Are Apple search ads a threat to Google & Facebook ads?

Apple had launched app store search ads in October 2016 last year only in United States. After getting a very goood response from users and developers, Apple has decided to launch the app store search ads in three new English speaking markets - UK, Australia and New Zealand. Ad serving will start on the coming 25th of April.

Apple's app store search ads have seen the best retention metrics in comparion to its competitors. The conversion rate is over 50 percent for app installs, which means that out of each two clicks, one is converted into an app install. according to Apple each app install is costing around $1 to the advertiser, while on Facebook an app install costs around $3, which is far more than the acquisition costs on Facebook.

According to Apple, ad relevance is a more important factor to its search ads than the bid price, and it will keep it in the same way, as Apple doesn't rely much upon the revenue generated from these search ads.

Currently, Apple's 90% revenue comes from iPhone sales. But, the launch of theses search ads in app store indicates that Apple has decided to compete with Google, Bing and Facebook in search ad industry, initially only for app install ads, but it may increase its search ads coverage in coming future. Definitely, it will be in favour of consumers and developers. Good luck, Apple!