“This year’s WWDC isn’t just about new operating systems: starting next week and continuing throughout the fall, Apple will begin rolling out new incentives for developers in its App Store, including a new revenue-share model and the introduction of search ads in its iOS App Store,” Lauren Goode reports for The Verge. “”
“Apple figured search ads are something that consumers are already used to from internet searches and social media, and the company wants in on the marketing dollars from mobile app developers. According to IAB, paid search on both desktop and mobile for the US market totaled more than $29 billion last year, with mobile alone comprising about $9 billion,” Goode reports. “So how will the search ads work in the App Store when they launch in beta next Monday? For one, the ads are only for other apps. An ad will appear at the top of iOS App Store search results, and will be identified as a search ad, showing a light blue background with a blue ad button on it. Only one ad will appear at a time (or none at all).”
“For marketers, Apple will provide a second-price auction system, borrowing technology from Apple’s soon-to-be-shuttered iAd network, and developers don’t pay unless users click,” Goode reports. “On the user side, Apple is promising that the ad shown will be something “relevant to what the user searched for.” And, not surprisingly, Apple is beating its privacy drum: it says it isn’t going to create search profiles of users, and that no user data is shared with developers. The ads won’t be shown to minors, anyone 13 or younger. And users have the ability to opt-out of search ad data tracking and location tracking, built in to iOS settings.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote earlier today, the basic issue is discoverability: How to best help each user find their specific needles in the haystack.
SEE ALSO:
Apple revamps App Store, may not win over all developers – June 9, 2016
Gruber: Apple’s App Store changes likely to spawn slew of professional-caliber iPad apps – June 8, 2016
Apple to reveal App Store 2.0 at WWDC: New subscription model, search ads, and more – June 8, 2016
Lovely. Ads. Might help. Doubt it.
Reprehensible, Apple. You offer no decent search & filtering on your store, and now this. Pathetic.
YAAAAA … um, what? WHAT? Don’t they make enough money already? Do they really need to worsen the user experience?
I really don’t think Steve would have approved.
@MDN: that’s probably your lamest take ever. One ad is all about discoverability? Of the one who pays most? Do you really think we are THAT stupid???
“An ad will [only?] appear at the top of iOS App Store search results…”
I seem to recall banner ads starting out the same way. And yes, ONE ad is going to fix everything? Oh well.
Not a fan of ads in any form nod I sure do not want them embedded in my OS or obligatory apps.
I say it only once: I don’t want ad’s on my Apple devices. Period.
Ads are for Android. Apple Music, possibly iMessage are too. … Lovely, another pattern here.
One gets the impression that Apple must be desperate for cash. WHY ONE EARTH would anyone want his computing experience ruined by ads? It’s a pathetic profit model. If you produce something of value, then people will pay for it. Annoying them with ads until they pay up to make the ads go away is BS, just look at this site.
What’s next Apple? Ad stickers on the palm rests of your laptops?
It’s making me wanting to jailbreak and remove the ads