---
title: How to set up an Apple Ads Max Conversion campaign
slug: apple-ads-max-conversion-campaign
summary: Step-by-step settings for the Apple Ads Max Conversion (target CPA) discovery campaign — CPA goal, daily budget, extra ad group, audience, CPP.
domain: mobile-apps
tags: [user-acquisition, apple-ads, campaign-setup, max-conversion]
related: [apple-ads-campaign-structure, apple-ads-single-keyword-ad-groups, app-break-even-cpi-and-revenue-per-install, apple-ads-attribution-without-mmp]
sources: [yt:q3JuNLUKL1U]
updated: 2026-10-23
---

# How to set up an Apple Ads Max Conversion campaign

## TL;DR
- Search Results placement, one country (US first), bid strategy **Max Conversion** with a **CPA goal of $3–4** if you don't know your numbers yet.[^1][^2]
- Daily budget: Apple recommends ~30× the target CPA; $50/day also works despite Apple's warning.[^3]
- Keep Apple's **automated ad group**, and add your **own ad group** with search match on + a handful of top-traffic keywords.[^4]
- Audience: **new users only**; leave age/gender empty — demographic targeting throttles impressions.[^5]
- Attach a **custom product page (CPP)** to your ad group so its revenue is trackable.[^6]

## Details
Demo from June 2026 (Steve's "green noise" sleep-sound app):[^1]

1. **Create campaign** → choose app → **Search results** → country **United States**.
2. **Name** e.g. `maxcon_US_2026-06` (type, country, launch month).
3. **Bid strategy: Max Conversion.** Enter the CPA goal — your break-even cost per install. Starting point $3–4; Steve used **$3.50** because his app earns ~$5–6 revenue per install and clients break even around $3.[^2]
4. **Daily budget**: Apple suggests ~30× target CPA and shows a warning below that (he typed $100). Apple told App Masters you can start as low as **$50/day**; match Apple's suggestion if you have budget.[^3]
5. **Automated ad group**: Apple's proprietary group — you can't edit it; leave it.[^4]
6. **Add an ad group** (e.g. named after the app) with **search match on** and only the highest-traffic niche keywords — for green noise: "green noise", "green noise free", "green noise for better sleep", "free green noise". Deliberately excluded broader "white noise".[^4]
7. **Audience → Customer type: New users** (choose all users only for branding).[^5]
8. **Demographics: leave blank.** Any age/gender targeting sharply limits impressions because of Apple's privacy constraints.[^5]
9. **Devices**: split iPhone vs iPad only for education apps or if iPad numbers look different.[^5]
10. **Ad**: select a submitted CPP (e.g. named "ASA US") so this ad group's revenue can be attributed.[^6]
11. Create.

This campaign is the "discovery" half of the structure — broad, search-match-driven — paired with exact-match SKAG campaigns.[^7]

## Disagreements / caveats
- The automated ad group can't use a CPP, so roughly half the revenue is unattributable without an MMP (see [[apple-ads-attribution-without-mmp]]).[^6]
- $3–4 is a starting heuristic, not a universal CPA; Steve's own view is that an app that can't survive a ~$3 CPI may not be ready for paid ads.[^2]

## See also
- [[apple-ads-campaign-structure]]
- [[apple-ads-single-keyword-ad-groups]]
- [[app-break-even-cpi-and-revenue-per-install]]

[^1]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 08:11 — Steve P. Young
[^2]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 09:06 — Steve P. Young
[^3]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 09:06 — Steve P. Young
[^4]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 10:15 — Steve P. Young
[^5]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 11:12 — Steve P. Young
[^6]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 12:20 — Steve P. Young
[^7]: yt:q3JuNLUKL1U @ 15:42 — Steve P. Young