Apple Search Ads Proxies for App Store QA

Apple Search Ads, now presented by Apple under the name Apple Ads, places app promotions at the top of App Store search results, on the Search tab, in Today and on other apps' product pages. The only place to see those ads is the App Store itself, on an iPhone or iPad, and what appears depends on the storefront, the device and, in advanced campaigns, the location. App marketers and the agencies who run their campaigns need to confirm that the right custom product page appears for the right keyword in the right market. EliteProx gives them a dedicated US carrier line for that review, on a real device, without leaving their desk.

Storefront, account and network

Three things determine what the App Store shows an iPhone. The storefront comes from the country of the Apple Account signed into the App Store, so a reviewer needs a US account to see the US store; no proxy changes that, and we would not suggest trying. Location, for campaigns that target US states or metro areas, comes from the device when location services are available and can otherwise be estimated from the network. And the network itself tells Apple whether the connection looks like an ordinary subscriber or something else.

Our lines cover the second and third points honestly. Set up a test iPhone with a US Apple Account, enter the line in the Wi-Fi network's HTTP proxy fields, set the time zone to the line's metro and, for the cleanest result, leave location services off for the App Store so network location applies. The line is a real AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon SIM in one of our eight metros, sharing its public address with ordinary phones behind carrier-grade NAT.

What to check for each campaign

Apple limits ad frequency and applies its own relevance rules, so a single phone will not see your ad on every search, and a keyword with thin relevance may not show your ad at all even with a generous bid. Treat the review as sampling: several searches spaced through the day, in two or three metros, recorded with the time and exit address. Apple's reporting tells you about impressions and taps; the review tells you what the placement looks like to a person holding the phone.

• Does the ad appear for your priority exact-match keywords, and in which position of the results?
• Is the correct custom product page served for each ad group, with the right screenshots and promotional text?
• Which competitors appear on your brand keywords, and how often?
• Do Today tab and Search tab placements render as expected on current iPhone sizes?
• Does a metro-targeted campaign show in its market and stay silent outside it?

Privacy settings change the picture

Apple builds its ad targeting around first-party signals and gives users a Personalized Ads switch. When it is off, fewer targeting dimensions apply and ads are matched largely on the search itself. Note that setting on every test device, and consider keeping one device with it on and one with it off, so you can see the difference your demographic and customer-type settings actually make. Do not tap your own ads repeatedly; taps are billed and they feed Apple's performance data for your campaign. If an installation test is genuinely needed, for example to confirm that an attribution link or a deep link from a custom product page opens the right screen, do it once, on a device reserved for testing, and tell whoever reads the reports. One recorded test is useful evidence; a habit of tapping muddies the numbers the whole bidding strategy relies on.

Access to the campaign account

Apple's advertising platform lets an organization invite users with roles such as admin or read-only, and agencies can be given access to a client's campaign groups. Use named users, not a shared login, since the Apple Account behind the organization may also control the developer account that publishes the app. Keep those sessions on a sticky line in one metro, opened from the same browser profile each day, and separate from the review iPhone's line if both run at once. The address holds until you press the rotation link, so browser sessions and two-factor prompts stay predictable for the account holder. Unlimited data and typical 4G speeds of 20 to 45 Mbps are ample for App Store browsing, and a day's review costs $6 on 4G.

Setting up a Apple Search Ads proxy on EliteProx

1. Prepare a test iPhone signed into a US Apple Account used only for review.
2. Order a line in the metro your campaign targets and copy its HTTP proxy details.
3. Enter the host, port, username and password in the iPhone's Wi-Fi proxy settings.
4. Confirm the exit IP in Safari, then search your keywords in the App Store at spaced intervals.
5. Record placements, custom product pages and competitors with the time and exit address.

Apple Search Ads proxy questions