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Search Ads In Google Play Store Go Live Globally

Also announced: "Android first app opens" conversion tracking and impending rollout of Universal App Campaigns.

Ginny Marvin on July 29, 2015 at 1:01 pm

In February, Google began testing ads from app developers in the Google Play store search results. Wednesday, the company announced Search Ads on Google Play are starting to roll out to all advertisers. It is also introducing a new conversion tracking solution to work with third parties, as well as the rollout of a simplified campaign format for app advertisers.

Android app developers running search app install campaigns in AdWords will automatically have ads eligible to show in Play Store search results. Google says “search is one of the biggest drivers of app installs in the Play Store.”

Search Ads on Google Play are triggered by search queries related to the keywords advertisers add to their campaigns. Google also points out, “Keywords for Mobile app install campaigns are optimized for targeting app-specific searches.” In the example above, Booking.com could simply use the keyword “hotel reservations” rather than having to qualify it with “app” in its campaign.

Google will also be rolling out Universal App Campaigns, which was first announced at Google I/O this spring. The simplified campaign type will enable app marketers to promote their apps across Google properties, including Google Play, search, YouTube, AdMob’s app network and sites on the Google Display Network.

Much like the AdWords Express product designed for small businesses, Universal App Campaigns will require minimal setup: an ad, targeting, budget limit and target cost-per-install.

New Conversion Metric: Android First App Opens

Counting Android first app opens brings Google in line with other third-party measurement solutions. It measures when a user opens an app for the first time after clicking on an ad and installing it.

“In addition to providing app conversion tracking across Search, Display and YouTube, this new solution also allows developers to better align the conversion volume they see in AdWords with the data they see in a third-party measurement solution.”

Google says it’s working with app analytics solutions such as Tune, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Adjust and Apaslar to ensure there is measurement consistency between AdWords and other platforms developers are using.

About The Author

Ginny Marvin

Ginny Marvin is Third Door Media's Associate Editor, assisting with the day to day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin writes about paid online marketing topics including paid search, paid social, display and retargeting for Search Engine Land and Marketing Land. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.