How to succeed in Google App Campaigns post-IDFA

Google App Campaigns have long been a staple in advertisers’ marketing tech stacks. Whether you’re new to the realm of mobile app advertising or trying to pivot in light of privacy shifts in the industry, you’ll benefit from our overview of Google App Campaigns. Starting with a timeline, walk through how Google App Campaigns has developed into what it is today and what it offers app marketers. Get five best practices for a successful Google campaign as well as insights into how a mobile analytics platform can significantly amplify your marketing efforts.

2015: Launch of Universal App Campaign

Google launched its Universal App Campaign (UAC) platform, today known as Google App Campaigns, in 2015. The aim of Universal App campaigns was to provide advertisers with a unified system from which to promote their apps across different platforms. The platform was built to give advertisers a self-optimizing campaign tool, comprising all of Google AdWords' search and YouTube activities.

2016: Inclusion for iOS

Initially launched for Android, in 2016, Google introduced UAC for iOS. From this point, advertisers could optimize campaigns for both Android and iOS. Note that to this day, Google recommends advertisers operate separate campaigns for each device platform.

2017: Google Adwords incorporated into Universal App campaigns

Then, in 2017, Google migrated all of its app install campaigns for Google Adwords to Universal App campaigns. In doing so, the newer system allowed advertisers to run ads for YouTube, Google Search, and Admob together, rather than separately, as before.

2019: Platform rebranded to App Campaigns

In a move to simplify the name, Google renamed its “Universal App Campaigns” to “App Campaigns”. The renaming did not affect any campaign features or functionality.

2020-2024 Google moves towards privacy

In 2020, Google announced its plans to depreciate third-party cookies in Chrome. Delayed twice already, Google now states the phase-out will occur in the second half of 2024, ultimately removing the ability for Chrome to track users across the internet.

Google App Campaigns is a platform you can use to drive app installs and in-app conversions using automated Google Ads. These ads can be displayed across Google-owned channels, including Search, Discovery, Display, YouTube, AdSense, and Google Play. The platform operates on machine-learning algorithms to identify the prime placement for your ads.

To set up a Google App Campaign, you simply need to select target locations, determine budget and bid, set campaign goals, and provide creative assets such as different ad texts and formats. Then the algorithms will determine which of your assets will be shown as well as the placements of your ads.

When setting up your campaign goals, Google will provide you with three types of campaigns:

• App campaign installs (ACI): The focus for this campaign type is downloads. For ACI, Google adjusts your bid to display ad elements based on what will bring the most app downloads to your app. Install volume ads operate on a cost-per-install (CPI) pricing model.
• App campaigns engagement (ACE): This campaign type’s goal is to drive more higher-value users to take specific in-app actions within your app. ACE uses a cost-per-action (CPA) pricing model.
• App campaigns pre-registration (ACpre): Only available for Android users, this campaign type can be used to drive awareness for your app before it’s released on Google Play.

For more information on getting started, check out Google Ads’ page on App Campaigns.

While the machine-learning algorithm of Google App Campaigns is incredible, so is the amount of other apps your app is competing against. Therefore, consider these five insights to maximize the success of your campaigns.

1. Provide various assets

The greater variety of creative assets you can provide, the greater the potential for Google’s machine learning technologies to match your creatives to the right audience for best engagement. From different creatives and ratios for a static ad to videos of differing lengths and topics, feed Google App Campaigns with an assortment of options.

2. Don’t forget localization

Did you know that even among non-native English speakers of high proficiency, 65% of this group prefer content in their native language? If you’re targeting non-English speaking countries, take the time to localize the assets of your ad for each region. In fact, Google recommends running separate Google App Campaigns for each region you’re targeting as language, cultural preferences, and tone can differ among regions.

3. Analyze and optimize

It’s imperative to monitor your campaigns’ performance. While Google App Campaigns will likely provide the best ad placement out of the assets and parameters provided, it’s still up to you to track performance and decide when and how to make changes. Which creatives are well-received and with which audience on which channels? The job of an app marketer or developer is never stagnant but an unquenchable quest for app growth, requiring constant interations of marketing campaigns and strategies.

4. Go for the opt-in

Since Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework has been implemented, users now have more control over data privacy. When asked if an app has permission to track them across apps and websites, many users today select, “Ask App Not To Track”. As we explain below, you can still succeed on iOS by utilizing aggregated SKAN data to understand the user journey.

A mobile measurement platform (MMP) like Adjust, which also functions as a holistic mobile analytics platform, provides app markets with a unified overview of their campaign performance by collecting, organizing, and analyzing attribution data. Most brands advertise across an ever-increasing number of channels and platforms—not just Google—and, therefore, need a MMP platform by which to synthesize all of their campaign data in one place. But even if you’re advertising exclusively on Google, having an MMP will enhance your marketing efforts in the following ways.