Ads are coming to the App Store.
Back in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced the addition of ads to App Store search results. App Store Search Ads have gone live as of today, and Apple is allowing developers to purchase ad spots. Ads from developers will be displayed starting on October 5th.
The new Search Ads went into beta immediately after the announcement and were made available to developers.
With Search Ads, developers can bid to have their app listed as the top result when certain keywords are used, improving app discoverability. Ads are available through an auction system, with one ad displayed to customers on each search result page. Ads are clearly marked and ad content is the same content that’s available on the App Store app description pages as it uses App Store metadata and imagery.
Per Apple Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Apple has “thought about how to carefully” implement search ads that “customers will be happy with.” The final result, according to Schiller, is a balanced system the company feels is fair to both larger and indie developers alike.
Developers do not need to pay a minimum amount to use Search Ads, so it’s possible to buy ads for a small sum of money. Apple prices Search Ads based on a cost-per-tap model, so developers only pay when a user taps on an ad. Apple displays ads based on a combination of bid amount and an app’s relevance to the search query, with ad matching done automatically.
Apple has begun offering an incentive and developers who sign up to offer Search Ads are being given a $100 credit to begin their campaigns with.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via MacRumors and searchads.apple.com