The app growth stack: Apple Ads + Google App Campaigns, done right

If you’re growing a mobile app, two channels deserve a place in almost every plan: Apple Ads (the channel formerly known as Apple Search Ads) and Google App Campaigns. One sits where iOS users actively search the App Store. The other reaches people across Google Search, Google Play, YouTube and the wider Google network.

Both are easy to switch on. Both are easy to waste money on. Here’s how we set them up so they scale on the users who stay — not just the installs that look good on a dashboard.

Start with measurement, not media

Before the first euro is spent, make sure you can see what happens after the install:

• An MMP (AppsFlyer, Adjust or Singular) to attribute installs and in-app events across channels.
• In-app events that predict value: registration, trial start, subscription, purchase, a key activation moment.
• SKAN conversion values mapped to those events, so iOS campaigns get useful signal despite privacy limits.
• Apple Ads attribution connected through Apple’s AdServices framework (most MMPs handle this for you).
• Firebase (or your MMP) linked to Google Ads, so App Campaigns can optimise toward in-app actions.

Without this, you’ll end up optimising for cost per install — and cheap installs are rarely the users who pay.

Apple Ads: win the search

Apple Ads puts you at the top of App Store search results, plus placements on the Search tab, the Today tab and product pages. The heart of it is search, and search rewards structure.

Split campaigns by intent:

1. Brand — your own name. Cheap, high-converting, and worth defending from competitors bidding on it.
2. Category — generic terms that describe what you do (“budget planner”, “language learning”).
3. Competitor — other apps’ names. Can work, but watch conversion and downstream value closely.
4. Discovery — broad match and search match to find new keywords, which you then move into exact-match campaigns.

Then make the store page match the search. Custom product pages let you show different screenshots and messaging for different keyword themes. Someone searching “meal planner for families” should see families, not a generic hero shot. Better message-match means a higher conversion rate — and cheaper installs.

Bid on value. Once your MMP shows which keywords bring subscribers, not just installs, shift budget accordingly. A keyword with expensive installs and great retention often beats a cheap one.

Google App Campaigns: give the machine what it needs

App Campaigns are highly automated. You don’t pick keywords or placements; you provide assets, a goal and a budget, and Google’s system does the rest. Your real control is in what you feed it.

Pick the right goal for your stage:

• Installs to build initial volume and data.
• In-app actions once you have enough conversion volume on a meaningful event.
• Value (target ROAS) when you have reliable revenue data flowing back.

Moving up that ladder too early starves the algorithm; staying on installs too long buys the wrong users.

Give it a full set of assets. Text, images in multiple ratios, and especially video — portrait, landscape and square. Missing formats means missing inventory, particularly on YouTube. Refresh low-performing assets regularly rather than rebuilding campaigns.

Respect the learning phase. Big changes to budget, bids or goals reset learning. Change one thing at a time and give it enough days and conversions to settle.

Creative and store page: the shared multiplier

Both channels end on the same screen: your store listing. That makes App Store Optimisation (ASO) a growth lever for paid as well as organic:

• Screenshots that tell the story in the first two frames.
• A preview video that shows the product working within seconds.
• Ratings and reviews you actively manage.
• Keywords in your title and subtitle that match how people search.

Every improvement here lowers your cost per install on every paid channel at once.

Budget and sequencing

A sensible order for most apps:

1. Apple Ads brand and category to capture existing intent efficiently.
2. Google App Campaigns on installs, then in-app actions as data builds.
3. Meta and TikTok app campaigns once your creative engine can keep up — these channels create demand rather than capture it.

Scale the channel that’s profitable on downstream value, not the one with the lowest cost per install.

Retention closes the loop

Paid acquisition gets people in the door. Onboarding, push notifications and lifecycle messaging decide whether they stay. If day-7 retention is weak, more budget only makes the leak bigger. Fixing activation is often the cheapest way to make every channel more profitable.

A quick checklist

• MMP live, SKAN mapped, key in-app events firing.
• Apple Ads split into brand, category, competitor and discovery.
• Custom product pages for your main keyword themes.
• App Campaigns optimising for the deepest event you have enough volume on.
• A full set of video and image assets, refreshed on a rhythm.
• Budget moved by downstream value, reviewed weekly.

Want a second pair of eyes on your app growth setup? Our free growth audit covers measurement, campaigns and your store page — or see how we approach app growth.