Why one campaign is not a strategy
Dumping all keywords into a single Apple Search Ads campaign is the most common setup—and the hardest to optimize. Brand efficiency masks category waste. Discovery queries pollute brand reports. You cannot set sensible budgets when intents compete.
The standard fix is a four-campaign structure used by experienced App Store advertisers and agencies.
Campaign 1: Brand
Protect your app name. Users searching your brand already want you; CPAs should be low and stable.
- Keywords: app name, common misspellings, “app + brand”
- Match: exact
- Bid: modest—goal is coverage, not auction wins at any cost
- Budget share: ~25–35% for established apps
Campaign 2: Category
Capture generic intent: “fitness tracker,” “language learning app,” etc. This is where scalable volume lives—and where profit caps matter most.
- Match: exact on proven terms; broad only with negatives
- Bid: capped by LTV × conversion × margin
- Budget share: ~50–60%
- Optimize on RevenueCat ROAS, not install CPA
Campaign 3: Competitor
Bid on rival brand names. CPAs are higher and conversion varies by market. Treat this as a test budget, not a default scale lever.
- Match: exact only
- Budget share: ~5–15%
- Pause quickly if trial quality is poor
Campaign 4: Discovery
Mine new keywords via Search Match in an isolated ad group. Small budget, frequent negative keyword exports to other campaigns.
- Search Match on; minimal manual keywords
- Budget share: ~5–10%
- Graduate winners to category as exact match
How Subvra applies this structure
Autopilot generates keywords, creates all four campaigns per app, applies negative keyword rules, and caps bids before launch. You review a dry-run preview, then go live—no manual campaign cloning in Apple’s UI.