Apple Search Ads Campaign Structure: Match Types and Search Match Explained

Updated Oct 10, 2026

On this page (7 sections)

1. Quick answer
2. The four common campaign types
3. Exact vs broad match
4. Search Match for discovery
5. Promoting search terms to exact match
6. Negative keywords to stop overlap
7. FAQ

Apple recommends structuring Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) search results campaigns into four types: brand, category, competitor and discovery. The first three use exact match keywords with Search Match off. Discovery uses broad match and Search Match to find new terms, with your existing keywords added as exact match negatives. Winning search terms then get promoted to exact match.

Quick answer

1. Brand: your app name, exact match, Search Match off.
2. Category: terms describing what your app does, exact match, Search Match off.
3. Competitor: other apps' names in your space, exact match, Search Match off (check relevance and trademarks).
4. Discovery: two ad groups, one with broad match versions of your keywords and one with Search Match on and no keywords. Add all exact keywords from campaigns 1 to 3 as exact match negatives.
5. Every week or two: move winning search terms from Discovery into the right exact campaign, and add them as negatives in Discovery.

Source: Apple: Campaign structure best practices.

The four common campaign types

Separate campaigns let you set budgets per intent. If you prefer to manage regions or budgets together, Apple notes you can use the same split at the ad group level inside one campaign. (Apple)

Brand campaigns raise their own questions; see brand defense and cannibalization.

Exact vs broad match

Exact or broad match: which should I use?

Use both, in separate ad groups. Exact match gives you tight control over which searches show your ad, usually with higher tap-through and conversion rates, so it should carry most of your traffic. Broad match reaches related searches you hadn't thought of, which makes it a discovery tool. Bid more on exact and less on broad.

How Apple defines them (Understand match types):

• Exact match matches the specific term and close variants, which can include spelling variations, rearranged words and translations. You'll see fewer impressions than broad, but they're more relevant. Add brackets to enter a keyword as exact: [keyword].
• Broad match matches a wider pool of related searches, including synonyms and related phrases.

Apple's bidding guidance: apply more aggressive bids to exact match, more moderate bids to broad match and Search Match, get most of your traffic from exact match, and keep broad and exact in separate ad groups or campaigns. (Apple: Manual bidding) See our bid optimization guide for how to set those bids.

Search Match for discovery

What is Search Match in Apple Ads?

Search Match is an Apple Ads setting that automatically matches your ad to relevant App Store searches without you adding keywords. Apple uses sources like your product page metadata, information about similar apps and other search data. It's useful for discovering terms you'd never have listed, and for markets where you don't speak the language.

Source: Apple: Keywords best practices. In Maximize Conversions campaigns, Search Match is required and can't be turned off. (Apple)

Keep Search Match on only in its dedicated Discovery ad group. Leaving it on in exact-match ad groups blurs your data, because you can't tell whether installs came from your keyword or from automatic matching.

Promoting search terms to exact match

The discovery loop, as Apple describes it:

1. Open the Search Terms report for your Discovery ad groups.
2. Find terms with good conversion at an acceptable CPA.
3. Add them as exact match keywords in the right campaign (brand, category or competitor).
4. Add the same terms as exact match negative keywords in Discovery, so Discovery stops buying them.
5. Repeat.

Over time, your exact campaigns carry proven terms at higher bids, and Discovery keeps exploring at lower ones. Promoted terms can also inform your organic metadata; see the Keyword Research course.

Negative keywords to stop overlap

How do I use negative keywords in Apple Ads?

Add negative keywords at the campaign or ad group level to stop your ad showing for specific searches. Use exact match negatives in Discovery for every keyword you already bid on elsewhere, so campaigns don't compete with each other. Also add irrelevant or consistently poor-performing terms as negatives to control cost.

Two uses:

• Traffic routing: exact match negatives in Discovery stop overlap with your exact campaigns. (Apple)
• Cost control: negatives for searches that aren't relevant or never convert.

Apple notes exact match is the default match type for negative keywords. (Apple)

Go further with the Apple Search Ads Advanced course.

GROWNX pulls your App Store Connect and RevenueCat data into one dashboard, so you can check whether paid installs actually turn into revenue, not just CPA. Free plan available.

FAQ

Should broad and exact be in separate ad groups?

Yes. Apple recommends keeping broad match and exact match keywords in separate ad groups or campaigns so you can manage their bids individually. Mixed ad groups make it hard to bid exact terms aggressively and broad terms moderately, and they muddy your reporting.

How often should I mine search terms?

Weekly or every two weeks for an active account, monthly for a small budget with few taps. The goal is to act once terms have enough taps and installs to judge. Promote proven winners, add irrelevant terms as negatives, and leave low-data terms alone until they've collected more signal.

Does Maximize Conversions use this structure?

Partly. Maximize Conversions campaigns use an automated ad group with Search Match on, and you can't set keyword bids. You can still add an ad group with selected keywords and use negative keywords. If you want the full four-campaign structure with your own bids, use Manage Bids campaigns.