App campaigns make it easy to promote your apps across many Google properties. This includes Search, YouTube, Google Play, Discover on Google Search, the Google Display Network, and AdMob along with many more publishers who host app ads.
You can choose from 3 campaign subtypes when you select “App promotion” as your goal. Each subtype has different bidding strategies and actions. They are:
- App Campaigns for Installs
- App Campaigns for Engagement
- App pre-registration (Android only)
Learn more About App campaigns.
In some instances, App campaigns may seem to serve on certain networks over another. This article will explain how network distribution for App campaigns work.
Tip: App campaigns appear across all Google networks, so upload a customized set of assets to ensure that the ads are suitable for as many ad placements as possible. To maximize reach and help lower costs, aim for an Ad Strength rating of "Good" or "Excellent".
- Add independent lines of text of varying lengths.
- Upload engaging videos in different aspect ratios. Adding manual video assets can help prevent the system from relying on auto-generated video content.
- Add high-quality images in multiple aspect ratios to be used across the Google Display Network.
Learn how to Make better creative assets for App campaigns.
How App campaigns network distribution works
App campaigns don’t tend to favor one network over another. Unlike traditional web campaigns, in which targeting is largely driven by what you input for your campaign, App campaigns are powered by machine learning while respecting your bids and budgets. Newly launched or significantly edited campaigns require a 7-14 day machine learning phase to optimize properly. Avoid making manual changes during this period to prevent resetting the algorithm.
There are times when there is no App campaign inventory on a specific channel, so the machine learning model must pursue traffic on another channel to obtain conversions. The system learns directly from user behavior, which informs on inventory and how creative assets should serve in the future. Ultimately, App campaigns work to deliver the most conversions possible at or below your campaign budget.
App campaigns drive conversions based on your advertising and optimization goals, budget, targeting, and assets. Millions of signal combinations are used by machine learning to predict how likely a user is to convert. Signals and intent outside of the app that inform predictions could include: device targeting, location, search queries, placements, and app usage. Some examples of Interactions within the app that inform predictions may include: app settings, app engagements, app session durations and retention, web usage, and referrals.
At times, the network your campaign is serving on may seem expensive compared to another network. While a network may seem cheaper, it might not have inventory to serve your campaign. In these cases, the system pursues traffic on other networks where you’re more likely to get conversions.
To achieve more even spend across countries, consider creating separate campaigns for different country tiers or economic profiles. If you want to prevent ads from appearing on specific unwanted sites or apps, use account-level placement exclusion lists. Additionally, to improve efficiency, consolidate campaigns that target the same App ID, location, and language to avoid overlapping traffic.
