Apple’s latest controversy: App Store Expanded Advertising
Depending on how you look at it, Apple could be increasing the ways developers can directly connect with customers through its App Store – or building its own business at the expense of others.
What Apple is doing
Apple has had its own advertising business ever since Apple’s then CEO, Steve Jobs, we were introduced to iAds in 2010. The scale of that offering has always been limited to the Apple platform, but the service has arguably failed, with the technology living on in the form of ad slots in Apple News and the App Store.
Apple’s App Store currently hosts only two ad slots, one in the search tab and the other in Search results. You can tell when you’re seeing an ad by the blue shadow behind the graphic and a little blue badge that says “ad” – it’s hard to mistake these ads for content.
Apple now plans to add more advertising slots to the App Store:
- One new slot will appear on the second series of Today for his store.
- Another may appear at the bottom of the App Store app list under the “You Can Too” banner.
What Apple says about the ads
Apple says search ads provide opportunities for developers of all sizes to grow their business. “Like our other advertising offerings, these new ad placements are based on the same foundation – they will only contain content from the apps’ approved App Store product pages and adhere to the same strict privacy standards,” the company said in its statement to 9to5Mac.
Apple says developers will likely use these slots to reach customers searching through specific ad categories, though they won’t be able to target specific competing apps.
At the same time, the ads that will be shown are those that seem relevant to the app you’re looking at, which implies that apps from competing developers will appear on some app pages.
What is interesting is how effective these ads are. The IS the company says that 70% of App Store visitors use Search find their other app; that 65% of all downloads occur after a search; and sees a better than 50% conversion rate for search ads.
“Apple Search Ads was the most effective and scalable paid channel for our retargeting. We took on a wider audience with a higher intention while maintaining effectiveness,” said Brooke Tarabochiadirector of growth marketing at Peloton Digital, in a statement on Apple’s website.
Apple seems to want to grow this business
Apple made some brief references to its digital advertising business during his last financial call.
The overall sentiment he shared seems to be that Apple’s ad business isn’t really meeting expectations, which Apple CEO Tim Cook said reflected the macroeconomic environment. Cook also said: “We want to empower our users and care about their privacy. We offer search ads.”
Apple’s CFO, Luca Maestri, said a little more.
“[Tim Cook] He mentioned that there are some pockets of weakness, mainly in digital advertising, that we need to work through. But at the same time, our services business grew a lot a year ago….”
Apple criticized for expanding ad provision
Apple has faced some backlash for the decision to add a few extra ad placements to its service. Some argue that these ads mean that Apple is placing ads above the users’ own results and adding ads to a subscription page once a developer attracts a user to the page.
Some developers are angry about the ads that appear at the bottom of their app listings. They feel that after doing the work needed to bring a potential user to their page, ads from competitors can hurt conversion rates. (The Today listing includes a curated option for apps, which means the ads may dilute the value of those pages a bit.)
The other issue is about consistency.
Despite its stance on privacy, the company’s own website explains that advertisers can target ads to specific customer segments, as long as each segment contains at least 5,000 people to prevent personal targeting.
The ad system also uses account information, App Store data, transaction data, and various contextual cues, such as device type, iOS version, and more. The system can apparently use personal data collected by individual developers through customer relationships.
However, there are significant differences between third-party ads and Apple’s own ads, in particular that these ads cannot be for products or services available outside the store, and that ads are very clearly marked, to this at least.
Likewise, Apple’s decision to expand ad placement in the App Store makes it an easy target for some critics, who argue that its recent moves to block things like App Tracking show the company is using privacy as a weapon against competitors. . Apple will argue that its system is inherently private, and that those already in use by others have been abused to everyone’s detriment.
How to depersonalize Apple notifications
Personalized ads can be turned off completely on Apple platforms in Account Settings on the App Store app. You need to disable Personalized Recommendations, which is the part of the app that uses your apps, downloads, purchases “and other activity” to improve the recommendations you get in the App Store and across other Apple services.
Earlier this year, Apple explained that around 78% of iOS users have opted out of these ads, noting that doing so had little impact on efficiency conversion rates.
It claims that advertisers have seen 62.1% conversion from customers who choose personalized ads compared to 62.5% from those who opt out.
Where to learn more about Apple Search Ads
Apple offers a full certification course on how to use Apple Search Ads, which registered developers can explore here.
At a time when there is already controversy surrounding Apple’s efforts to weaken competing ad services by invoking privacy rules, I have no doubt developers and regulators will be paying close attention to that course.
Please continue me Twitteror join me in the AppleHolic bar & grill and Apple discussion groups on MeWe.
Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.
Apple’s latest controversy: App Store Expanded Advertising
Source link Apple’s latest controversy: App Store Expanded Advertising
