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Apple Search Ads goes all-in with Cost Per Tap
What is the difference between Cost Per Mille and Cost Per Tap?
As of the 19th of July 2022, Apple Search Ads have updated their Search Tab campaigns to a Cost Per Tap (CPT) pricing model. All legacy Search Tab campaigns that ran on a Cost Per Mille or Cost Per Thousand (CPM) pricing model are now on hold.
CPT is Apple’s equivalent to CPC (Cost Per Click), where an advertiser is charged for each ad click by a user.
CPM pricing charges an advertiser for each 1,000 impressions served to a user, regardless of how many users actually clicked.
This change does not affect the Search Result campaign type (ads shown at the top of the search results page in the App Store), which have always been run on a CPT model.
Why is Apple’s move to a Cost Per Tap pricing model?
All current Search Tab campaigns have been placed on hold, advertisers will need to relaunch these under the new pricing model.
Search Tab campaigns can supplement Search Results campaigns, allowing advertisers to get in front of users before they have completed their search. We’ve seen these play an effective role in driving installs and in-app actions for our clients.
The move across to CPT is a better fit for these campaigns and unifies pricing across the platform. Advertisers are used to using CPM pricing when generating awareness rather than action, however with Apple Search Ads advertisers are trying to drive action through installs.
How should advertisers respond to Apple’s Cost Per Tap update?
If you run Search Tab campaigns, make sure you or your agency are across this update. Apple has been updating all users via email of this change with plenty of notice.
Review your legacy Search Tab results to get a feel for how much you should be bidding under CPT, set your bid and review performance over the comings weeks.
If you run Apple Search Ads and have not explored Search Tab campaigns, now is a great time to jump in – as mentioned these work well alongside Search Result campaigns and it’s now even easier to compare performance like–for-like.
Lastly, if you have any questions or need specific recommendations, then please get in touch with our team today.