Apple Search Ads Expert to Launch & Scale iOS App

We are looking for an experienced Apple Search Ads (ASA) specialist to help us launch and manage paid user acquisition for a new iOS app.

The app is currently under development, so we need someone who can handle the process from scratch — including planning, account/campaign setup, keyword research, tracking/attribution requirements, launch, optimization and scaling.

This is NOT a role for a general digital marketer who has only basic exposure to Apple Search Ads. We are specifically looking for someone with proven hands-on experience running Apple Search Ads campaigns for mobile apps.

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO:

1. PRE-LAUNCH STRATEGY

• Understand our app, target audience, monetization model and acquisition goals

• Review our App Store positioning and identify any issues that could affect paid acquisition

• Define the initial Apple Search Ads strategy

• Recommend the right campaign structure, targeting, budgets and bidding approach

• Identify everything that needs to be ready before we spend money

2. APPLE SEARCH ADS SETUP

Set up the account/campaign structure from scratch, including where relevant:

• Brand campaigns

• Generic/non-brand campaigns

• Competitor campaigns

• Discovery campaigns

• Exact and broad match keywords

• Negative keywords

• Geographic targeting

• Budgets and bids

• Campaign and ad group organization

We want a clean, scalable structure rather than simply putting all keywords into one campaign.

3. KEYWORD RESEARCH

• Conduct thorough keyword research

• Identify high-intent and commercially relevant keywords

• Analyze search volume, competition and relevance

• Build the initial keyword list

• Develop a negative keyword strategy

• Identify opportunities for keyword expansion based on actual campaign data

4. TRACKING & ATTRIBUTION

This is extremely important.

We need someone who understands mobile app attribution and post-install measurement, not just impressions, taps and installs.

You should be comfortable working with Apple Search Ads attribution and mobile measurement/analytics platforms and should be able to clearly explain:

• What needs to be implemented before launch

• How installs should be measured

• How post-install events should be tracked

• How to evaluate user quality

• How to measure CAC/CPA where applicable

• How to measure ROAS/LTV where applicable

• How to troubleshoot attribution discrepancies

You will work with our development/product team where technical implementation is required.

5. LAUNCH & OPTIMIZATION

After setup, you will launch and actively manage the campaigns.

Responsibilities will include:

• Bid optimization

• Budget allocation

• Search term analysis

• Keyword harvesting

• Negative keyword expansion

• Scaling winning keywords

• Pausing inefficient keywords

• Testing new keyword groups

• Campaign restructuring when necessary

• Identifying wasted spend

• Improving CPI/CAC and conversion rate

• Scaling campaigns while maintaining efficiency

6. REPORTING

We want actionable reporting rather than a simple dashboard or list of numbers.

Reports should cover:

• Spend

• Impressions

• Taps

• TTR

• Installs

• Conversion rate

• CPI

• Keyword-level performance

• Campaign-level performance

• Post-install performance

• CAC/CPA where applicable

• ROAS/LTV where applicable

Most importantly, we want to understand:

WHAT happened → WHY it happened → WHAT you changed → WHAT happened afterward → WHAT you recommend next.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Proven hands-on Apple Search Ads experience

• Experience launching iOS apps from scratch

• Strong understanding of ASO and App Store search

• Strong keyword research skills

• Strong understanding of mobile attribution and analytics

• Experience optimizing and scaling app acquisition campaigns

• Ability to work independently

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

• Ability to communicate clearly with developers/product teams

PLEASE DO NOT APPLY IF:

• You are primarily a Meta Ads or Google Ads specialist

• You have only basic exposure to Apple Search Ads

• You have only managed existing ASA campaigns with no experience setting them up from scratch

• Your experience is limited to ASO without paid acquisition

• You cannot provide examples of Apple Search Ads campaigns you have personally managed

APPLICATION REQUIREMENT:

Please start your proposal with:

"ASA EXPERIENCE: [X years] | APPS LAUNCHED: [X] | LARGEST MONTHLY SPEND: [$X]"

Then answer the following:

1. Tell us about the most recent iOS app for which you personally managed Apple Search Ads. What was the monthly spend, target country, CPI/CAC and result?

2. If you were given a completely new iOS app with no previous Apple Search Ads history, what would you do before spending the first $1?

3. How would you structure the first 30 days of Apple Search Ads campaigns? Explain your approach to Brand, Generic, Competitor and Discovery campaigns.

4. If we spent $1,000 and received plenty of impressions but very few installs, how would you diagnose the problem?

5. If you found a keyword generating profitable installs, how would you scale it without unnecessarily increasing CPI/CAC?

Please provide specific examples from campaigns you have personally managed. Generic proposals will not be considered.

The initial engagement will focus on setup, launch and early optimization, with the possibility of ongoing management if the collaboration is successful.