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Apple Search Ads is Apple’s advertising platform for iOS apps, placing ads in App Store search results and the Today, Product, and Search tabs across iPhone and iPad. Connecting it brings App Store campaign performance into Adriel dashboards, with conversions tracked as app installs (new downloads and redownloads). Setup follows a two-phase flow because Apple’s API uses a JWT-signed client-credentials OAuth2 flow rather than a browser-based authorization redirect. After the initial account registration, the connection enters a pending state until Apple Developer credentials are supplied, at which point server-side certificate signing activates it.

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Before you connect

The following are required:
  • An Apple Search Ads account in good standing.
  • The Account ID and Account Name from the Apple Search Ads dashboard. Open the dropdown at the upper right of the screen to find both values.
  • The Sub Account ID for each sub-account to connect (the 7-digit number shown under the upper-left dropdown).
  • Access to the Apple Developer Console to generate API credentials.
  • A Search Ads API certificate (private key) generated through the Apple Developer portal.
  • The associated Client ID, Team ID, and Key ID values.

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Connect Apple Search Ads

1

Register the Apple Search Ads account

On the Data Sources page, search for Apple Search Ads and select it. Enter the Account ID and Account Name gathered beforehand, then click Submit. The connection is created in a pending state at this point.
2

Supply the Apple Developer credentials

When prompted, provide the Client ID, Team ID, and Key ID generated in the Apple Developer Console. These values are used server-side to sign the JWT and obtain an access token, which activates the connection.
3

Configure the sub-account

Enter the Sub Account ID gathered beforehand and an identifiable Sub Account Name for the data source. Only one Sub Account ID can be added at a time — repeat this step for each additional sub-account.
4

Submit

Click Submit to complete the connection. Initial data availability can take up to one business day.

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What gets imported

The connector imports the full campaign hierarchy — ad account, campaign, ad group, ad, and keyword — with App Store-specific breakdowns including country/region, device class (iPhone versus iPad), and search match type (exact, broad, search-match). Performance metrics cover impressions, taps, tap-through rate, CPT, CPM, installs, new downloads, redownloads, conversion rate, and average CPA. Apple Search Ads reports in taps rather than clicks; the standardized Clicks metric is mapped from Apple’s taps field for consistency with other ad connectors. For the complete list of metrics, breakdowns, and refresh cadence, see the Apple Search Ads data reference.

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Troubleshooting

A pending state after the first phase is expected — the connection waits for the Client ID, Team ID, and Key ID before activation. Complete the pending form with the credentials generated in the Apple Developer Console. If the form was already submitted, verify the credentials were entered correctly and regenerate them if needed.
The Clicks metric in dashboards is mapped directly from Apple’s taps field, so the numbers should match. Discrepancies usually indicate a different date range or timezone setting between the two views.
Keyword-level reporting applies only to Search campaigns. Today, Product, and Search-tab placement campaigns do not produce keyword data.
Apple can invalidate the signing certificate without notice, which returns the connection to a pending state with a PENDING error. Regenerate the certificate and key in the Apple Developer Console, then re-supply the credentials.

Apple Search Ads data reference

Metrics, breakdowns, and refresh cadence for Apple Search Ads.

Apple Search Ads FAQs

Common questions and expected behaviors for the Apple Search Ads data source.

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