How reporting turns placements into decisions

Dashboard metrics that matter#

The dashboard reports impressions, taps, spend, average CPT, TTR, installs split tap through and view through, CPA, conversion and new versus redownloads across campaign, ad group and ad levels. Learn the split metrics first: tap through credits the tap within 30 days, view through credits the view within a day. Judging discovery surfaces on tap through alone starves them. Apple own dashboard metrics page defines every field. Start at the Apple Ads hub.

Metric meanings in our glossary. Cadence discipline in TTR diagnostics separates signal wobble from real decay.

Granularity differs by surface#

Search results reports down to keyword, search term, match source and ad variation with impression share and rank; the other three surfaces report campaign, ad group and ad only. Expecting keyword reads from Today tab wastes afternoons. Match the question to the surface: intent questions to search results, efficiency questions everywhere.

Search results depth in search results and impression share. Surface roles in Today tab and Search tab set expectations.

Insights dimensions that answer#

Insights slices by campaign group, campaign, ad group, ad, keyword, search term, placement, country and app, with charts, trends and XLSX export. Build three saved views and stop there: placement economics weekly, keyword harvest fortnightly, country monthly. More views mean fewer decisions. Eighteen months of history covers seasonality; impression share views run shorter.

Build method in the Insights help page. Harvest workflow in keyword harvesting consumes the keyword view directly.

View through honesty#

View through installs credit views without taps inside a day, and discovery placements live or die by them: Today tab and Search tab influence branded searches and later installs that last click never sees. Report tap through plus view through plus total always, and run holdouts before calling discovery wasteful. Incrementality method in incrementality settles the argument properly.

Window detail in postback windows. Definitions in the reporting definitions page keep every stakeholder using the same words.

App Analytics joins the story#

App Analytics covers what ads dashboards cannot: page conversion, retention, proceeds, CPP level outcomes and PPO treatment reads. Join the two systems per campaign: ads data for auction efficiency, analytics for business value. Neither system alone decides budgets. Set a disciplined monthly join review where both owners defend one shared number: auction efficiency from ads, business value from analytics, disagreements logged with causes.

Common joins fail on definitions: download versus first open, tap windows versus partner lookbacks, redownload handling and time zones. Fix definitions before disputing numbers. Reconciliation detail in reconciliation ends most month end arguments in one session. CPP outcomes in custom product pages, test reads in PPO testing.

Reconcile download versus first open definitions before comparing with measurement partners, or month end brings arguments. Method in reconciliation.

Decisions per surface, weekly#

Run a weekly surface review: search results for harvests and bids, Search tab for discovery lift, Today tab for reach and view through influence, product pages for conquest efficiency. One action per surface per week beats quarterly overhauls, and small weekly wins compound into quarters that look effortless from outside. Log decisions with the numbers that caused them so future reviewers inherit reasoning, not just settings. Archive screenshots of the deciding views with dates: future auditors trust timestamped evidence over remembered impressions. Stores of record in first campaign setup keep the habit cheap and consistent.

Testing rhythm in PPO testing and bids in bid tiers. Stuck reads go to our team for an outside eye.

Frequently asked questions#