How to scale an iOS app in the newly added Apple Search Ads countries?

Summary

Apple Search Ads, the powerhouse behind app discovery, is spreading its wings to nine new countries, opening up remarkable opportunities for your app marketing success.

What does this mean for you?

• Global Reach. With this expansion, app developers now have access to over 70 countries through Apple Search Ads and 35+ million more iOS users. Imagine your app reaching users in far-flung corners of the world—from bustling cities to serene landscapes.
• Latin America Spotlight. Almost all of Latin America is now covered. This means you can strategically expand your mobile app within a densely populated region with fewer localization headaches and a broader audience.
• Cost-Efficient Scaling. As these new countries come aboard, search volumes and competition dynamics will shift. It’s your chance to gain momentum and adjust your strategy for cost-efficient scaling.

Why should iOS app marketers invest in emerging Apple Search Ads countries?

“Blue ocean” of new users

In Q4 2023, Apple recorded its highest-ever quarterly volume, a testament to the company's growing dominance. Notably, Apple's iPhone now commands an impressive 7.7% share of the Latin American smartphone market, marking its highest level ever achieved in the region.

The potential user base that can be reached through this growth is staggering. Even in Brazil alone, it is estimated that there are over 25 million iPhone users, according to various sources. Other countries in the region are also projected to have a substantial iPhone user base, ranging from 500,000 to 1.5 million users, based on various estimates. Historically, the most popular apps in Latin America belong to entertainment, utility, social media and photo & video categories.

Cost-efficient acquisition

For app marketers, cost-efficient scaling sits atop the priority list when considering Apple Search Ads. The economic landscape and lower competition levels in Latin America, compared to North America and Europe. This unveils great opportunities for app developers to achieve lower customer acquisition costs (CAC) in the newly added countries.

Potentially higher conversions

Firstly, Apple Search Ads boasts a higher conversion rate compared to other acquisition channels because the targeted users have high intent. Users who engage with apps from Search Ads respond like organic users, not like those simply clicking a banner ad.

Secondly, by being an early adopter and running Apple Search Ads in the newly added countries, you can benefit from even higher engagement as the users are new to this ad format and do not have advertising fatigue or blindness yet.

As an early bird, you have the chance to get more clicks on your ads, as users in the newly added countries are much more likely to click on the standout ads in their search results list.

Scaling within the uniform region

Out of the 9 new countries, 8 share Spanish as the primary language and are culturally unified by Latin American influences. This homogeneity simplifies localization and scaling efforts, especially if your app is already present in one of the countries where Apple Search Ads are currently available (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, or Peru). However, even within the same cultural region, new countries may exhibit distinct search habits and keyword trends.

Сonduct a comprehensive keyword research, study local trends, and tailor your strategy for each country before launching campaigns. While the region's cultural similarities offer advantages, accounting for nuanced market differences is crucial for maximizing success.

Tactics for entering and dominating with Apple Search Ads in emerging markets

1. Integrate your MMP with your Apple Search Ads campaign data for comprehensive funnel information

Comprehensive data from acquisition to install, trial, subscription, or any other post-install event allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaigns in new countries. Comparing these results with your existing benchmarks helps you adjust your strategy.

A seamless integration bridges these two data sets, enabling you to view essential metrics for Apple Search Ads campaigns such as impressions, TTR, CTR, and CPA. You can also understand how your ads lead to post-install events and view cohort revenue data from your MMP. All this information is readily available in one dashboard, eliminating the need to navigate through Excel sheets.

With Asapty, you get access to your comprehensive funnel data in one dashboard, thanks to seamless integration with leading MMP solutions like Adjust and Appsflyer, Apphud and Adapty.

2. Do keyword research for each country separately

Even if your app is already available in one of the countries within the region - such as Chile or Argentina - we strongly recommend conducting fresh keyword research for each individual country. Why? Because different countries may exhibit local variations in certain words. For instance, in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, the word for “popcorn” is “pororó.” In the Dominican Republic, it can be referred to as “cocaleca” or “rositas de maíz.” Meanwhile, in Panama, it’s simply known as “millo.” Merely copying and translating your existing keyword list might lead to unintended misuse or missing out on relevant terms.

To address this, consider two effective approaches: a keyword research tool and Discovery campaigns. At Asapty, we’ve developed a Keyword Suggester that not only provides comprehensive keyword options but also offers detailed analytics and translations.

One important metric you should keep your eyes on is Search Popularity which shows how many users are searching for a specific keyword organically.

