The right to buy influence

Earlier this year Apple overhauled its App Store, part of which included allowing ads to appear in search results for the first time. Search Ads is currently only available in the US while the tech giant fettles with its new tool, which it plans to roll out in the UK early next year.

The move could place a powerful new weapon in the hands of egaming marketers, allowing them to put their apps in front of the right people at the right time, and above their rivals. It could also prove particularly useful for smaller operators looking to jump the big boys who sit pretty at the top of store rankings for months on end.

But as is always the case, there are plenty of challenges to counteract the opportunities. Difficulties in tracking ROI will cause concern for those tasked with keeping an eye on spend, while firms with the deepest pockets – those already topping the app charts – are best placed to extract the most value from the tool. Then there is the reaction of the end user; some suggest they will likely be put off by operators who pay to have their apps come at the top of search results.

But challenges are there to be overcome, and those who find the right formula for Search Ads stand to reap the rewards. So what exactly are Search Ads, and how do marketers access them, work with them, and deploy them in a meaningful way?

In layman’s terms
Search Ads allows developers to place targeted ads to promote their apps that are relevant to users. Whenever a user searches for a certain app or keyword, they will see the sponsored ad at the top of the list. Apple has created a portal for developers to set this up, manage budget, target audience (based on gender, age, and location), keywords, as well as tracking and analysing ad performance.

A Search Ad example in the Apple App Store

Pricing is based on cost-per-tap (CPT) so the developer is only charged when the user taps on the ad. The cost is based on the second price in an auction between competitors and how much they are willing to pay for their ads.

According to Apple, around 65% of app downloads via the App Store come from users using keywords to search for what they are looking for. The biggest advantage to Search Ads, says Jenny Winter, marketing manager at Degree 53, is being able to appear at the top of the search list for the target audience and getting more exposure of the app whenever relevant.

“This can really work for independent and smaller developers who are typically outshone by popular brands. That said, bigger brands can also use the tool to appear ahead of their competitors as well,” she adds.

If newer brands and smaller operators are able to purchase the right terms at a price that fits their budget, however, they could easily begin chipping away at the power players. Users tend to search for a specific gambling app or terms they know will likely flag up what they are looking for, but Search Ads could lead to a situation where a punter looking for app X is recommended app Y instead based on the relevance of their search. And while some will keep digging until they find the brand they are looking for, others will download the app recommended by Apple.

“For operators who did not have good app store rankings anyway, this will present an opportunity for them to gain market share,” says Fintan Costello, founder of Revenue Engineers. “For operators with good rankings and a lot of brand searches, this will create an extra layer of complexity to their App Store optimisation.”

Buying relevance
But there are some disadvantages to being able to purchase the top spot on searches, argues David Chang, CEO of Android app store Betcade. “In the past, all factors that contributed to search relevance (popularity, rating, number of downloads, recent download activity, search-to-download relevance) can now be replaced by money, by buying ad space. Those metrics in the past were expensive to do correctly, so I expect that the ads, given that they sort of replace all of that, will command a high premium. And due to the bidding model, Apple will be sure to maximise the economic value of the ad space themselves,” he adds.

There is also a strong chance that Search Ads could drive the cost of user acquisition even higher than it already is. It is not yet clear how Apple will implement the tool for egaming operators, and in particular what search terms they will be able to bid for. Will a social casino be able to buy a casino search term, for example? Or will a sportsbook be able to buy a search for Premier League Football? Apple will address this nearer the time, but either way, the end result is likely to be higher UA costs as operators will be forced to buy relevance for their terms, or their rivals will.

Some experts have warned Search Ads could drive CPAs up even higher

Another important factor to keep tabs on is how players will react to operators being able to pay to put their products in front of them. Millennials are particularly savvy when it comes to marketing techniques, and there is a risk they will reject a product simply because it is labelled as an ad. “Users often mistrust sponsored ads and may choose to ignore them in favour of the organic search results even if the sponsored ad is relevant,” says Winter. “Their selection can also be affected if they don’t recognise the promoted brand or app name, so developers will need to be as clear in their description as possible as to what users get.”

Quality control
Users will also be concerned about seeing ads for products that are bad quality and do not meet their expectations. Despite Apple making sure all apps comply with its regulations and high standards, not all of them will adhere to the exact criteria the user is searching for. If the developer uses inaccurate keywords, the app might not be what they want. And as a result, the more relevant apps might not even get the chance to be noticed. Selecting the right keywords, therefore, will be vital to ensure Search Ads is mutually beneficial to developers and the end user.

These hurdles should be easy enough to clear, however. Despite only being live in the US for a handful of months, Search Ads seems to be finding its feet. According to Appsflyer, developers have already doubled their investment and on average are generating six in-app actions per install. What’s more, 72% of search queries that resulted in an install were not based on the name of the app, which shows that targeted keyword selection is working. Google has been offering its own version of Search Ads for a while now, and it has worked very much as intended. Apple, with its technical prowess, should be able to succeed as well.

For egaming operators, it looks like Search Ads will play a major role in mobile marketing strategies. When the tool is rolled out in the early part of next year, expect a bidding war as marketers stake their claim to the most popular and relevant search terms. While this will play into the hands of the industry titans, smaller operators can still steal a run on their rivals by buying the right terms at the right prices. Regardless, it is something that marketers across the industry will need to incorporate into their campaigns; those that don’t will find their apps simply dropping further down the store rankings.