Key updates for advertisers measuring Apple Ads with Kochava
Nearly a decade after launching, Apple Search Ads is getting a name change. As of April 14, 2025, Apple Search Ads officially became Apple Ads. Digital marketers are notoriously loyal to their acronyms, so it remains to be seen how quickly ASA gets retired. AA feels a little… taken. So perhaps, for once, we’ll just say the full name: Apple Ads—clean, simple, and maybe acronym-proof (but we won’t hold our breath).
Apple announced the rebrand in communication to customers, directing them to the new sign-in page for advertisers to manage their accounts moving forward.
While search results ads still make up the majority of ad spend on the App Store, the launch of Search tab, Today tab, and product page ads diversified options for advertisers in recent years. The Apple Ads team cited this evolution as a major catalyst for the name change. The news comes fresh on the heels of Apple’s recent move to integrate Apple Search Ads into Apple’s privacy-preserving measurement framework, SKAdNetwork (SKAN). See related post here.
Apple Search Ads—A Cornerstone for iOS Marketers
Apple Search Ads cemented itself as a strategic cornerstone for iOS app marketers, offering prime real estate to increase app visibility and drive downloads from the 650 million people who visit the App Store each week. Developers were given the opportunity to promote their apps at the exact moment users browse and search for their next download—a highly targeted and effective means for capturing potential customers. Moreover, over the last nine years, an ecosystem of third-party measurement tools, app store optimization (ASO) intelligence, and campaign management platforms has blossomed around Apple Search Ads, providing enhanced tooling that helps marketers gain deeper insights and scale more efficiently.
Measuring Apple Ads With Kochava: Key Updates
Since the launch of Apple Search Ads in 2016, Kochava has supported enhanced mobile measurement and attribution, first via the iAd framework, then via the AdServices framework. While iOS marketers can manage campaigns and view aggregate reporting in the Apple Ads dashboard, Kochava provides valuable advanced measurement, strategies, and automation to organizations investing in Apple Ads.
Benefits of Apple Ads + Kochava
Granular Reporting
Don’t settle for aggregate reporting in Apple Ads Manager. Zoom into conversion-level and keyword-level detail to truly dissect campaign performance across installs & events.
App Event Optimization
Go beyond taps and installs to understand deeper-funnel performance trends. Discover which tactics deliver quality, engaged users and optimize for maximum ROI.
Unified iOS Measurement
Ditch the silos and visualize Apple Ads performance against the backdrop of your larger omnichannel iOS growth strategy across paid & owned media.
If you’re not yet using a mobile measurement partner (MMP) to gain enhanced insights for your Apple Ads campaigns, contact us for a consultation.
If you’re already a Kochava customer and have been measuring Apple Search Ads performance through Kochava, here are important updates and considerations to be aware of with the transition to Apple Ads.
Network Name & ID
Within Kochava, the network name for Apple Search Ads will be updated to Apple Ads on May 14. Apple Ads retains the same network ID (912) formerly assigned to Apple Search Ads. This change will be noticed across Campaign Manager, Partner Configuration, Cost Configuration, and other tools.
Analytics & Reporting
Within Kochava analytics, reports, and Query, you will see Apple Ads in all fields pertaining to network name starting May 14. Historical traffic reports preceding this change will still cite Apple Search Ads.
If you have existing scheduled/recurring reports that use a network filter including Apple Search Ads, it is not necessary to update these reports. Even with the change of network name, the source network ID and record remain unchanged.
Cost Aggregation
If you leverage Kochava Cost to ingest your spend data from Apple Search Ads, expect to see Media Partner filters updated to reference Apple Ads. It is not necessary to reauthenticate your cost configuration.
Data Mapping
If you have data mapping to an internal data warehouse, data lake, customer data platform, or business intelligence tool that relies on the network name Apple Search Ads, please be sure to update your mapping logic to Apple Ads. This ensures continuity in data mapping.
Have questions about the shift from Apple Search Ads to Apple Ads?
If you have additional questions about this transition, please contact your Apple Ads representative. You may also reach out to your Kochava Client Success Manager or email support@kochava.com.
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