When the Search Ads Popularity is around 5, those keywords are impression ghosts - not haunting enough searchers to be worth bidding on. But beware of the SAP of 80+. These keywords are the white whales - incredibly popular yet difficult to harpoon for your campaigns.

In Asapty, you can consult the SAP metric without leaving the platform to find the keywords with the adequate score of anything between these two extremes and do a data-driven sortation of your keyword list. Rather than just using the basic 1 to 5 dot rating from Apple's dashboard, Asapty expands it to a 5 to 100 range. This gives you a way more accurate and granular picture of a keyword's actual search volume and popularity.

Once you’ve identified the core set of keywords for your target country, run Discovery campaigns. These campaigns help uncover additional low-volume or potentially mistyped keywords.

3. Run first campaigns and don’t fail to evaluate the results

The best practice we've gained from previous new market launches on Apple Search Ads is to be an early bird to build momentum, but time your scaling efforts strategically. Keep strong analytics at hand to feel the market's pulse and understand your account's performance.

Start by testing the waters with a smaller number of keywords. No need to come out bidding aggressively just yet - newly added countries can see inflated costs due to increased advertiser appetite. Many marketers lose confidence and drop off at this phase when results don't match benchmarks from other markets or they lack market insights.

The best move is to continue running campaigns while keeping a closer eye on competitors and gathering those first valuable insights. Although initial costs per acquisition may run higher, you can get a positive ROAS by acquiring more profitable users. Use competitive intelligence and advanced analytics to gain an advantage and maximize your opportunities

Integrate your MMP for full-funnel visibility across all account levels - from acquisition to retention. Asapty’s proprietary metric of IPM (installs per 1000 impressions) will show the keyword relevance for your audience. Use cohort ROI to understand if those new market costs are genuinely paying off with higher-value users.

Market insights will let you know when it’s best to bid more actively. Asapty's Organic Position tracking shows your organic rank for each keyword, while the Organic Search section exposes the top 5 apps dominating organic impressions. Auction insights in Asapty’s dashboard will show you your top competitors in paid search and their share of voice.

Combine that competitive intelligence with Search Ads Popularity scores, and you can identify keywords where competition is lower and spot opportunities for growth.

4. Automate your campaign management to scale in the new countries

At the start, you can create just 5-10 campaigns. Sounds like easy to manage? But what if you actually have 10-50 or even 100 of keywords in each of these campaigns? You can end up having hundreds of keywords to keep an eye on, especially in a large market like Brazil.

Here’s where you can onboard automated rules to ensure efficient daily account management and control scaling costs. With a set of generic automated rules, you can scale your main campaigns - brand, category, and competitor.

For Discovery campaigns, we recommend using a dedicated set of rules to work with search terms. The algorithm will exclude keywords that are irrelevant to your app and add relevant keywords to the main campaigns for rapid scaling.

5. Test waters with custom product pages

Test on a smaller traffic volume, lower bids for a limited number of keywords and investigate the local market trends first to adjust your marketing message and offers to the user preferences before you start active scaling.

Create up to 35 ad variations, with different app preview videos, screenshots, and promotional text for the new country. Localize app title, subtitle, meta description, and promotional text into the locally dominant language and enhance those with the local keyword you found in step 2.

To showcase regional appeal, customize the creative elements to better represent the local culture and preferences. This can involve using locally relevant stock images, motifs, colors, and copy tailored to the specific region.

Custom product pages are also a a great way to catch on the local holidays and festive days. For example, the big and famous Carnival has a distinct image in Rio de Janeiro, different to processions and music band traditions in Panama and Ecuador. You can also use the In-App Event section here to drive user’s attention.

6. Don’t forget about your App Store Optimization

Apple Search Ads and ASO success go hand in hand. Create a new semantic core of keywords and localize your main listing and ensure that your metadata aligns with the keywords you’re bidding on in Apple Search Ads. This will improve your chances of winning the ad auction.

If you decide to take the momentum and expand your app for new countries with Apple Search Ads, factor in working for a strong organic ranking through an effective App Store Optimization strategy, including visuals, copy, optimizing reviews and in-app user experience.

Keep in mind, if you are running campaigns in Brazil, you must add Portuguese for your app’s metadata before you start.

Bottom line

Apple Search Ads expansion to nine new countries provides opportunities for app marketers allowing to reach over 70 countries and 35+ million iOS users with cost-efficient acquisition, potentially higher conversions, and easier scaling.

To prepare for successful scaling in the emerging markets, integrate your MMP with your Apple Search Ads campaign data, conduct keyword research for each country, evaluate keyword profitability with Search Ads Popularity score, automate your campaign management, test with custom product pages, and optimize your App Store.