Adjust x Google: Managing Google Ads iOS campaigns like a pro

Navigating the privacy-centric complexities of iOS campaign management is critical for app marketers and developers. The challenges of running and optimizing Google Ads on iOS are significant, but so are the rewards. To dive deep into this topic, we teamed up with Google for our recent webinar, "Managing Google Ads iOS Campaigns Like a Pro."

Gleb Ezhov, Team Lead Solutions Consulting, EMEA at Adjust, and Mariusz Gąsiewski, CEE Mobile Gaming and Apps Lead at Google, discussed the nuances of iOS measurement, shared effective Google Ads campaign strategies, and introduced the next-gen tools Adjust is developing to tackle these challenges head-on.

If you couldn't join us live, you can watch the recorded video or read the highlights below.

iOS plays a crucial role in both gaming and non-gaming markets worldwide. In the U.S. and U.K., iOS accounts for nearly 45-50% of all downloads. In Japan, some 58.9% of mobile users are on iOS. iOS users also generate higher revenue per download, meaning their monetization value is often much higher than Android users. While this trend is observed in mature markets, it is even more pronounced in emerging markets.

Google ad campaigns offer extensive reach across Search, YouTube, and AdMob. With Google's dominance in mobile search and YouTube's position as a leading app by active users, leveraging Google Ads can significantly enhance your campaign's visibility and performance on iOS. By delivering creatives across multiple platforms, Google’s app campaigns provide a comprehensive solution for reaching your audience effectively.

Overcoming measurement challenges

One of the most challenging aspects of iOS advertising is accurate measurement. Google provides three main ways to tackle this issue:

• Deterministic data: This method relies on users who consent to data sharing. While it offers high accuracy, its effectiveness is limited by user opt-in rates. For deterministic data to be useful, both the app being promoted and the platform where the ad appears must have user consent, which can be difficult to achieve consistently.
• SKAdNetwork (SKAN) data: Apple's SKAN framework (and now also AdAttributionKit) is designed for privacy-preserving ad measurement. It’s essential to understand and optimize your SKAN conversion value schema to ensure it aligns with user journeys. Key strategies include setting up conversion value mapping that accurately reflects user engagement within the first 24 hours. Despite its privacy constraints, SKAN data provides valuable insights into campaign performance, especially when combined with other data sources to improve the accuracy of user behavior predictions. You just need the right tools. 
• Google Ads modeling: This approach uses data from users who consent to data sharing to model the behaviors of those who do not. By analyzing similarities in device types, conversion types, and other variables, Google’s modeling can estimate the performance of campaigns for non-consenting users. This method helps balance the need for accuracy with privacy considerations, allowing advertisers to make informed decisions based on a broader dataset.

Mariusz also highlighted that Google is continuously enhancing its tools to support better measurement and optimization of iOS campaigns. Recent updates include displaying the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt on YouTube, which will gradually provide more deterministic data, and integrating first-party data for improved modeling. These advancements aim to address the limitations of each measurement method, offering a more comprehensive understanding of campaign performance on iOS.

Gleb explained how Adjust can enhance the iOS campaigns and integrations with a suite of tools designed for SKAN and AdAttributionKit.

Here’s how Adjust can support your iOS campaigns:

• Conversion value mapping: You can link specific in-app activities to conversion values, capturing valuable events within all three measurement windows. Adjust’s interface simplifies this process, allowing you to track essential metrics such as in-app purchases or ad revenue efficiently.
• SKAN reporting: Adjust’s dashboard provides high level overviews and detailed insights into your campaign’s performance. It helps unpack conversion values, offering a clear picture of user behaviors and campaign success. You can analyze the quality of installs, the percentage of valid conversions, and more for a holistic view of your SKAN data.
• Custom reports:You can create custom reports that combine SKAN data with opt-in data, and integrate first-party data with on-device measurements to enhance the accuracy of your campaign modeling and performance analysis. Adjust’s reporting tools allow you to build tables, pivot tables, and visualizations, ensuring you have all the insights you need.

Adjust is continuously innovating to stay ahead in this privacy-centric era. Our latest solution, Adjust InSight, is an AI-powered incrementality analysis tool that captures granular insights by analyzing historical data and synthetic control groups. This helps marketers understand the true impact of their campaigns. Whether it's campaign launches or budget adjustments, this tool offers invaluable information on the incremental lift or cannibalization effects.

Mastering Google Ads campaigns on iOS requires a combination of advanced tools, strategic insights, and cross-functional teamwork. Successful iOS campaigns often result from strong collaboration between data, growth, and product teams. Sharing data and aligning strategies can significantly improve campaign outcomes. Moreover, leveraging web campaigns to drive app installs can help bypass some of the limitations posed by SKAN, and platforms like Adjust offer robust tools to streamline measurement and reporting for these hybrid campaigns.

The iOS advertising landscape is continually evolving, so staying updated through webinars, adopting new tools, and adapting to updates in SKAN frameworks are crucial for keeping your strategies ahead of the curve.

Are you an app developer or marketer looking to grow your app? Look no further than Adjust. We work closely with all major tech platforms in the industry—including Google—to ensure our clients have the solutions they need to succeed in their app marketing endeavors. Book your demo now!