Review Apple Ads search terms and post-install results
Start with search terms that gained taps without gaining installs. Review Apple Ads in Neuro, then compare post-install quality if you also have AppsFlyer connected.
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Apple Ads now connects to your Neuro workspace too
Campaign averages can hide which Apple Ads search terms are spending more. Separate searches for your brand from non-brand queries, then check whether more taps also produced more installs.
Connect Apple Ads to Neuro to inspect campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and search terms. For purchases or return visits after installation, check the same period in a connected source such as AppsFlyer. Install volume and customer value answer different questions.
How to connect: sign in with Apple and pick an account
- In Data sources in your Neuro workspace, select Apple Ads.
- Click Sign in with Apple to open the Apple authentication window.
- In the Apple window, choose the access you want to grant Neuro. If you only need to view and analyze performance, start with read‑only. If you plan to hand off creation and edits, choose read and write access.
- Once you've authenticated, Neuro lists the Apple Ads accounts you have access to.
- Select the one account this workspace will manage to finish the connection.
What you can check right after connecting
Confirm the account currency and time zone first. Then find campaigns with changes in spend and installs, and inspect the keywords and search terms behind those results.
| Business question | How Neuro reads it | What to watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Which campaigns drove installs in the last 30 days? | Pull a campaign‑level report to compare impressions, taps, spend, installs, TTR, and CR. | Apple Ads reads more naturally through the tap‑and‑install funnel than through clicks. |
| Which ad groups have shaky performance? | Look at ad group–level reports alongside the campaign structure. | Ad groups can mix settings like audience type, device, region, and Search Match. |
| Which keywords are eating budget? | Pull keyword or ad group keyword–level reports for spend, taps, installs, and conversion rate. | Instead of dumping every keyword in the account at once, review them campaign by campaign and ad group by ad group. |
| Are there search terms worth excluding? | Use the search term report to see each query's spend and install contribution. | Read search term reports inside the campaign or ad group path so you can trace the root cause correctly. |
Start with a search-term review
Check one search term with a large spend increase against the original dashboard. Few installs are not enough to justify a pause without looking at volume and observation time. If AppsFlyer differs, check attribution and reporting dates first.
Read Apple Ads numbers as an app install funnel
Apple Ads covers how users discover and install apps inside the App Store. So read metrics like TTR, CR, installs, and CPT together with your product page, ASO, Custom Product Pages, and in‑app events.
- If TTR is low, start with the app icon, name, screenshots, and the impression context at the moment of search.
- If CR is low, check the product page, ratings, screenshots, and CPP relevance after the tap.
- Keyword and search term reports answer different questions — separate problems with the keywords you've added from problems with the queries actually coming in.
- Apple Ads alone can't explain post‑install subscriptions, purchases, and retention. You need to read them alongside an MMP like AppsFlyer or your own in‑app event data.
- When you compare against other channels, make sure every answer states the same period, country, currency, and attribution window.
A good question isn't "How's Apple Ads doing?" It's closer to "For the same period and country, where is the funnel breaking between search terms and product page conversion for campaigns with declining installs?" The tighter you frame it, the more directly you can act on the answer.
Make operational changes only after review
Once you have chosen a change, refresh the current bid and status. The connection and ad operations mode must allow the action. Check whether you are using default approvals or automatic execution before requesting it.
| Operational task | How it works in Neuro | How to request it safely |
|---|---|---|
| Pause campaigns or ad groups | Confirms the target IDs and current status, then runs a change proposal to set them to Paused after approval. | Before it runs, ask to see a table of target name, ID, current status, and new status. |
| Keyword maintenance | Separates low‑performing search terms and keyword candidates, then drafts add and negative change proposals. | Clarify the roles of Search Match vs. exact and broad match first, then request the change proposal. |
| Bid and budget changes | Confirms account currency and campaign settings, then compares before‑and‑after values. | Verify every amount field matches the Apple Ads account currency first. |
| Deletions | Confirms the list of IDs to delete, then deletes them after approval. | Deletions are hard to undo, so consider whether pausing is enough before you delete. |
Sources
- Apple Ads: Ads on the App Store
Official site confirming that Apple Ads drives app downloads within the App Store and offers campaign management and attribution.
- Apple Ads Help: Campaign Management API
Official docs confirming that the Campaign Management API handles campaign, ad group, and keyword management, reporting, data collection, and cross‑channel operations.
- Apple Developer Documentation: Apple Ads
Official docs covering the scope of campaigns, ad groups, keywords, and audience refinement in Apple Ads Campaign Management API 5.
- Apple Developer Documentation: Implementing OAuth for the Apple Ads API
Official docs confirming that the Apple Ads API supports OAuth 2 and uses access tokens for authenticated calls.
- Apple Developer Documentation: Reports
Official docs confirming that you can pull campaign, ad group, targeting keyword, search term, and creative set reports.
- Apple Developer Documentation: Apple Ads Campaign Management API 5
Official docs for the Apple Ads API v5 that Neuro currently targets, including its scheduled deprecation date of January 26, 2027.
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