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WSJ: Apple bringing Search Ads to results within apps, in talks with Snapchat & Pinterest

The Wall Street Journal has published a new report detailing one thing we might expect to see on stage at WWDC next week: a digital ad platform expansion. According to the Journal, Apple has been in talks with major apps including Snapchat and Pinterest about the project:

Over the past year, Apple has met with Snap Inc., Pinterest Inc. and other companies about participating in an Apple network that would distribute ads across their collective apps, the people said. Apple would share revenue with the apps displaying the ads, with the split varying from app to app, they said.

The report adds that the new ad effort would expand on the “nearly $1 billion” business of search ads, which it introduced to the App Store in 2016. In addition to app ads being display in search results in the App Store, developers could include advertisements in search results within their own apps:

Under the concept discussed internally and raised with potential partners, users searching in Pinterest’s app for “drapes” might turn up an ad distributed by Apple for an interior-design app, or Snap users searching for “NFL” might see an ad for a ticket-reseller app, one of the people said.

From the sound of it, Apple’s latest digital advertising effort will serve as an expansion of the existing search ad business introduced two years ago. The new effort won’t look like iAds, which was open to selling goods and services through ad banners in apps, and instead continue to push ads for apps sold on the App Store.

In addition to the newly rumored search ads within apps feature, Apple has also enhanced its search ads platform for developers this week with the ability to test multiple screenshots for search ad results — enabling developers to A/B test which screenshots result in transactions more often.

Stay tuned for 9to5Mac’s live coverage from WWDC starting Monday.


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Avatar for Zac Hall Zac Hall

Zac covers Apple news, hosts the 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcast, and created SpaceExplored.com.