Conversion rate of search results ads
The conversion rate signifies the ratio of app downloads to the total number of taps (CR = downloads divided by taps). This metric helps evaluate how effectively your product page and user journey turn search intent into downloads after a tap.
Overall, the trend of search results ads conversion rate has strengthened over the years, reflecting more efficient post-tap performance compared to earlier periods.
- Per MobileAction’s Apple Ads data, the all-time CR average is 63.95% for search results ads.
- The cumulative average for 2024 indicated a strong year with 66.70%. Conversion rate in 2024 peaked at 67.97% in Q1, then remained steady through the rest of the year at 66.23% in Q2, 66.05% in Q3, and 66.10% in Q4.
- In 2025, the CR closed at 65.82%. The year started at 66.65% in Q1 and held close in Q2 at 66.41%, before reaching its lowest point at 65.03% in Q3 and finishing at 65.19% in Q4.
- While 2025 came in slightly below the 2024 average, the conversion rate remained above the longer-term baseline, indicating continued strength in turning taps into downloads.
- Changes in conversion rate can reflect shifts in product page effectiveness, creative-message alignment, or traffic quality driven by keyword targeting. Broader market dynamics, seasonality, and updates that influence user decision-making on the App Store can also shape conversion performance.
- Category CR movement usually reflects changes in traffic quality (keyword intent, match type mix, brand vs. generic balance) and post-tap experience (product page clarity, offer strength, and consistency with the searched need).
- In 2025, Games led category conversion rates at 72.51%, rising from 70.22%. This is a strong indicator that search traffic in Games continues to carry clear download intent, especially when campaigns are structured around specific genres, modes, or gameplay motivations.
- Food & Drink stayed among the highest converters at 71.04%, slightly lower than 2024 (73.26%). Even with the dip, the category still signals dependable intent, often driven by need-based searches (delivery, recipes, calorie tracking, meal planning).
- Lifestyle climbed sharply to 70.37% from 59.12%. A jump of this size often suggests improved keyword-to-value alignment, where users who tap are increasingly landing on an experience that matches their underlying reason for searching.
- Education also improved materially, moving to 61.63% in 2025 from 51.01% in 2024. This can reflect a stronger “fit” between search terms and what the app communicates immediately after the tap, especially when campaigns separate audiences by level or learning goal.
- Travel increased to 70.30% (from 69.11% in 2024) and Shopping to 69.55% (from 67.21% in 2024). These categories tend to reward Apple Ads setups that mirror user missions, such as booking, price-checking, or deal discovery.
- Business rose to 67.22% from 64.00%, reinforcing that searchers often have a defined objective. When the tap lands on the right message, conversion holds up well.
- On the other hand, Utilities decreased to 55.89% from 67.69%. This can indicate a larger share of traffic coming from broader terms where users are still comparing options, making post-tap clarity and tight intent segmentation more decisive.
- Social Networking also moved lower to 54.65% (from 64.10%). In Apple Ads, this category can skew toward exploratory searches where conversion depends heavily on immediate differentiation and low-friction onboarding.
- The biggest shift is Photo & Video, which moved to 50.40% from 73.57%, placing it at the bottom in 2025. This kind of drop often aligns with a mix shift toward more upper-funnel keywords, heavier comparison behavior, or less consistent post-tap messaging across diverse feature-driven searches.
- Overall, 2025 shows a clearer split between categories where search traffic remains strongly “ready-to-install” (Games, Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Travel) and categories where performance becomes more dependent on precision targeting and message match after the tap (Utilities, Social Networking, Photo & Video).
The data in this report has been gathered using MobileAction and SearchAds.com tools.*
“Conversion rate is where search results campaigns either validate your entire setup or expose the gaps. The 2025 pattern is familiar from what we see across accounts. Performance held steady in the first half, then softened in Q3 and stayed slightly lower in Q4. That typically points to a traffic mix change more than a sudden breakdown in product pages. When coverage expands into broader terms, or match type mix leans more generic, you often bring in more comparison behavior. CR dips even if the app and the category are fundamentally strong.”
Scott English
Senior Client Success Manager @MobileAction
