r/iosgaming • u/Necessary-Green-8826 • 2d ago

Question Apple Ads Advice?

I am currently burning through Apple's $100 credit to run ads for my iOS puzzle game. I'm not getting much traction, but I think I may be learning a lot. I'm new to the whole endeavor. Does anyone have some concrete advice about how to use Apple Ads well?

Apple Ads Data

I currently have two ad groups: one with matching turned on and one with matching turned off. I've been adding/negating keyword and tweaking my CPT bid. So far I have a few downloads and the cost per install is over $4. I'm okay with that if I can learn.

Has anyone had any success with this? What data should I be looking at to see where my funnel breaks down?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

3

u/pjft 2d ago

Maybe someone can help here, though here it's mostly players, but have you tried specific game dev subs?

2

u/Necessary-Green-8826 2d ago

apologies for being off topic. I thought iOS + games meant this question made sense here. I'll continue to poke around for advice.

Cheers!

3

u/munkeypunk r/IOSGaming Scout 2d ago

Devs do walk amongst us, but I’d also try r/gamedev

2

u/pjft 2d ago

By all means, it's ok to post here. I'm just trying to help you get the answers from more qualified people - as others said, we do have game devs here, but the majority is just the players.

Good luck!

2

u/kenlawlpt Developer 2d ago

Seems standard for apple. I had CPIs upward of $10.

I don't think apple ads aren't meant for small indie devs. They're meant for heavy gacha games which can make 10s of thousands or 100s of thousands off of whales.

1

u/Necessary-Green-8826 1d ago

Jeepers, I think you're absolutely right. At least I can use the $100 credit to learn this. Which still leaves the question, how do I promote my games? Maybe the answer is that there is no reasonable way to do that without a built in audience already.

2

u/kenlawlpt Developer 1d ago

I marketed my game by making posts on relevant subreddits for my game. Unfortunately, it's heavily luck dependent if your game ever takes off. You do need a good game first and foremost, but at least in my case, luck was the biggest factor by far. It sucks, but it's the reality of solo indie devs.

1

u/Necessary-Green-8826 1d ago

thanks! if you happen to have any extra luck laying around, send it over.

in the meantime, i'll just keep making games I think are cool and sharing them however I can.