Brand Campaign (Apple Search Ads)
A Brand campaign is an Apple Search Ads campaign that bids Exact Match on your own app and company name terms, defending them from competitors at the lowest cost per tap of any campaign type.
Users who search your app's name already intend to find it. A Brand campaign exists mainly to stop a competitor from buying that search and appearing above your organic listing, not to generate new demand.
Because the searcher already wants your app, tap-through and conversion rates on brand terms run far above category averages, and the cost per tap is typically the cheapest in the account. Most guidance treats a brand campaign as close to mandatory once competitors start bidding on category or competitor terms.
Brand campaigns say nothing about organic keyword research on their own. Their value here is defensive: they keep a competitor's ad from sitting above your result when someone searches for you by name.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a Brand campaign if no one is bidding on my name?
- It's lower priority, but names can be bid on without warning once a competitor launches a conquesting campaign. Many teams keep a low-budget Brand campaign running as insurance rather than reacting after the fact.
- Does a Brand campaign help organic keyword ranking?
- Not directly. It's a paid defensive placement for a search intent you already own organically in most cases. Its job is protecting that placement, not expanding your organic keyword footprint.
Related terms
- Category Campaign (Apple Search Ads)A Category campaign is an Apple Search Ads campaign that bids Exact Match on the non-branded genre terms describing what your app does, aimed at users actively searching for that type of app.
- Branded vs. Non-Branded KeywordsBranded keywords include an app or company name; non-branded keywords describe a problem or category without naming a specific product — the distinction matters for measuring organic discovery versus brand recall.
- Apple Search AdsApple Search Ads is Apple's paid advertising platform for the App Store, allowing developers to bid on keywords to display their app at the top of search results.
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Put this into practice
Score App Store keywords by popularity and difficulty across 109 storefronts — the numbers behind brand campaign (apple search ads).
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