In this article, Eminence’s digital experts take a closer look at Universal Application Campaigns (UAC), so that you can make the most of your app ads on different iOS and Android operating systems and generate traffic.
The definition of UAC:
Universal App Campaigns are an automated ad type in Google Ads launched two years ago by Google. They are specialized campaigns that promote applications and are available on Google Ads. This type of ad helps advertisers to generate more app installs and drive in-app traffic. UAC is a type of ad campaign that allows you to advertise on Google’s largest ad networks, including Google Search, Google Display, YouTube, and the Google Play Store, while managing ads in the Google Ads platform.
The Pros of using UAC:
One of the advantages of using UAC campaigns is that they send Internet users directly back to the download platforms in order to convert them as quickly as possible. According to Google, this solution brings +140% conversions, in comparison to other application promotion tools.
We recommend UAC because it allows you to get relevant leads on a multitude of platforms and therefore, these ad campaigns reach a broader audience. Furthermore, app download rates are often very high for this type of campaign.
The Cons of using UAC:
- Limited control over targeting
- No optimization of your application’s images possible
How to set up UAC campaigns?
- Sign in to your Google Ads account and click on the blue “+” button
- Click on “New Campaign” and select “Application Promotion” as your campaign type
- Then choose the type of device (IOS or Android) on which you want to display ads
- Add the name of your campaign, images, videos and text ideas (you can write up to 5 texts and Google Ads will choose the one it considers will perform best)
- After adding your text, images and other elements, you can set the locations and languages you wish to target with your UAC ad
- Next you will set the campaign objective, budget and auction type
- Lastly, set a launch date and confirm your campaign details
Google AdWords offers three different optimization options for UAC
- Prioritize the increase in the number of app installations rather than app downloads. This will allow you to get the maximum number of news users, optimize your bidding and targeting. Moreover, the bidding strategy that you define should correspond to the average amount you plan to invest each time a user installs your application. Google Ads has also introduced another, more advanced option that allows you to target users who are likely to install your application.
- Focus on In-App actions is another one of the optimizations available for UAC. This is if you want your ads to reach users who are most likely to take action and track key actions such as conversion events. Google Ads will highlight the users most likely to perform the actions you have defined in the application. To do this, set a CPA that corresponds to the average amount you want to spend each time a user completes the action in your application.
- Generate value is the third type of optimization for UAC that will primarily target users who will have the highest “life time value”. For this, you need to define the bid corresponding to the average conversion value you want to get for a specific amount and time period. This is what is also known as a “Return on Ad Spend Target” or ROAS target.
How do you define the cost of Universal App campaigns?
When it comes to the bidding strategy for UAC, you have to reason in cost per installation, i.e., CPA or cost per acquisition.
You will need to estimate the cost you are willing to invest for each installation. You will then need to multiply this by the number of installations you expect.
For example, if you have 10 new users per day for an installation cost of €2.50, your daily budget will be €25 (10 x €2.50 = €25).
To optimize your costs, you have two options:
- Prioritize the number of app installations. Meaning that the bidding and targeting will be adapted by Google Ads to reach a volume target.
- Encourage the use of the application. In this case, Google Ads will focus on the quality of the profiles targeted, even if it means raising the bid slightly.
Segment iOS and Android campaign budgets based on their performance
It is important to note that iOS campaigns usually have a higher installation cost than Android campaigns.
If you have specific objectives for your campaigns, we recommend you to segment your campaign budgets based on performance. For example, if your target CPA is 2 CHF and you find that Android campaigns are more effective at 1.50 CHF while iOS campaigns are more than 5 CHF, you can allocate a larger budget to Android campaigns due to a lower CPI (cost per installation) with a smaller budget, and set a higher CPI target for iOS.
Target users who are most willing to take actions in the application
When you are setting up your campaign, you have to make a choice between targeting “all users” or “users who are likely to perform an In-App action”. We recommend you to choose the second option so that you have qualitative installations of your application, i.e. users who will actually use it. If you select “all users” your CTA may increase, however your overall volume of installations may decrease.
It is therefore important to monitor your performance and make the necessary adjustments to your UAC ads so– that you can control your budget and achieve your objectives.
Create an effective campaign with clear, compelling elements and content
An effective UAC campaign must essentially have good quality content to perform on Google.
Furthermore