Mobile app Advertising

To promote mobile apps in VK Ads, use the “Mobile app” ad object.

We will show ads to users who are more likely to install the app or perform a desired action, such as registering, leveling up in a game, subscribing, or purchasing.

There are a few preparatory steps to take before creating a campaign:

1. Add an app to the cabinet according to the instructions. Only apps with the statuses:

• “Owner” — if you have been assigned as the owner of the app in VK Ads
• “Got access” — if the owner of the app in VK Ads has granted you access
• “Checking access” — if there is no data on installations or events in VK Ads yet

2. Set up integration with the mobile tracker and enable the transmission of specific events within the mobile app (in-app events). These events will be sent by the tracker to your VK Ads account.

3. Assign a category to the events in your VK Ads cabinet. More information about categories

1. In the “Campaigns” section, on the “Campaigns” tab, click “Create”.

2. Select the “Mobile app” ad object.

3. Select the campaign type:

• Attracting new users — if you want to get new users interested in your app.
• Involving existing users — if you want to remind users who are already familiar with your app.

4. Select the target action — which user actions you want to receive:

• App installation. If your main goal is to get installs, select “App Install” in the “Target action” field. This optimization does not require any additional settings.
• Targeted actions. If you want your users to perform certain actions within the app itself more often (for example, completing levels in a game or adding items to the cart), select the appropriate target actions. Optimizing for events requires additional customization.

5. Choose a campaign bid strategy. 

6. Specify the campaign budget - how much you are willing to spend on advertising per day or for the entire broadcast period. This budget will be common for all ad groups. More information about the budget

7. Specify the run dates - the period of operation of the advertising campaign. You can select a start date and an end date for the ads to run.

Click “Continue” to proceed to setting up ad groups.

An ad group is one or more ads with a common budget and settings. Within one campaign, you can create several ad groups with separate display schedules, different targeting and your own budget.

1. Bidding strategy is selected at the stage of campaign setup. This strategy will be the same for all ad groups.

2. If necessary, select the period of operation and schedule for the ad group. Learn more about setting the schedule

3. Specify targeting: settings for the geography of ads, gender and age of users to whom you show ads, their interests and behavior. Learn more about targeting

4. You can use subtle audience settings, for example, to show ads only to your customers. Use audience settings to do this. Read more about audiences

5. Devices — this setting allows you to specify in detail which devices to show your ads on.

Targeting to Huawei devices is enabled by default for applications placed in AppGallery — you cannot disable it. Targeting to Huawei devices ensures that AppGallery is available on the advertiser's device, which increases the probability of conversion.
You can also add targeting to devices of other brands (e.g. Samsung). Learn more about device customization

6. URL Settings — settings for ad link markup. Tags can be added automatically, manually or not at all. Learn more about UTM-tags settings

7. Placements - these are advertising platforms and places on them where your ads can appear. By default, automatic selection of placements is enabled for all ads. Leave this setting active to get the best results. Learn more about placements

Click “Continue” to proceed to ad customization.

There are several ad formats for promoting mobile apps:

• Universal ads — the default format. The system automatically selects the most attractive variant of advertising for each user and the site where it is placed.
• Slide carousel — a set of cards of several images (from 3 to 6), with text and a button. The cards can be flipped through.
• Media gallery — a collage or slider of photos and videos in a post, with no text or button. Add files from the media library and define the display format: “Slider” or “Collage”. You can select from 2 to 10 media files of different types.

To create a universal ad, fill in all required fields:

• Logo — ad icon, minimum 250x250px, jpeg, png format.
• Headline — the title of the ad, up to 40 characters.
• Short description — text of the ad, up to 90 symbols.
• Long description — the text of the ad, which is displayed in the feeds of social networks (VKontakte and Odnoklassniki). Up to 220 characters.
• Text next to the button — text next to the call to action button, up to 30 characters.
• Carousel description — text that will be displayed in the product carousel, up to 50 characters and no more than 3 exclamation marks (in the title or the text itself). Do not use macros.
• Tracking link — a tracking link to your app. Deeplinks are also available that direct the user to a specific section of the app. You can use instructions from Adjust, AppsFlyer, Appmetrica, and myTracker to create a deeplink for different mobile trackers.
  If you are advertising an app from RuStore, campaigns can be launched via direct links. If necessary, use macros to mark up the link.
• Button inscription — inscription on the call to action button. You can only select from a given list.
• Media files are images and videos that are used in the ad. We recommend uploading files with all available aspect ratios: for images - 1:1, 4:5, 16:9, for videos — 1:1, 4:5, 9:16, 16:9. Add as many different picture and video options as possible to cover as many ad formats as possible for different sites and locations. Full technical file requirements
• Advertiser data — if you sell goods remotely, the Advertising Act requires you to fill in the advertiser's legal information.

In addition to the “Universal ad” format for mobile applications, you can use the “Carousel of slides” format. Such ads can be shown in VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, VK project sites and partner network.

To create a carousel, fill in all required fields at the “Ad” step, and then click “Add more format” → “Slide carousel”.

A slide card will open.

• Upload an image — the file requirements are the same as for files in universal ads. Files can be pre-loaded into the media library and then reused in different ads.
• Write a title for the slide — up to 25 characters.
• Write a description for the slide — text on the slide, up to 32 characters.
• Add a tracking link. The tracking link for each slide is entered separately, even if they are the same.

You can add a total of 6 slides. Once you complete 3 slides, they will appear in the preview.

If you want to create an ad with multiple photos or videos, fill in all the required fields in the “Ad” step, and then click “Add more format” → “Media gallery”.

Add the desired photo / video from the media library, and select the display format:

• Collage — a set of images and videos in a grid
• Slider — a set of images and videos with the ability to flip through them

When you finish, click “Publish” — the ad will be sent for moderation. If everything is in order and there are funds in the account, the ad will run immediately after the moderation or on the selected start day.

Campaign budget optimization algorithms will start working immediately after the start and will recalculate their effectiveness every day based on the target events achieved.

To analyze the results, use the dashboard and advanced statistics. You can select the metrics you need to analyze your advertising campaign in detail. More about statistics