As part of our ongoing effort to improve app promotion features in AdWords, we are making some changes to
mobile app install ads (also known as click-to-download ads) on the Search Network. Starting July 1, 2015, we will support the creation of app install ads for the Search Network only in the
Search Network only - Mobile app installs campaign type. In addition, app install ads created for the Search Network outside of this campaign type will stop running in July 2015. This includes any app install ads running together with website text ads in a
Search Network only - All features campaign.
If you are a developer who manages app install ads for the Search Network using the AdWords API, you need to perform the following changes on your end:
- When creating new app install ads for the Search Network, make sure you create them only within Search Network only - Mobile app installs campaigns. These campaigns have their advertisingChannelType set to
SEARCH and advertisingChannelSubType property set to SEARCH_MOBILE_APP.
- If you have app install ads in your regular search campaigns, you need to move them to a Search Network only - Mobile app installs campaign. This may be done as follows:
- Retrieve your Search campaigns containing app install ads.
- For each campaign, create a new campaign with similar settings (such as location targeting, device targeting, ad delivery, etc.) with the advertisingChannelSubType changed to
SEARCH_MOBILE_APP.
- Mirror over your ad groups in the old campaign to the new campaign.
- Mirror over your app install ads from the first campaign to the second campaign, in the corresponding ad groups.
- Run an ad performance report to see how much you’ve spent on app install ads during the last month. Update your campaign budgets as follows:
- new_campaign_daily_budget = app_install_cost / 30
- old_campaign_daily_budget = old_campaign_daily_budget - new_campaign_daily_budget
- [Optional] Delete or pause app install ads in the old campaign.
See our
Help Center guide for more details.
To ensure uninterrupted serving of app install ads on the Search Network, make sure you move them to a
Search Network only - Mobile App installs campaign before July 1, 2015.
If you have any further questions about this change, let us know via our
forum or
Google+ page.
Anash P. Oommen, AdWords API Team
