From Clicks to Conversions: Leveraging Today Tab & Product Pages Ads

We are proud to announce that you can now apply automations on Today tab ads and product page ads campaigns through SearchAds.com!

Elis Furtun
April 14, 2023

We are proud to announce that you can now apply automations on Today tab ads and product page ads campaigns through SearchAds.com!

Today tab and product page ad placements can be highly effective in terms of increasing visibility and driving conversions for your app. By using these ad placements correctly, you can leverage your biggest opportunities to reach a wider audience at lower costs.



With the help of Today tab ads and product pages ads automations, you can maximize the effectiveness of your ad campaigns and achieve better results with less effort.

Before getting started, please be advised that Apple Search Ads ‘Today tab’ ad placement format has been updated in December 2023, and all data and information shared in this blog may not accurately reflect the current structure.

Let’s discover the opportunities by checking the recent benchmarks and success stories for the Today tab and product pages. 


Why Today Tab Ads are the Future of App Marketing?

Imagine that you have a billboard or advertisement on the busiest street in your city. It is a fact that it will reach many more people than an advertisement in an alley. The Today tab provides you with a similar opportunity.

When you click on the app store on your phone and start your journey, Today tab is one of the first places you will start to discover applications. So when an app has a place in the Today tab, it will get seen easily. 

A key benefit of Today tab ads’ is to increase the visibility and brand awareness of apps. By running Today tab ads, apps can be featured on the front page of the App Store, making them more visible to potential users. In order to set up a Today tab ad campaign you need to have a custom product page that is approved for advertising by Apple Search Ads.

And more excitingly, with the recent update from Apple, your app icon will be positioned at the center of the ad. The app name and subtitle you entered in App Store Connect will also be incorporated. Furthermore, assets from the custom product page you set as your top destination will animate in the background of the ad and appear in a color matching your app icon


How can you turn Today Tab into your biggest opportunity?

By placing your product pages in the Today tab you can:

  1. Reach more users 
  2. Increase your impressions and downloads 
  3. Create brand awareness, especially for the new apps
  4. Increase brand awareness for the existing apps 
  5. Announce new feature launches
  6. Put forward seasonal events
  7. Promote special events
  8. Increase visibility

The success of Today Tab ads: Q4 2022 Highlights

Since it is a product that has launched in October 2022, its effects on campaigns may not be fully seen yet. This is why the data is not mature yet, especially for the early times of the Today tab launch. After a longer use, its effects will be reflected more accurately.

It is important to note that the most recent update for Today tab ads was implemented by Apple in mid-December 2023. As these data pertain to a time prior to the recent update, the information displayed corresponds to the old version of the Today tab ads. These data reflect the characteristics of the old version of the Today tab

  • In the last quarter of 2022, Graphics & Design apps had the highest TTR at 10.40% in Today tab ads. Utility apps followed with 8.90% as second. Social Networking, Travel, and Business apps also had high TTRs among other categories. Education, Photo & Video and Shopping apps had the lowest TTRs.
  • In Today Tab ads, Graphics & Design apps had the highest conversion rate at 14.90%, followed by Utilities, Food & Drink, Music, and Lifestyle apps with CR of 10.90%, 10.50%, 10.40%, and 8.00% respectively. Travel apps had the lowest CR at 4.30%.
  • Entertainment apps had the highest CPT at $7.07, followed by Social Networking, Travel, News, and Reference apps with CPTs of $2.12, $1.91, $1.04, and $0.94. Graphics & Design apps had the third lowest CPT at $0.20, while Food & Drink apps paid $0.27 per tap.
  • Music, Graphic & Design, and Business apps have the lowest CPA rates with $0.64, $1.25, and $1.32 respectively.

New year stats for Today tab ads: January/February 2023 Highlights

  • Music has been the best-performing category for Today tab ad placement with a CR of 13.95%. Also, Music Games have the highest CR while maintaining the lowest CPA and CPT.
  • Graphics & Design apps had the highest TTR, 10.42%, and second highest CR, 13.04%,  which means they performed really well for the Today tab.
  • The rise in social branding and advancements in AI technology during the final quarter of 2022 has led to a surge in the popularity of Graphics & Design apps. As a result, it has become a clear choice for these apps to use the Today tab ads, as it presents a significant opportunity to enhance their visibility and promote brand recognition in response to the growing demand.
  • The best-performing storefront for CR was Vietnam with 55.81% while Sweden had the highest TTR with 7.48%. 

Unleashing the Power of Today Tab Ads: Success Stories from SearchAds.com Users

Since its release, the Today tab has been quite successful to improve the app's visibility and brand awareness. Placing ads in a very visible, attention-catching place will increase your impression and taps because your ad will likely be the first thing that people see. 

