Search Ads are now available to developers in the Canadian iOS App Store, as well as in Mexico and Switzerland, according to a recent statement from Apple.
Starting now, Canadian developers will be able to create campaigns that promote their apps to the top of search results in the iOS App Store. These new ads are set to go live on October 17th, 2017 at 1 p.m. E.T, according to Apple. The Cupertino computing giant says that first time advertisers can also utilize Search Ads for free with a $100 CAD credit.
Given how overcrowded modern app marketplaces are — particularly the iOS App Store — it makes sense for developers to be able to utilize the digital retail platform to promote their content in some way. From a user perspective, however, paid search results can create problems, especially when it comes to smaller app creators competing with those that have deeper financial pockets.
“From the largest developers to small, independent companies, [conversion] rates are more than 50 per cent, and CPAs remain very attractive with the majority of developers achieving CPAs around $1 USD, far exceeding industry benchmarks for comparable offerings,” reads a statement from Apple regarding the launch.
For example, if a less than stellar app creator opts to drop a significant amount of money to get their app to show up in the top results for a specific term, other vastly better and more deserving apps will be pushed from a viable position in the results. Couple this fact with Apple’s new emphasis on regional curation following the release of iOS 11, and it will likely be significantly more difficult for some apps to garner the attention they deserve under some circumstances.
For more information about Apple’s Search Ads platform, follow this link.
