How location fences hold on Apple Ads

Storefronts first, pins never#

Every Apple Ads campaign targets App Store storefronts, the country or region edition of the store a user buys from. A traveller keeps their home storefront abroad, so campaigns chase accounts not coordinates. Pick storefronts for language, buying power and support coverage, then let refinement trim within them. Apple own storefront list shows all 91 options. Start at the Apple Ads hub.

Match storefront to listing localisation: a campaign pointing at Japan with English only screenshots pays for confusion. Localise title, subtitle, screenshots and keywords before spending, and confirm the listing is purchasable in each targeted storefront. Structure method in account structure keeps markets tidy.

Refinement where it works#

Location refinement narrows delivery to areas inside one supported country, and only in the roughly 30 markets Apple lists, including the US, UK, Canada, Japan, France and Germany. It cannot apply to campaigns spanning multiple countries, so split single country campaigns out where local economics demand their own bids and budgets. Apple own audience settings guidance lists the supported markets.

Refine only where the business can act on the difference: delivery zones, pricing, language or support hours that truly vary. Refinement without operational difference just fragments learning. Pool small areas into one ad group until volume justifies surgery, and read refinement effects in placement reporting before locking them in.

China plays by its own rules#

Mainland China needs business approval before campaigns serve: licences or documents, creative authorisation for some formats, and patience while review runs. Campaigns covering China plus other markets serve elsewhere while China pends, so never gate a launch on one approval. Product page ads stay unavailable on the mainland China storefront entirely.

Full approval method lives in our China requirements guide. Confirm creative rules in the mainland China help page before building, and keep a mainland only campaign so its approvals, budgets and reporting never tangle with global lines.

Europe needs localisation, not one campaign#

Europe is dozens of storefronts, languages and CPT levels, not one market: Nordics, DACH, France, Iberia and the UK behave like separate auctions with separate costs. One pan European campaign averages away exactly the differences that decide budgets. Split by language first, then by economics, keeping the UK and Ireland apart from continental lines.

Localise keywords per market rather than translating lists word for word: locals search in dialect, and Search Popularity differs by storefront. Discovery per market in Search Match plus local harvests into exact match beats any central list. Regulatory backdrop in 91 markets explains the shifting map.

Reporting by country that tells truth#

Read results per storefront: CPT, TTR, conversion and CPA vary wildly between the US and emerging markets, and blended averages flatter weak lines while starving strong ones. Break every review by country, then decide bids and budgets market by market. Storefront reporting sits in the dashboard country split and in Insights country dimensions.

Definitions for every metric live in the reporting definitions page, with visualisation method in placement reporting. Reconcile platform country against first open geography in your measurement partner before month end arguments start.

Mistakes that waste geography budgets#

Refining multi country campaigns that cannot refine, pooling China with global lines, launching unlocalised listings, and judging small markets on big market volume expectations: the classic four. Each feels like reach and each buys waste. Geography is structure, so fix it in structure: split, localise, approve, then spend.

New market launches follow first campaign setup, and persistent geo puzzles go to our team for a structure audit before the next budget increase.

Frequently asked questions#