SSubida Skills

Esc to close · results from all notes, skills and people

Mobile apps›User acquisition

Why start paid acquisition with Apple Ads

Why App Masters starts most iOS apps on Apple Ads (plus ASO) before Meta or TikTok, and when that advice does not apply.

Updated 2026-10-23·5 sources·user-acquisitionapple-adschannel-strategydistribution

Why start paid acquisition with Apple Ads

TL;DR

  • Pick one or two channels that fit the app (“channel-market fit”); App Masters has seen apps reach up to $5M MRR on just one or two.1
  • If people search for what your app does, start with ASO + Apple Ads — a “pull” channel with few levers, no MMP required, and among the best ROI sources.23
  • Steve’s rule of thumb: under ~$10K MRR, start with Apple Ads before anything else.4
  • Use Apple Ads to prove strangers pay cheaply, then scale with Meta (“push”).5
  • Skip this order only if nobody searches for your category (e.g. a new social network, short-drama apps) — then go straight to social ads.67

Details

Distribution first. Steve ranks distribution above monetization: you cannot monetize without downloads, and once distribution is unlocked most other problems are fixable.8 Monetization still sets the ceiling on paid spend — the more you earn per install, the more you can bid (see Break-even CPI, revenue per install and LTV per install).

Evidence cited (2025–2026). In the AppsFlyer Performance Index 2025 edition, Apple Ads ranked #1 on iOS for both gaming and non-gaming, globally and in North America, with Meta further down the list.2

Why Steve is bullish (June 2026). Apple added more ad slots in search results (he mentions the US and UK): for “meditation”, result #1 is an ad, #2 organic, #3 another ad. His long-running stat is that the top three results take ~90% of clicks, most going to #1 — and some founders don’t even realize the first result is an ad.9

Fewer levers than social. Paid social requires getting campaign setup, audience, placements, creative, optimization event, attribution, scaling and testing strategy, onboarding/paywall and budget all right. Apple Ads needs mainly keywords and a bid.34

Competitor keywords. Bidding on competitor brand terms is a valid Apple Ads tactic even though it rarely works for ASO (users tap the brand’s own #1 result).10

Organic social is not a free lunch. Steve has heard from founders with 2M views and ~20 downloads; viral views don’t reliably convert, which is another reason he defaults to ASO/Apple Ads.11

Disagreements / caveats

  • AppsFlyer rankings are aggregate; your category may differ. Apple’s ad-slot rollout is described as of June 2026 and may change by country.
  • Pull-channel users convert better than Meta users — don’t extrapolate Apple Ads conversion rates to Meta.5
  • App Masters sells Apple Ads management; treat the enthusiasm accordingly.

See also

Footnotes

  1. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 01:09 — Steve P. Young ↩

  2. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 02:42 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  3. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 03:42 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  4. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 12:40 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  5. Before You Spend $1 on Meta Ads, Watch This @ 05:48 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  6. Before You Spend $1 on Meta Ads, Watch This @ 06:37 — Steve P. Young ↩

  7. Do This Before Running ANY Paid Social Media Marketing @ 06:06 — Steve P. Young ↩

  8. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 00:00 — Steve P. Young ↩

  9. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 04:34 — Steve P. Young ↩

  10. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 08:50 — Steve P. Young ↩

  11. Why Most Apps Are Failing in 2026: 7 Mistakes Killing Your App Success @ 19:11 — Steve P. Young ↩