Solved: Search Ads vs. App Campaign - Best Approach?

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and a bit of guidance on how to go about promoting your new app. It's a common situation to be in, the advertising platforms can be a proper maze when you're just starting out, so don't worry about the confusion you've had so far.

I'll walk you through my thinking on what your best approach might be, based on what you've told me and my experience with similar campaigns. We've worked with a fair few software and app companies, so I've seen what tends to work and what doesn't.

First off, let's look at your options...

You mentioned you're looking to test the market with a low spend, which is a sensible way to start. Before we even get to paid ads, it's worth considering some organic channels to get your first batch of users and some valuable feedback. You could look at listing your app on directories like Betalist, Product Hunt, or Indie Hackers. These places are full of early adopters who love trying new things. It won't cost you anything but time, and it can be a great way to gauge initial reactions without spending a penny on ads. You might even find some tech blogs or journalists are interested in covering a new app launch if you reach out to them.

But, organic takes time and effort, and the results can be unpredictable. For faster, more measurable results, and to really understand the market demand in a controlled way, paid advertising is the way to go. It gives you direct access to potential users and provides data almost immediately, which is exactly what you need for a market test. This is where you can really scale things up once you find what works.

You'll need to decide on the right ad platform...

This brings us to your main question: Search vs. App campaigns. You're right in your assumptions about them. It's a classic case of choosing between precision and reach.

Google Search Ads are all about intent. You're targeting people who are actively typing specific keywords into Google, looking for a solution to a problem. If your app solves a specific need that people search for (e.g., "best budget tracker app for android" or "local hiking trails app uk"), then search ads are absolutley the best place to start. You get a lot of control over who sees your ad, right down to the exact phrases they use. This usually means the traffic is higher quality, as they're already looking for what you offer.

Google App Campaigns are a different beast. They're designed to maximise installs or in-app actions by using Google's machine learning. They show your ads across Google's entire network – that includes Google Search, but also the Google Play Store, YouTube, Gmail, and the Display Network (ads on websites and in other apps). You give Google your app details, some ad copy ideas, a budget, and a target cost-per-install (CPI), and its algorithm goes out to find users. It's much less hands-on and has massive reach, but you lose that granular control over keywords. For a market test where you want to target very specific searchers, this is probably not the right tool for the job just yet. It's something to consider later when you want to scale up.

Given your goal to target specific keywords in the UK on Android, I'd definately recommend you start with a Google Search campaign. You'll also see Apple Search ads mentioned, which are brilliant for getting in front of iOS users searching the App Store, but since you're Android-only for now, we'll park that idea for the future.

I'd say you need a solid campaign structure...

Getting the setup right is where a lot of people go wrong. The fact you were having issues with location and OS targeting is a classic sign of the platform's sometimes confusing interface. Let me be clear: you can 100% restrict ads to the UK and to only show on Android devices. This is a basic, fundamental feature. If it was giving you errors, it was almost certainly because another part of the campaign setup was incomplete or there was a conflict somewhere. It's a common frustration.

When you create your search campaign, the key is to choose the right goal. You'll want to select "App promotion" as your campaign objective, and then "App installs". This will then prompt you to find your app in the Google Play Store. Once you've linked your app, Google knows what to do and will create ads that link directly to your download page. This is called an "App install ad" and it's exactly what you need. It often shows your app's icon, rating, and a direct install button right in the search results.

Next up is keywords. Since you're on a test budget, you need to be ruthless here. Don't go for broad, generic terms. Think very carefully about the exact problem your app solves. What would someone who is frustrated with that problem actually type into Google? For instance, if your app helps people manage shared house bills, you'd want to target keywords like "app to split bills with flatmates" or "shared house expense tracker uk", not just "money app". You want to capture the person at the very moment they need you. Start with a small, highly relevant list of 10-15 keywords using phrase and exact match to begin with, to avoid wasting money on irrelevant searches.

You probably should set realistic expectations for cost...

Now, lets talk about bidding. You mentioned you'd rather pay per impression (CPM) than per click (CPC). I understand the logic – it feels safer. But for your goal, it's actually the wrong approach and would be a poor use of your budget. With CPM, you're paying just for your ad to be seen. But a view doesn't mean interest. Thousands of people could see it and scroll right past, and you'd have paid for all of them. It's like paying for flyers that everyone immediately throws in the bin.

With a CPC (Cost-Per-Click) or CPA (Cost-Per-Action, in this case an install) model, you only pay when someone is interested enough to actually tap on your ad. It's a much more efficient way to spend a limited budget because every penny is going towards a potential user, not just a fleeting glance. Google's systems are also optimised for this; they're designed to find people who are most likely to click or install, so you're working with the platform, not against it.

So, what should you expect to pay? This is the big question. Based on our experience, costs can vary widely. For a consumer app in a developed country like the UK, a cost per install could be anywhere from £1.50 to £15. It really depends on the competition and the niche. I remember one software client we worked with, where we acquired 3,543 users at £0.96 cost per user using Google Ads. These results are possible with heavy optimisation and a strong product, but for a brand new campaign, it's safer to budget towards the middle or higher end of that range to start. If you're seeing installs for around £5-£8 at first, that's not unusual while the campaign is learning.

We'll need to look at how to optimise things...

The most important thing to remember is that your first campaign is a data-gathering exercise. You're not looking for immediate perfection; you're looking for information. The real work begins after you launch.

The first thing is to constantly check your Search Terms Report. This shows you the actual search queries that triggered your ads. You'll quickly find irrelevant ones. For example, if your app is for budgeting, you might find your ad showing for "jobs in budgeting". You'd then add "jobs" as a negative keyword to stop your ad showing for that search again. This is probably the single most important task for managing a new search campaign budget effectively.

You also need to be testing. I’d always split test different ad copy. Write two or three different headlines and descriptions. One might focus on a key feature, another on saving time or money. Let them run against each other and see which one gets a better click-through rate (CTR) and a lower cost per install. The platform will automatically start favouring the winner, but you need to feed it options to test. This continuous process of testing and refining is what gets those costs down over time.

This is the main advice I have for you:

As you can see, there's a fair bit to it. While you can definately learn this all yourself, there is a steep learning curve and it's easy to make costly mistakes, especially when you're just trying to test an idea. Every pound wasted on the wrong click is a pound you can't spend on finding a real potential customer.

This is where getting some expert help can make a huge difference, ensuring your test budget is spent as effectively as possible to get you the clear answers you need about your market. We can help take the guesswork out of the setup and optimisation, and apply our experience to get you reliable data, faster.

I hope this detailed breakdown has been helpful for you. If you'd like to go over this in more detail and have a look at your account together to see how we might be able to help, feel free to book in a free consultation.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh