Changes in Custom Product Pages in Apple iOS15
Why should you care about Custom Product Pages?
Well, picture it like this: You’re scrolling through Instagram on a lazy Sunday. An eye-catching ad for a pair of new jeans catches your attention, featuring everything you’ve been looking for to keep up with the trends. But when you click on the ad and visit the product page, you see… children’s shoes? Just that split second of puzzlement is likely to be enough to make you exit the ad, which is where customer product pages come in.
It’s so important that the content featured in our ads aligns with the creative features on the app store, otherwise, it creates a hiccup in the user journey. This leads to confusion, distraction and ultimately not the reaction we’re after. Which is, of course, downloads.
This is why custom product pages, one of the latest features of Apple iOS 15 can have a real impact on your app marketing campaigns.
What are custom products?
They’re multiple versions of your App Store product page: you’re allowed up to 35 versions per app, at any time. Each can have a different creative, ready to align with users’ interests, culture, and anything else that might draw them in.
Create these pages in App Store Connect, either using your default product page as a template or starting from scratch. Then switch up the screenshots, text or app previews, spotlighting the most relevant features for different audiences.
Every page has an automatically-generated unique URL that you can share across multiple channels including outdoor, social, email etc. You can also select customized pages directly from your Apple Search Ads (ASA) account to use in targeted ASA campaigns.
“The ability to tailor your advertisements toward a targeted segment has been a key feature of digital marketing for some time now. It’s great to see this feature finally reach the app store in a significant way with custom product pages.
With CPPs, making sure your app store is fully optimized and tailored across all of your markets should be an essential part of every mobile marketer’s ASA strategy.”
James Ventris, Mobile Marketing Consultant
The benefits of personalized content
Custom product pages give people content thats meant for them. And that provides a silky-smooth user experience that paves the way for improved conversion rates. According to a survey by Think With Google, 90% of marketers say personalized content significantly contributes to business profitability.
What can you change on custom product pages?
1. Tailored screenshots
Let’s take sports betting apps as our example.
You could simultaneously target both NBA and NFL fans. For NBA fans, their primary app store screenshot would be LeBron soaring towards the basketball hoop.
And for the NFL? Travis Kelce celebrating a beautiful touchdown—zealous fans roaring in the background.
Showing people an image that resonates with their interests is a surefire way to get them engaged: and that should naturally lead to an increase in downloads.
“Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ‘Make me feel important.’ Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.” – May Kay Ash
2. Promotional text
This is one of the last domains of traditional advertising in the mobile special space, where you can sell through witty language, special offers, and sign-up bonuses.
For example, if a New Yorker was directed to the betting app, your promotional text under the long description could read, ‘Place a free bet on the New York Knicks for this year’s NBA finals.’
According to a survey by Twilio Segment, 52% of consumers say that they’re more satisfied with brands that offer personalized content. And satisfied customers lead to more conversions.
3. Personalized previews
Use customized app previews to give people a whistle-stop tour of the features and functionality that are most relevant to them.
Build excitement by tapping into their interests, culture, tastes or habits, and you’ll be rewarded with higher levels of engagement and more downloads.
There's always room for experimentation
Make the most of the opportunity to try out new ideas and see where they lead. Which colors draw users in? Do you get a better response to informative product descriptions or something more intriguing? What highlights work in the app preview?
Embrace the creative freedom to whip up excitement around big events. Sports betting apps can capitalize on the hype surrounding the Superbowl. Dating apps can do the same for Valentine’s Day. Delivery apps can promote Christmas schedules.
With custom product pages gifted by Apple iOS15, you can experiment to your heart’s content whilst maintaining a tried and trusted option in your default product page. You’ll gauge the effectiveness of your app store creatives and find out what really appeals to your target audience.
“Observation is a passive science, experimentation an active science.” -Claude Bernard
Measuring the success of Customer Product Pages
App Analytics in App Store Connect can show us everything we need to know: downloads, page impressions, redownloads, and conversion rates. You can measure just how effective each custom page is and what it’s converting at in comparison to your default product page.
This lets you hone paid user acquisition strategy to maximum effect. It gives you the ability to zero in on user preference piece by piece, without the risk of changing everything to the detriment of your campaigns.
That’s reward, with reduced risk. Custom product pages are a win-win.