Impact of Apple’s Trending Searches on Impressions
by Alexandra De Clerck
CMO at AppTweak
— 4 min read
Recently we studied the top Trending Searches to find out which apps were suggested most often in Apple’s Search Tab in the Trending Searches section. Today we have taken our research one step further and analyzed the impact of the visibility in the Search tab on impressions. Read on to find out!
About Trending Searches
Since the introduction of iOS 13, Apple has been experimenting a lot with the UI of the search tab in the app store. More specifically, in the US, we have seen that Apple has been testing to show either:
- Trending apps or searches
- Suggested apps along with their icon, name and subtitle
- Popular apps and games
Screenshots taken from 3 different iPhones in the US. All iPhones are updated with the latest iOS 13 update and have been taken at the same time.
Today there is still not much information available in regards to how Apple selects the apps that are showcased in the search tab. As a first step, to help us better understand the algorithm, we had a look at the top Trending suggestions from 2019. Read more about our study here.
check out Apple’s Top Trending Keywords of 2019
As Apple is testing how to optimize their UI for user discoverability, we decided to take our research one step further and try to estimate the impact of appearing in the Trending Searches section.
Impact of Trending Searches: +52% Increase in Impressions
We researched the top trending keywords from January to November 2019 and found that the Deezer Music app appeared in the Trending Searches Section for 213 days in Germany.
Next, with the support of Deezer, we were able to compare the Search Ads Impressions for the keyword ‘Deezer’ in Germany and analyze whether or not impressions increased on those days where the app was shown in the Trending Searches.
We found that from January to November 2019, on average the Search Ads impressions on the keyword ‘Deezer’ were 52% higher on the days the app was shown in Apple’s Trending Searches!
The graph below further showcases in a more visible way how impressions peak on those days when the app appears in the Search Tab, stressing the impact the increased visibility has on impressions!
This graph shows a snapshot of how search ads impressions for the keyword ‘Deezer’ fluctuate between days when the app appeared in the Trending Searches versus those days where it does not. The data shown in the graph is for the period September 2019 to November 2019.
These results show that the Search Tab is another great opportunity for ASO marketers to increase their app’s visibility!
Deezer Case Study & Methodology
The team at Deezer provided us with information on the number of impressions the music app receives for the keyword ‘Deezer’ on a daily basis from January 1st 2019, until November 30th 2019 in Germany.
To compare the uplift in impressions for the keyword ‘Deezer’, our data science team first calculated a baseline of impressions on the days the Deezer app appeared in the trending searches section. Then the team compared this baseline with the number of impressions the keyword received on days the app was not trending.
As a result, the team found that, on average, from January 1st 2019 until November 30th 2019, impressions for the keyword ‘Deezer’ were 52% higher on the days where the app appeared in the Trending Searches versus those days it was not.
Discover the Top Trending Keywords
Want to find out if your app or one of your competitors gets featured regularly in the Search Tab? AppTweak’s latest keyword feature shows you the top trending keywords for each country for your chosen date range. Login or Sign up to find out!
