Google App Campaigns have long been a cornerstone of advertisers’ marketing technologies. Whether you’re new to mobile app advertising or adapting to industry privacy changes, our overview of Google App Campaigns will be beneficial. Starting with a timeline, let’s explore how Google App Campaigns have evolved and what they offer app marketers today. Discover best practices for successful campaigns and insights into mobile analytics platforms that can significantly enhance your marketing efforts.
A Brief History of Google App Campaigns
- 2015: Launch of Universal App Campaigns (UAC)
Google introduced the Universal App Campaigns (UAC) platform—now known as Google App Campaigns—in 2015. The goal was to provide advertisers with an optimized campaign tool covering all Google AdWords search and YouTube activities.
- 2016: Inclusion of iOS
Initially launched for Android, Google officially introduced UAC for iOS in 2016. From that point, advertisers could optimize campaigns for both Android and iOS. Even today, Google still recommends running separate campaigns for each platform.
- 2017: Integration into Google AdWords
In 2017, Google migrated all app install campaigns into Universal App Campaigns. This new system allowed advertisers to run ads across YouTube, Google Search, and AdMob simultaneously, rather than separately as before.
- 2019: Renaming to Google App Campaigns
To simplify branding, Google renamed Universal App Campaigns to App Campaigns. The name change did not impact any campaign features or functionality.
- 2020-2024: Google’s Shift Towards Privacy
In 2020, Google announced its plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome. Delayed twice, this phase-out is now set for late 2024, marking the end of user tracking across the internet via Chrome.
What Are Google App Campaigns?
When setting up a campaign goal, Google provides three types of campaigns:
-
App Install Campaigns (ACI): The focus of this campaign type is downloads. For ACI, Google adjusts your bids to display ad components based on what will generate the most app downloads. App install ads work on a cost-per-install (CPI) pricing model.
-
App Engagement Campaigns (ACE): The goal of this campaign type is to drive more high-value users to take specific actions within your app. ACE uses a cost-per-action (CPA) pricing model.
-
App Pre-Registration Campaigns (ACpre): This campaign type is available only for Android users and can be used to build awareness for your app before it is released on Google Play.
Tips for Success with Google App Campaigns
While Google’s machine learning algorithm for App Campaigns is impressive, so is the number of other apps competing with yours. Therefore, consider these four insights to optimize your campaign success:
1. Provide a Variety of Assets
The more creative assets you provide, the better Google’s machine learning technology can match your creatives with the right audience for maximum engagement. From different creatives and aspect ratios for static ads to videos of varying lengths and themes, give Google App Campaigns multiple options.
2. Don’t Forget Localization
Did you know that even among highly proficient non-native English speakers, 65% prefer content in their native language? If you’re targeting non-English-speaking countries, take the time to localize your ad content for each region. In fact, Google recommends running separate Google App Campaigns for each targeted region, as language, cultural preferences, and tone may vary.
3. Analyze and Optimize
Tracking your campaign performance is essential. While Google App Campaigns can provide the best ad placements among the assets and data provided, you must still monitor performance and decide when and how to make changes. Which creatives are resonating well and with which audience on which channels? A marketer or app developer’s work never stagnates—it’s a continuous journey to grow the app, requiring constant engagement with campaigns and marketing strategies
4. Implement Opt-In Strategies
Since Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework was introduced, users now have more control over data privacy. When asked whether an app can track them across websites and apps, many users now select “Ask App Not to Track.”
However, as an app marketer, you know that the more users consent to providing user-level data, the higher the level of personalization you can offer throughout their journey. That’s why we recommend using “pre-permission prompts” to educate users on the benefits of opting in before Apple’s tracking permission popup appears. The higher your opt-in rate, the better your campaign performance and overall iOS insights. We suggest building a strong opt-in strategy as the foundation for your successful iOS approach.
A Must-Have for Marketers: Mobile Analytics Platform
A mobile measurement platform like ADSDIGI, which also functions as a comprehensive mobile analytics platform, provides app marketers with a unified overview of their campaign performance by collecting, organizing, and analyzing attribution data. Since most brands advertise across an increasing number of channels and platforms—not just Google—they need a platform like ADSDIGI to enhance their marketing efforts in the following ways:
Get Objective Attribution Data
An analytics platform acts as an independent third-party measurement provider, ensuring accurate and unbiased attribution data for marketers and app developers. This prevents duplication errors that can arise from attribution reports provided by networks like Google.
Protect Your Budget from Fraud
Fraudulent installs from scammers can distort metrics and waste campaign budgets. ADSDIGI is the only mobile analytics platform with a dedicated Fraud Prevention Suite that proactively combats mobile ad fraud through preventative measures. Our solution rejects fraudulent installs before you pay for them. Networks, including Google, do not have the same incentive to provide this data to advertisers.
Create Audiences for Smarter Targeting
Reaching the right audience is key to your app growth strategy. The right users will stay in your app longer, spend more, and have lower churn rates. As you begin working across multiple networks, it’s important to work with ADSDIGI, which allows you to segment target audiences and automatically apply those segments across your portfolio. This not only saves you valuable time but also enables you to create more specific targeting segments for improved reach.
Scale Faster
If you’re looking to grow your app, chances are you’re running multiple campaigns across different platforms and networks. Centralizing campaign and budget management in one place, as you can with our solution, will help you optimize faster for scalable growth.
Stay Updated
Most ADSDIGI users stay ahead of trends in industry changes, improvements, and technological disruptions. Managing your app marketing strategy while keeping up with current industry events can be challenging. Your measurement partner should always stay updated on these industry developments and prepare you for upcoming changes.
At ADSDIGI, we collaborate with industry leaders to provide support and even influence groundbreaking changes. For example, we recently partnered with Google to beta test Privacy Sandbox API for Android. Why? So we can help shape technology for the benefit of both users and our clients while developing next-generation solutions in advance.
Now that you know how to succeed with Google UAC, are you ready to scale your app exponentially? Check out Part 1 of our guide on Growing Your App to 1 Million Users, where we’ll walk you through app store optimization (ASO) and best practices for user acquisition.
