The Blueprint for Successful Shopify App Store Ads

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Hey there, Oyku here!

Welcome back to another issue of Scaling Apps!

Shopify App Store Ads are one of the earliest channels you’d like to integrate when advertising to merchants looking for solutions. Whether you’re a newbie advertiser, just starting to learn more about Shopify Ads, or a seasoned one, looking for ways to scale your Shopify ad campaigns, you’ll find tips in this issue.

Let’s dive in!

How Shopify App Store Ads Work

Before diving into the strategies, here’s a quick refresher on how Shopify App Store Ads operate:

Advertisers bid on specific keywords (KWs) to show their ads to merchants searching those keywords.

When a merchant searches for a keyword you’ve bid on, an auction occurs among all participating apps/ advertisers. The highest bidder wins the auction and gets their ad displayed to the merchant. Advertisers pay for clicks and how much they will pay might be affected by the relevancy of the keywords.

How to Find Keywords

When choosing keywords, it’s essential to think like your customers. Consider what words they might use to search for your app or the features it provides. Here are some strategies:

Google Analytics Tracking ID: If you have this set up in your app listing, you can already see which keywords bring traffic to your app. Check here.
Autocomplete Feature: Use the Shopify App Store’s autocomplete feature to find popular search terms related to your keywords. You can apply the same approach on Google or other search engines.

Keyword Tools: Utilize free tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEO tools like Ahrefs to find effective keywords.
Broad Match Campaigns: Use broad match campaigns to research and identify new keywords that you might not have initially considered. I’ll explain more in the campaign strategy.

How to Set Up a Campaign Strategy

Setting up a campaign strategy involves several steps to ensure you target the right audience and get the best return on your investment.

Here’s a step-by-step approach I adopt:

Start with Campaign 1: Exact Match
- Target the most relevant keywords (KW) to your business using exact matching.
Move to Campaign 2: Broad Match
- Create another campaign with similar KWs of Campaign 1, but use a broad match. This helps in researching and discovering new keywords. Monitor these broad match campaigns closely in “Search Terms”, and add effective KWs to Campaign 1 or start new campaigns based on your findings.
Implement Campaign 3: Exact Match
- Focus on less relevant keywords with an exact match. You can create a broad match for this campaign and repeat the process of Campaigns 1 and 2 to discover more KWs.
Try Campaign 4: Competitors
- Focus on competitors. This can be expensive, but experimenting with your closest competitors can yield valuable results. Don’t forget to add your brand name—it won’t be costly due to the high relevancy.
Expand with Campaign 5: Category & Homepage Ads
- Reach a broader audience by trying Category Ads or Homepage Ads. This way, you’ll reach a broader audience. Category Ads might bring better results due to the higher relevancy.

Bonus: Use Google Search Ads

You can run tests on Google and apply a similar strategy. Search ads will positively impact your ads on Shopify as well. However, please note that Shopify, being a trademarked name, cannot be used in advertisements, and the budget for these ads might be higher. I will explore this topic further in upcoming issues.

Quick Tips:

Irrelevant keywords (KWs) can lead to higher bid costs.
High-demand keywords and categories tend to be more expensive.
Test campaigns with both Exact and Broad Match keywords. Broad Match keywords are generally less expensive but require close monitoring.
Experiment with targeting different countries and localized versions of your ads.

How Much Money Should I Spend?

Determining your budget can be challenging, especially in the beginning. Here are some tips:

Learning Curve: Expect a learning curve, and start with a modest budget until you understand what works.
CAC and ROAS: Keep an eye on Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). These metrics will help you measure the effectiveness of your spending and adjust accordingly.

How to Optimize Ads

Optimizing your ads is crucial for maintaining performance and achieving your goals. Here are some tips:

Regular Monitoring: Use the Partner Dashboard to track performance and make data-driven decisions. Keep a close watch on your ad performance and make adjustments as needed. For new campaigns, check daily; for ads running consistently, perform a quick review every three days and conduct an in-depth analysis every two weeks.
Keyword Adjustments: Continuously refine your keyword list based on performance data. You can play with bids and check if your visibility changes. Adding negative keywords to campaigns will prevent unnecessary spending.

Pro Tips from Michael

Know your metrics

Understand your LTV and what you’re willing to pay for CAC. Do not overspend.

Stay in the game

The more time you run Shopify Ads, the better data you’ll have to optimize and see the true ROI of the ads. Start your bids lower than you think you should, and bid for less expensive keywords that are tangential to your app’s main keywords.

Broad vs specific match

When you launch a new ad, pay very close attention to merchant search terms vs broad match keywords. If you’re paying too much for search terms that aren’t driving uninstalls, add negative keywords (specific match)

Follow Michael Hall on LinkedIn or X for more tips.

Bonus Tip:

Kunal suggests using Shopify ads to optimize your app store listing and improve your search rankings by analyzing the most popular KWs: