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How The Apple Search Ads Auction Works
On the App Store, every search runs its own auction, and your app’s relevance to that search first decides whether it gets in. Pick a search and set your bid: the results page changes before your eyes.
At Apple Ads (the new name of Apple Search Ads since April 2025), ad delivery depends on your app’s relevance to the search query and on the amount of your keyword bid. An app that is not relevant to the search is not displayed, regardless of how much it is willing to pay. The winning advertiser’s maximum bid is the maximum price they pay, and the model is based on second-price auction principles.
Pick a search
Your place in the auction
1st of 3
You pay per tap
€0.89
You pay the minimum to rank above Advertiser C, below your max bid.
Advertiser C bids €2.00, more than you, and ranks below you.
The auction on “running”
- Your app · Running€0.89
- Advertiser C · Health€1.51
- Advertiser A · Fitness€0.10
- Advertiser B · Meditationbelow the bar
Relevance gauge out of 10: the line marks the bar to enter the auction.
Simplified model, example figures: only the apps relevant enough to the search enter the auction, they are ranked by bid × relevance, and each one pays the smallest amount, to the cent, that puts it above the app ranked just below, or the reserve price, never more than its max CPT. Here, the 1st takes the slot at the top of the results and the next ones the slots further down; at Apple, your ad may be shown in any of the available ad positions and you cannot pick your position. Apple also combines bids with the overall user experience and other elements, relies on second-price auction principles and does not publish its formula. Apple Ads Help: search results, glossary.
Your Apple Ads Keywords Cost A Lot For Few Installs?
On the App Store, your app’s relevance to each search decides whether you enter the auction and what you pay. Your keywords, your bids and your product page tell where the bottleneck is.
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How To Read The Simulator
Order = bid × relevance, if relevance clears the bar (simplified model, Apple does not publish its formula)
The phone shows the results page for the chosen search: the 1st in the auction at the top, the next ones further down. Next to it, the auction: each app with its relevance gauge. Below the line, the app stays out of the auction.
In the example, your running app bids €3.50 on “meditation” and stays out of the auction. On “running”, it ranks 1st with €1 and pays €0.89 per tap, ahead of an app that bids €2.
What Counts In The Auction
- Your app’s relevance to the search: Apple says it plainly, apps that are not a good match for the query are kept out of auctions.
- Your max CPT: the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a tap on your ad.
- Other advertisers’ bids and the reserve price: they go into the price you pay, often below your max bid.
- The position: your ad can appear at the top of the results or further down the page, and you cannot pick your position.
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