About $1.5k a month. Enough for a clean read on DFS in 3 to 4 weeks, not enough to waste much.
Web CPP is ~$5. App gets more room because app users upgrade better. See the math below.
No spend until the app update with AdServices token capture (MPC-2801) is live in the App Store. Installs before that never get attributed.
CPS over $10 after 3 weeks and 25+ signups, or app upgrade rate no better than web. Pause and rethink.
| Placement | Search Results only. Skip Today tab, Search tab and product page placements for now (cheaper taps, weak intent). |
| Country | United States only |
| Devices | iPhone and iPad, if the app runs on iPad. Older users lean on iPads more than most. Split later if iPad numbers look different. |
| Audience | Leave on defaults. Any refinement (age, gender, customer type) means your ads can't show to anyone with Personalized Ads turned off. Let keywords do the targeting. |
| Search Match | Off in Brand, Category, Competitor. On only in Discovery. |
| Ad | Default page for Brand. Custom page ad variation for Category and Competitor. |
| Naming | DFS_US_BRAND_EXDFS_US_CAT_EXDFS_US_COMP_EXDFS_US_DISC |
Apple's own recommendation is four campaigns split by intent: Brand, Category, Competitor, Discovery. We launch with the first three (your exact-match plan) and add Discovery in phase 2.
| Campaign | Job | Match | Launch $/day | Start max CPT | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Day 1 | Own our name. Cheap, highest converting, stops competitors renting our searches. | Exact | $8 | $1.50 | Impression share, should be near 100% |
| Category Day 1 | "senior dating" style searches. This is where the volume and the real test live. | Exact | $30 | $3.00 | CPS by keyword |
| Competitor Day 1 | People searching SilverSingles, OurTime and friends. | Exact | $12 | $2.00 | Tap-through rate. Low TTR means Apple sees us as a poor match. |
| Discovery Phase 2 | Find search terms we didn't think of. Not a volume campaign. | Broad + Search Match | $5 to $8 | $1.50 | Search terms report, weekly |
When Discovery starts, take its $5 to $8 out of Category until total budget goes up. Bids are starting points only, check Apple's suggested range when building and stay inside it.
Small volume, that's fine. Low bid, nobody should beat us here.
Split into 2 ad groups: "senior" terms and "over 50/60" terms, each with its own custom page.
Big brands (eHarmony, Match) get the lowest bids. Searchers there want that app. Pause anything under ~3% TTR after 500+ impressions.
Cross-negatives too: all Brand terms as exact negatives in Category, Competitor and Discovery; all Category and Competitor terms as exact negatives in Discovery. Keeps each search in one campaign so the numbers stay clean.
If DFS app signups upgrade ~1.4x as often as web signups, $5 × 1.4 = $7. Plug in the real DFS app vs web upgrade rates and this number moves. That's the number to judge the test against, not the web CPP.
Dating's median US tap cost is around $2.86 per one 2026 benchmark, and the median tap-to-install rate across categories is about 62%. The 70% install to signup is a guess. Our real number comes from the admin report once tracking is live.
Alternate versions of the App Store page (screenshots, preview video, promo text) with their own URL. Apple now allows up to 70 per app. In Apple Ads you attach one to an ad group as an "ad variation".
Apple's published case studies show ad variations beating the default page on tap rate, conversion and cost per install. Matching screenshots to what someone typed is the easiest win on the platform.
With the AdServices setup we already get campaign, ad group and keyword per install, so custom pages aren't needed for tracking. Use them for conversion rate. Bonus: App Store Connect shows each page's own conversion rate.
| Page | Used by | Screenshot angle |
|---|---|---|
| Default | Brand | Whatever's live now |
| CPP 1 · "Over 50 / 60" | Category: over 50/60 ad group | Real-looking 50s to 70s couples, "Meet singles over 50 near you", simple signup shown in 3 screens |
| CPP 2 · "Switching apps" | Competitor + Category: senior ad group | What makes DFS different (free to join, seniors only, nearby matches). No competitor names or logos on the page. |
Custom pages go through App Review, so build them in phase 0. Never put competitor names in screenshots or metadata. Full breakdown and a review of the current DFS listing on the App Store pages tab.
Covers all 19 live iOS apps at once, no MMP needed, backend switch can turn it off without an app release. Owner: Dejan.
Ad-driven installs show campaign + ad group · organic installs still get a row · token sent once per install · signups link whether token arrives before or after · our installs within 10 to 15% of Apple's per campaign · spend matches the Apple console for the same days.
| If a keyword has... | Do this |
|---|---|
| 20+ taps, 0 installs | Cut bid 30% or pause |
| 500+ impressions, TTR under 3% | Pause (poor match) or try a custom page |
| 10+ signups, CPS at 80% of target or less | Raise bid 15% |
| 10+ signups, CPS over 130% of target | Cut bid 15% |
| $35 spent, 0 signups | Pause |
| Max one bid change per keyword per week, never more than 20% at a time. | |
| Order | App | Why / notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dating For Seniors | The test. Strong web CPP to compare against. |
| 2 | BikerPlanet | Original first pick. Tight niche, clear category terms ("biker dating"), small competitor set. |
| 3 | FarmersDatingSite | "farmers only" is a big competitor search. Competitor campaign could carry it. |
| 4+ | Remaining live iOS apps | Tracking already covers all 19. Rank the rest by app upgrade rate and web CPP. Todd's old Truckers, Cowboys and Bikers campaigns show those niches had search volume, but 2017 numbers aren't worth more than that. |
Rule: one new app every 2 weeks, and only after the previous one passes its day 28 gate. Same 3 + 1 template, same naming, same bid rules. Each app gets its own campaigns so budgets and reporting don't mix.
PPC team or you. Whoever it is needs Apple Ads access and the admin Stats page.
Needed to lock the real CPS target. $7 assumes ~1.4x.
Who builds screenshots, and who has App Store Connect access to publish them. Does the DFS app support iPad?