 Powered by custom product pages, the Today tab has several benefits such as:

  • targeting the specific audience with customized product pages, 
  • acting as a demand side advertisement for increasing brand awareness, 
  • showcasing and highlighting the specific features of the target audience, 
  • reaching out to high-intent users to leverage more traffic and eventually return on ad spend. 

However, don’t take our word for all these benefits. 

Let’s check some real-life cases encountered by our clients. Some of them turned the Today tab into their biggest gameplay. They witnessed increased impressions and decreased cost metrics while managing Apple Search Ads campaigns.

CPT journey through Today tab ads: A Shopping App

A shopping app that works with our platform, is currently running brand generic, discovery and competitor campaigns for search results ads. They also set up a Today tab campaign on Feb 1st and they have observed a huge CPT decrease and TTR increase for their search results campaigns. Here are the detailed results:

  • Search results ad brand campaign’s CPT was 2.43 in January and dropped to 2.04 in February.
  • There has been a significant CPT decrease for their search results generic campaign. It was 5.14 in January and decreased to 3.85 in February.

This impressive decrease in CPT for the search results brand campaign clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of Today tab ad campaigns for reaching a wider audience and driving engagement with the app's brand. By utilizing this strategy, the shopping app has been able to optimize its advertising efforts.

Here are some screenshots from SearchAds.com that show the progress of the app after they started their Today tab campaign. The blue line shows how much CPT decreased in a month.  

January 31, 2023 - February 28, 2023
today tab

Normally brand campaigns have higher impressions, taps, and lower cost metrics than generic campaigns. But in this case, the Today tab campaign has higher taps and impressions compared to the brand campaign. Cost per tap is also way lower, which means that for Today tab ads, this app gets more taps while paying less for a tap. Isn’t it profitable? 

today tab

Playing to Win: High Impressions with Low Costs

A well-known gaming app in its category that we help with its Apple Search Ads campaigns, is another example of great use of the Today tab. You can see how their CPT decreased from the start while there is a significant increase in impressions. Since the main aim of the Today tab is to create brand awareness and increase visibility this is a very good example of how a Today tab ads can be a game-changer for Apple Search Ads performance.

October 25, 2023 - February 28, 2023 

Just like the first example, this app’s Today tab impressions and taps are higher than the brand campaign. We can even say there is a huge difference in impressions and taps. Meaning that the Today tab campaign actually works to draw attention compared to the brand campaign

Another promising result of Today tab ads in this case, there was a significant increase in taps impressions and installs of the search results brand campaign since the start of the Today tab campaign. This suggests that Today tab ad placements not only increase app installs and engagement but also may have a direct effect on brand campaigns.

today tab

As we mentioned earlier, Today tab ads are highly effective for increasing brand awareness, as they are prominently displayed on the main page of the App Store. This example provides evidence of the impact that Today tab ads can accelerate a brand's overall marketing efforts. By utilizing Today tab ad placement, brands have the opportunity to reach a wider audience and maximize their visibility, ultimately leading to increased brand recognition and growth.

Exploring the Benefits of Product Page Ads

Product page ads were introduced in October 2022 as a new feature in the App Store, aimed at helping app developers promote their apps to the relevant users.

These ads are displayed under the "You Might Also Like" list while browsing different product pages within the App Store. The purpose of these ads is to increase the visibility of the app, drive downloads, and reach a wider audience. Product page ads allow you to promote yourself while the customer journey continues. You will be able to target the already browsing users which will widen your possible audiences. 

Imagine that you opened a store in one of the most famous shops. The customers of that shop will also see your products and notice your brand name. It is the same system for product pages ads. When you put your ads in similar apps with strong brand names, your app automatically gets more visibility. 

How can you turn product page ads into your biggest opportunity?

When you run product page ads you can: 

  1. Reach more related users, a wider audience
  2. Improve your app’s visibility
  3. Drive high-intent and engaged downloads
  4. Increase brand awareness

Product Pages Ads Performance: From October 25th to March 2023

  • Graphics & Design, Reference, and Social Networking apps had the highest TTR rates as follows: 4.11%, 3.73%, and 3.15%.
  • Social Networking apps were second last in terms of CR (10.29%) despite being in the top 3 for TTR (3.15).
  • Reference apps led CR rates just like TTR with 27.56%. 
  • Business, Reference, and Games apps had the lowest CPT as follows: $0.27, $0.49, $0.6
  • Under the Games category, the Music games subcategory performed the best with a CR of 34.21%

To learn more about how you can turn Today tab and product page ads, and turn them into your greatest advantage, schedule a demo and let our experts guide you to success.  

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