In the bustling world of social casino apps, standing out is not just a goal, it's a necessity, since many apps are competing for the same customer. Visibility is the key to success here - if the customer doesn’t see your brand, you’ll likely lose them to a competitor. As a growth agency, our success lies in our ability to master the art of visibility for our clients - something that our expert team has cracked the code for.
One of the most strategic avenues to visibility is maintaining your impression share on Apple Search Ads, which has the potential to enhance your organic keyword rankings too. This positive effect isn’t something that can be guaranteed, but when our ASO clients invest in Apple Search Ads, an observable boost in organic performance can be seen, which is very likely the halo effect of improved impression share via the Apple Search Ads investments.
Take this 4-week test for a middle eastern bank, for example: Using an established set of performant keywords and the regular monthly investment, our Apple Search Ads platform Astra was able to significantly reduce cost-per-install, whilst also significantly improving tap-through, conversion rate and install numbers. 6/10 of their brand keywords were unranked, pre-test. Post test they achieved an average 46% impression share.
Great – that’s an Apple Search Ads win for Astra, but look at how that activity moved the dials for organic performance too:
- Post test 3 of their brand keywords went from organic unranked to top 6!
- The brand saw a 59% increase in organic installs from brand keywords.
There is no doubt in our minds that aligned ASO and Apple Search Ads strategies will holistically improve your cost per acquisition in the social casino vertical.
Understanding Impression Share in Apple Search Ads
What is impression share (sometimes referred to as share of voice)? Given as a percentage value, in Apple Search Ads, impression share demonstrates the total share of ad impressions that your search result or search tab campaign is winning, via a specific keyword, across a defined period, when compared to its competitors.
In simpler terms, it's a measure of the visibility your app’s advertising on the App Store. A higher impression share means your app appears more frequently, which not only boosts your brand’s presence but also enhances user familiarity, and trust, and brings in conversion if you’re smart enough to convert those users.
In a vertical like social casino, almost all the apps are bidding on dominant keywords like Slots, Jackpot, Social Casino, etc. so competing and winning at impression share is critical. So, let’s dive more deeply into how you can leverage impression share to propel your app to the top of search results, ensuring it catches the eye of potential players.
Is there a direct correlation between strategies?
There is no doubt that achieving greater impression share will improve brand recognition for your social casino app – in fact this is pretty much the case regardless of the type of media you are buying. There are proven ways to increase keyword impressions on the App Store, and these include investment in Apple Search Ads, in-app events and custom product pages. As we’ve noted, improved impression share is good for organic performance.
It's good practice to cross-pollinate keywords: those that perform well for your paid media campaign should be used within your organic strategy and App Store metadata. We know that this strategy holistically improves impression share and drives efficiency in CPA.
**Top tips that will improve impression share and could boost organic rankings**
1. First things first - identify high-impact keywords
Start by pinpointing the keywords that are most effective for your social casino app. For starters, tools like AppTweak or SensorTower can provide insights into which keywords are driving traffic for competitive apps. A good idea is to prioritise keywords with high search volumes but moderate to low competition to maximise your impact.
It's good practice to cross-pollinate keywords: those that perform well for your paid media campaign should be used within your organic strategy and App Store metadata. We know that this strategy holistically improves impression share and drives efficiency in CPA.
Large casino app brands understand that most of the traffic flows in from generic high-usage keywords like Slots, Jackpot and the likes. So how do you appear at the top of the results when everyone is ruthlessly targeting and bidding on those keywords? Read on.
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2. Optimise Your Campaign Structure
It’s so very important to structure your Apple Search Ads campaigns in the right manner, to focus on high-impact and converting keywords. Consider creating separate ad groups for your most important keywords to allow for more targeted campaigns and better budget allocation. The Redbox Mobile team can help you create sophisticated Apple Search Ads campaign strategies to increase impression share for target keywords – this, in turn, increases the visibility of your app.
It sounds easier than done. Factors like creative testing, using custom product pages strategically, and leveraging smart bidding among others, play a crucial role in our overall growth roadmap for social casino apps.
3. Get your App Store creatives right.
When your social casino app hits the top-spot, it’s your product page screenshots that your potential customer will see first, and we all know that first impression counts! It should be your sacred duty to make sure that your creatives are compelling and clearly communicate exactly what the user has searched for, whilst also showcasing the unique benefits of your app.
Test different variations of ad creatives, in line with your keyword strategies to see which resonates with your target audience and therefore achieves improved engagement. Remember - effective creatives lead to higher tap-through rates, improving your impression share. Move these keywords into your organic strategies for improved rankings.
4. And don’t forget to leverage your advertising budget, smartly
Investing more in those keywords that have a more likely to get you to the top ad position can significantly increase your impressions. Analyse your data to understand which keywords positively impact your app earnings and adjust your budget allocation based on this performance data. This approach ensures that you are always investing in the most profitable keywords.
5. Monitor and adjust
The app marketing landscape is constantly evolving; not only does the App Store receive updates, but external trends influence user behaviour too. It’s therefore important for app publishers and marketers to keep an eye on movements both inside and outside the App Store, and to adjust campaign and investment decisions accordingly.
Regularly monitor your ad performance and its impact on organic rankings. Do your data patterns indicate a correlation in changes between paid strategies and organic results? Monitoring for continuous improvement (or failure) is key to staying ahead in the competitive social casino market. If you need a helping hand or a full-blown execution plan, our experts are a call away.
Conclusion
Increasing your impressions share on Apple Search Ads isn’t just about spending more; it’s about spending smart and being strategic with your keyword choices and selection of ad placements. Improving your visibility through paid placements and paid-for taps drives improved impression share for keywords, and where keyword impression does well, so does organic performance holistically.
Remember, in the world of app marketing, visibility is everything. If achieving it seems like a combination of dark art and moving mountains, speak to our team - we’re here to help and we’ve got more than a decade of experience to put behind your growth.