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Here you can find details about how Adjust reports aggregated Apple Search Ads campaign data in Datascape, as well as information about custom product pages and common reasons for data discrepancies between Adjust and Apple Ads.
Since the Apple Ads Attribution API and Apple Search Ads Campaign Management API are different APIs, it is possible that campaign details may not be available at the time of attribution.
If there are campaign details available at the time of attribution, then you can see them reported as follows:
Adjust link level
Apple Search Ads details
Network (top-level)
Apple Search Ads
Campaign (sublevel 1)
campaign-name (campaign-id)
Adgroup (sublevel 2)
adgroup-name (adgroup-id)
Creative (sublevel 3)
keyword-name (keyword-id)
For customers using both the Advanced and Basic solutions, if no campaign details are available at the time of attribution, Adjust creates links without names and displays IDs only:
Adjust link level
Apple Search Ads details
Network (top-level)
Apple Search Ads
Campaign (sublevel 1)
unknown (campaign-id)
Adgroup (sublevel 2)
unknown (adgroup-id)
Creative (sublevel 3)
unknown (keyword-id)
Once campaign details become available, your link names are updated in Campaign Lab and your next raw data export (server callback/cloud storage upload).
Apple lets you create multiple versions of an app's App Store product page. These are known as custom product pages and they give you the flexibility to promote different app features depending on the target users. With custom product pages, you can redirect users from different ads to the most relevant App Store product page for your app.
For your campaigns with Apple Search Ads, use the {iad_ad_id}placeholder in your raw data exports to analyaze the performance of your Apple Search Ads campaign by custom product page. For more information, see App Store custom product pages.
In the case of reporting discrepancies between Adjust and Apple Search Ads, we recommended that you always consider the following possible reasons.
Apple ID vs device ID
Apple Search Ads conversions are based on an Apple ID, while Adjust looks at the Advertising ID and does not apply cross-device measurement.
Apple Search Ads visibility into last-click attribution
Apple Search Ads does not know if a user clicked on an ad served by another partner between engaging with an ad on Apple Search Ads and downloading the app.
In addition, a user could tap on an ad from Apple Search Ads and download the app but not open it. Later, the user could click an ad from a different source, then open the app afterwards. In this case, Adjust attributes the install to the last click, whereas Apple Search Ads would have already self-attributed the install.
Last-click attribution windows
With Adjust, the standard last-click attribution window is 7 days. Apple Search Ads uses 30 days.
Reporting timezone differences
Apple Search Ads reporting timezone is based on your account’s location. Adjust reports in UTC.
Downloads vs. app opens
Apple Search Ads display the download metrics when the user downloads an app from the App Store, whereas Adjust only counts when the app is opened for the first time.
Redownloads
In Apple Search Ads, a redownload is counted when a user downloads your app, deletes it, then:
Downloads the same app again after tapping an ad in the App Store; OR
Downloads the same app on another Apple device.
Apple's Installs metric is a sum of Downloads + Redownloads. For more information about Apple Search Ads' avaialbe metrics, use their Reporting and definitions guide.
Adjust counts a reattribution only if the reattribution criteria are met. This is when a user is inactive for a specific amount of time and then re-engages with the app through a new paid ad, often from a retargeting campaign.
If the reattribution criteria are not met, Adjust does not count this as a separate install. Adjust only counts one new install per device.
If you see a huge difference in the number of redownloads in Apple Search Ads and the reattributions in Adjust, check the inactivity period window and reattribution period window.
Multiple redownloads with the same campaign-level ID
Adjust counts a reattribution only when a user redownloads an app after engaging with new ads with different campaignId, adgroupId, or keywordId data.
On the other hand, Apple Ads reports a redownload if users engage with the same ads with the same campaignId, adgroupId, or keywordId data.
This results in a discrepancy between Adjust's reattribution and Apple's Redownload numbers.
Despite this discrepancy, Adjust still reports accurate post-install metrics (sessions/custom events/LTV etc) since users are reattributed to Apple Ads.
Data sharing restrictions
In both of the following cases, Adjust cannot call Apple Search Ads' API to get attribution data due to data sharing restrictions.
Third-party data sharing: No data will be shared with Apple Ads if third-party sharing is disabled for a user.
Extended Privacy Measurement: When this attribution priacy model is active, it affects all iOS app installs with ATT status != 3.
Attribution Source filter
Make sure to choose the Dynamic setting on the attribution source filter when checking the performance of Apple Ads campaigns on Adjust Datascape. This ensures you include all installs and reattributions from your Apple Search Ads campaigns.
If First is selected, the reporting is only based on the first attribution source and the majority of Apple Search Ads reattributions are not visible in the reports.