Deep links – new in Apple Search Ads

What are Apple Search Ads deep links?

On October 2nd, Apple released an important update: deep links are now available for Apple Search Ads advertisers. Deep links let advertisers send App Store users straight to specific parts of an app, instead of just the main screen. These Apple Search Ads deep links work in symbiosis with custom product pages and can be used in Search results and Today Tab ads on devices using iOS 18 and newer.

This update marks a significant advancement in Apple Search Ads advertising. This new feature has the potential to make your Apple Search Ads campaigns work better in several ways:

1. Give advertisers more control over how users experience their apps from the very first click.
2. Improve ad relevancy towards what users are looking for.
3. Grow the cost-efficiency of your Apple Search Ads and boost overall ROI.
4. Increase retention rate for users how downloaded your app.

How to set up deep links for your Apple Search Ads

To create a custom product page with a deep link, simply go to App Store Connect → Features → Custom product pages. Create and add a link to the deep link. After completing the review process, a custom product page will get a deep link tag.

If you are using Asapty for Apple Search Ads management, you will see the list of available CPPs via API. When creating or editing campaigns, simply choose the CPPs with deep links attached and start getting impressions.

Keep in mind:

• Custom product pages without deep links are available on devices with iOS 15 and later.
• Custom product pages with deep links are available on devices with iOS 18.
• You can create up to 35 custom product pages in App Store Connect. For sequential testing of your CPPs, you’ll need to delete the old ones and upload new versions.

How does the synergy of Apple Search Ads custom product pages and deep links work?

The new deep link release gives us another piece of evidence that the App Store continues to evolve, offering more ways to customize the user experience. One of the most significant milestones in this journey was the introduction of custom product pages. as it allowed developers to create up to 35 variations of their app's listing, each with unique design and product value.

That upgrade brought some almost instant improvement in Apple Search Ads campaign performance. For instance, one of our customers managed to drop our CPA by 23% and boosted installs by 4X after implementing custom product pages and running ad variations with Asapty.

With custom product pages you can hit many birds with one stone:

1. Tailor your app's value proposition for specific audience segments
2. Grab a piece of higher traffic connected to seasonal trends or events.
3. Test app page changes, app features on pre-launch and positioning strategies before actual updates.

The introduction of deep links is built on this success as the deep links are connected to custom product pages. These deep links act as shortcuts, allowing users to bypass the app's main menu and jump directly to specific features or content. When combined with custom product pages, deep links create highly tailored ad funnels that have the potential to significantly boost conversion rates.

This powerful combination offers a more seamless and personalized journey from ad impression to in-app experience. With custom product pages, you increase the chances for your ad to be tapped and installed increasing TTR. With the deep links, you increase the chances for your app users to remain with the app and grow conversions to trial and subscription.

Taking advantage of the synergistic effect of these two Apple Search Ads potent features, you can anticipate many positive outcomes at once, including:

• More efficient ad spend
• Higher user engagement
• Improved user retention and loyalty
• Higher ROI

How to use Apple Search Ads CPP and deep links

You can now create ads within Search results or the Today tab, link them to your custom product pages, and connect a unique deep link to each CPP.

Imagine you are marketing a fitness app with the following characteristics:

• Mobile app features: Various workouts and fitness programs with videos and instructions
• Audience segments: Yoga practitioners, weight-loss enthusiasts, bodybuilders
• Monetization type: Monthly subscription

By setting up a funnel within Apple Search Ads using custom product pages, and onboarding deep links, you can direct users to specific content instead of your app’s homepage:

• Users who click on your yoga-styled custom product page can be directed to a yoga class trial video.

• Users who click on the weight-loss page can be taken to an onboarding survey about their weight goals and food preferences.

• Bodybuilders who convert from the tailored page can be directed to download a meal plan with a calorie breakdown.

Alternatively, you can create custom in-app onboarding experiences for each user segment and use deep links to increase your conversion rates for trials and subscriptions.

Create custom product pages for each keyword cluster to improve ad relevancy. For example, bid on specific keywords like “yoga video app,” “weight meal plan,” and “bodybuilding app,” which are more likely to convert than a generic “fitness app” keyword cluster.

We recommend using a SKAG (single-keyword-ad-group) structure for better control and transparency in keyword performance. This approach is especially beneficial if your app has numerous features and audiences, and a wide range of keywords with varying volumes.

With Asapty, you can streamline this process using our Keyword Suggester, a one-stop tool to find all relevant keywords and search terms for your app, create campaigns with a SKAG structure preset, and connect your custom product pages seamlessly.

What opportunities Apple Search Ads CPP & deep links bring

• Improve your Apple Search Ads cost-per-install and ROAS. With a higher ad relevancy achieved with custom product pages, you can outperform your competitors in the Apple Search Ads auction and scale more cost-efficiently.
• Identify high-interest features. Discover which features of your app attract more interest from your target audience, providing insights for potential enhancements.
• Experiment with onboarding strategies to determine the most effective one.
• Gain audience insights. For example, if your initial hypothesis was that 25% of users are yoga practitioners, 25% are weight-loss enthusiasts, and 50% are bodybuilders, but you find that deep links to yoga practices receive more clicks, adjusting the ratio to 45%-25%-30%, you can refine your user acquisition and growth strategies to attract more loyal users.

Bottom line

With the new deep links available in Apple Search Ads, you can streamline the user flow from Apple Search Ads, potentially increasing conversions and revenue growth.

To implement this feature, access App Store Connect to assign deep links to your custom product pages. By leveraging these two powerful features together, you can significantly boost your user acquisition and app growth metrics.