertising before your ad can run. Note that Today tab ads aren’t currently available on the App Store in mainland China.

  • Search tab ads let you reach users before they search for something specific, with an ad that appears prominently at the top of the suggested apps list on the Search tab.

  • Search results ads let you reach users when they search for something specific, with an ad at the top of relevant search results. To match your ad with potential customers’ search terms, you can choose your own keywords or use the ones we suggest. Matching is based on a direct signal of customers’ intent — their search query.

  • Product pages — while browsing ads let you reach people while they browse apps on relevant pages across the App Store, whether their journey started on the App Store or from an outside link. When interested users have scrolled to the bottom of relevant product pages, ads appear at the top of the You Might Also Like list. Note that product page ads aren’t currently available on the App Store in mainland China.

To advertise an app on the App Store in mainland China, your business and app must be approved. Additional requirements also apply, and may vary depending on the ad placement.

See the Apple Advertising Policies for more details

Below are some additional details on the similarities and differences between ad placements:

Ad Placement Features
Available in 61 countries and regions Search tab and search results placements

Note that additional requirements apply in mainland China.
Available in 60 countries and regions only (except for mainland China) Today tab and product page placements
Cost-per-tap pricing model All placements
Daily budget All placements
Optional audience settings All placements
Keywords Search results placement only
Bid insights Search results placement only
Custom product page integration Search results and Today tab placements
Ad variations based on custom product pages Search results placement only
Recommendations Search results placement only
Custom reports All placements
Campaign Management API support All placements
Apple Ads Attribution API support All placements
Budget orders All placements

How ads are created

Ads are created using the metadata and assets you already uploaded in App Store Connect.

Search tab and product page ads feature your app name, icon, and subtitle. Today tab ads are created using a custom product page you set up in App Store Connect. For search results ads, you can create a default ad that’s based on your app’s product page, or you can create ad variations from custom product pages you set up in App Store Connect.

All ads have an ad disclosure icon.