What Are App Promotion Ads on Meta?

App promotion is the Meta objective for getting more people to install your app. Meta’s own example is a brand-new food delivery app that wants installs. The objective can optimise for installs, for specific in-app actions or, with maximise value of conversions, for your highest-value customers.

What do you need before you start?

Meta lists three things:

Requirement	Why it matters
An app registered on Meta for Developers	Without it, ads optimise for link clicks instead of installs
An ad account linked to the app	Without it, ads also fall back to optimising for link clicks
The Facebook SDK with app events	Needed to optimise for installs, app events or value, and to measure them

Your app developer, or anyone with administrative privileges on the registered app, can link an ad account. Meta’s path is the App Dashboard: select the app, click App settings, then choose Advanced.

Which objective fits which app goal?

Meta says you can run app ads with the App promotion, Traffic, Engagement, Sales or Leads objective, and that your choice should change as the app grows:

1. Choose App promotion to get more people to install the app.
2. Choose Traffic to get people who already installed it to re-open and use it.
3. Choose Engagement to get people who already opened it to take a specific action, such as a purchase or reaching a new game level.
4. Choose Sales to find people likely to buy your goods or services in the app.
5. Choose Leads to collect leads through messages, phone calls or sign-ups.

For Traffic, Engagement and Sales, you select App as the conversion location at the ad set level. If your app isn’t in the Mobile app store dropdown, check that the ad account is linked to it.

What are Advantage+ app campaigns?

Advantage+ app campaigns, formerly known as automated app ads, are Meta’s streamlined setup for app installs. Meta AI helps optimise bidding, audiences and placements, and Advantage+ placements are built in.

The trade-off is fewer controls. At campaign level you target only by operating system, countries and language. Gender, demographics, interests, behaviours, custom audience inclusions and lookalike audiences aren’t supported. Custom audience exclusions, a minimum age and location limits are set separately in advertising settings. People who installed or opened your app in the last 90 days are automatically excluded.

You can upload up to 50 images, videos, playable ads or instant experiences at once, and pair them with up to 5 texts and headlines. Bidding uses lowest cost, with an optional bid cap.

FAQ

Can I run app ads without registering my app?

Yes, but with a limit. Meta says you can still create and run App promotion ads for an unregistered app, or from an ad account that isn’t linked to the app. In both cases the ads automatically optimise for link clicks, people clicking the ad, instead of app installs.

Should I add a bid cap to Advantage+ app campaigns?

Meta suggests not to, for best results. A bid cap helps control costs but may limit the results you get, as opportunities can become limited the longer the campaign runs. Meta says these campaigns typically get more results and spend their whole budget with lowest cost and no cap.

How many Advantage+ app campaigns can I run?

As many as you need, Meta says, for example one per app event you optimise for, per region or per creative test. Ads Manager helps stop you duplicating campaigns with the same setup. Meta warns that overlapping campaigns aimed at the same audience can lead to poor delivery, and Apple’s SKAdNetwork and Aggregated Event Measurement campaign limits still apply.