Currently, there is a single ad spot at the top of search results in the App Store. For example, if you search for “Facebook,” you might see an ad at the top of the results for TikTok. This is because TikTok is targeting specific search terms and has won the auction for that placement.
A second app ‘winning search results’ in an app store is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard. Like ordering something in a restaurant and always being offered something else instead.
The auction part is the best though, because you can now have it done by AI…run by the ad company. So competing companies both buy the ad companies’ AI to battle to win the auction for the ad companies’ space. They’re dipping at both ends and in the middle, which is a nice place to be
The “auction” is not a realtime auction that you might be used to IRL or anything, and these brands likely have AI already doing that. They likely have certain bid strategies and ad budgets. So they may be willing to pay up to $X to be in that spot for a user with demographic/behavior profile A and pay up to $Y for a user with profile B then the have an overall budget for that ad spot of $Q per day. All of those parameters are likely set by a specialized AI that monitors bid strategy over time. The AI might see that users with profile B download the app via the ad more often so they will spend more to capture that audience. It’s possible companies have their own internal strategies, but most ad platforms have at least some of that analysis built in and will regularly offer recommendations based on the data and have had that available for years.
A second app ‘winning search results’ in an app store is the stupidest fucking thing I have ever heard. Like ordering something in a restaurant and always being offered something else instead.
“I’ll have the onion soup.”
“Would you like Campbell’s tomato soup?”
Every single time.
The auction part is the best though, because you can now have it done by AI…run by the ad company. So competing companies both buy the ad companies’ AI to battle to win the auction for the ad companies’ space. They’re dipping at both ends and in the middle, which is a nice place to be
The “auction” is not a realtime auction that you might be used to IRL or anything, and these brands likely have AI already doing that. They likely have certain bid strategies and ad budgets. So they may be willing to pay up to $X to be in that spot for a user with demographic/behavior profile A and pay up to $Y for a user with profile B then the have an overall budget for that ad spot of $Q per day. All of those parameters are likely set by a specialized AI that monitors bid strategy over time. The AI might see that users with profile B download the app via the ad more often so they will spend more to capture that audience. It’s possible companies have their own internal strategies, but most ad platforms have at least some of that analysis built in and will regularly offer recommendations based on the data and have had that available for years.
“Is Pepsi okay?”
Restaurants offering a substitution because they don’t have something isn’t really comparable.
This is more like being offered something other than what you ordered off the menu every single time even though they have what you ordered.
I imagined it as being offered in place of the onion soup from your comment.
“I’ll have the onion soup.”
“Is Pepsi okay?”
“Uh no. Can I get the clam chowder?”
“Is Pepsi okay?”
“What? No, no Pepsi. I’ll just have a French dip with au jus.”
“Is Pepsi okay?”