Search tab ads
With millions of searches happening every day and an even larger pool of apps competing for attention, discovery on the App Store is concentrated around a small set of moments that shape user choice. Search tab is one of the earliest of those moments: when users open it, they are typically signaling intent to explore and download, even before they type a query.
Thatâs what makes Search tab ads unique. They let advertisers appear at a high-visibility point in the user journey, influencing which apps users consider before search begins and often encouraging follow-up brand searches later in the session.
As a result, Search tab ads are commonly used to strengthen brand presence and expand reach by placing apps at the top of suggested app lists, helping advertisers capture attention at the exact moment users are ready to discover something new.
- Search tab ads maintained strong visibility and engagement in 2025, with TTR averaging 1.25%. This confirms the placementâs ability to generate attention at the discovery stage, especially when creative is kept fresh and localized messaging stays relevant to what users expect to see on the Search tab.
- TTR peaked in Q3 at 1.35%, then softened in Q4 to 1.16% in 2025. That late-year dip is often a signal of increasing auction density and creative fatigue, where users see more competing options and become more selective with taps.
- Conversion rate stayed relatively stable in the mid-50% range, averaging 54.58% for 2025. That consistency matters for Search tab ads because it indicates the traffic quality remained dependable even as engagement and costs shifted quarter to quarter.
- Q1 delivered the strongest CR (57.12%), which suggests the post-tap experience was particularly effective early in the year. This can happen when advertisers start the year with clearer value propositions or when seasonal competition is lower than peak periods.
- CPT averaged $0.95 in 2025, staying especially efficient in Q1 and Q3 at $0.83. For Search tab ads, low CPT is a key advantage, since the placement can scale taps without immediately pushing acquisition costs out of range.
- Q4 is the clear inflection point for cost pressure: CPT rose to $1.23 and CPA increased to $2.51. This combination points to a more competitive auction where maintaining efficiency depends heavily on creative differentiation and tighter alignment between ad promise and the product page experience.
- CPA averaged $1.81 in 2025, with the best quarter in Q1 at $1.45. This is a strong productivity profile for a placement that operates earlier in the journey, reinforcing Search tab ads as a scalable discovery lever when managed with the right guardrails.
- The relationship between CPT and CPA in 2025 suggests optimization was mainly âauction-drivenâ rather than âconversion-driven.â CR did not collapse in Q4, but higher tap costs still pushed acquisition costs up. This is important because it means creative and targeting improvements may protect performance, but budget pacing and bid discipline become critical when the market tightens.
- Overall, 2025 shows Search tab ads working best as an always-on discovery layer, with more active optimization needed around high-pressure periods like Q4 to prevent rising tap costs from eroding efficiency.
The data in this report has been gathered using MobileAction and SearchAds.com tools.*
