Apple Search Ads: 2018/19 CPA and CPT Analysis

Rory Mudie | May 7, 2019

Cost Per Tap (CPT)

The Cost Per Tap (CPT) value is a relatively good indication of the competitiveness of the market. The price that Apple charges the campaign for a tap is based on how relevant the app is for that search and what your nearest competitor is willing to pay.

Therefore, different keywords can have different costs associated with it. For example, the cost of a keyword related to an event external to the App Store (e.g. “cheltenham”) may be more costly during the Cheltenham Festival as more and more advertisers are bidding on it. Conversely, you may see the cost of a keyword come down as you generate downloads from it because Apple recognizes the relevancy of your app.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPT – Overall

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

While the Overall CPT has remained relatively stable between June 2018 and March 2019 (fluctuating between $1.29 and $2.55), we have seen notable variations in the Average CPT for apps in the ‘Games’ category, on the Blackbox platform.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPT – News

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

In particular, December and January were expensive months for gaming apps. This is hardly surprising given the well-reported busyness of the App Store around Christmas with users having more time to search for and engage with new apps.

The monthly Average CPT of Sports and News apps have remained relatively stable over the last 10 months. We saw a slight dip in the Average CPT for Sports apps after the World Cup in June, which would fit with the competitiveness argument.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPT – Sport

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

We have seen the Average CPT rise from November and this is likely to be a result of continued sporting events (e.g. premier league) mixed with one of sporting events (e.g. Cheltenham).

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPA – Overall

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

In Apple Search Ads, the Average Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) refers to the average amount a campaign has paid for an install. Often, the Average CPA is defined as the total spend divided by total conversions. However, it is useful to express the Average CPA as the Average CPT divided by the Conversion Rate; this is helpful since it highlights the two variables that can explain why a CPA may be low, high or fluctuating.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPA – News

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

Like the Monthly CPT, the Overall CPA has remained relatively stable. The cheap Monthly CPT and Monthly CPA in July and August were a result of the reduced budgets of betting apps following the high spend in June. We see both the Average CPT and CPA increase from September as budgets increased.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPA – Games

Source: REDBOX Mobile PLC

The Games Monthly CPA almost mirrors the Games Monthly CPT trend from June through to March. The relatively stable Monthly Conversion Rates suggests that the increase we Average CPA we saw in December and January was the result of seasonal competitiveness. This is further supported by the drop in the Monthly Average CPT and Monthly Average CPA in February and March.

Apple Search Ads Monthly CPA – Sport