Apple is likely to expand its advertising businesses by bringing more Ads to the pre-installed apps on your iPhone, including Maps, Apple Books, and Apple Podcasts.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple is currently generating about $4 billion in annual revenue from its Ad business and is now set to increase it to the “double digits”.
Apple is currently showing ads in some of its apps like Apple News, Stock apps, and App Store across all Apple devices. Bloomberg says that Apple is considering a way to put ads on Apple Maps, which is far behind its competitor, Google Maps, by not showing ads and also into the stores for Podcasts and Books.
Apple is already showing ads on the App Store, as the developers have to pay in order to promote their App for particular search terms like, “car games” or “photo editing apps”. The company will soon expand the App Store advertisement to the main Today Tab, says Bloomberg.
According to 9to5Google, Ads in the Today Tab will be shown as large cards with the “Ad” beneath the App name. While the ads on individual pages in App Store appear Blue in color in the “You Might Also Like” section.
Apple could also introduce ads into Podcasts and Books as well. This will allow publishers to put their ads in areas within each app or promote their content in higher search results. Just like Apple Maps, Podcasts, and Book these apps are currently ad-free.
APPLE LOOKING TO EXPAND ITS ADVERTISING BUSINESS EVEN MORE
Meanwhile, Apple also considering third-party apps to push ads to iPhone users.
Bloomberg mentioned Apple TV+ and said the company could generate more by creating a low-price ad-supported tier. Just as the other streaming services are doing like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Warner Bros.
Search ads in Apple Maps work similarly to the search ads in App Store. Suppose, a Japanese restaurant has paid more for their ad to rank high in the local listing when someone searches let’s say, “Sushi”.
Last year Apple releases a feature for iPhones called App Tracking Transparency or ATT. It basically asks the users if they want the apps on their phone to track them to target the user for ads. A way for advertisers to gather more data to serve relevant ads to the user.
Bloomberg says that ATT has created damage for big tech companies like Facebook and Snap. The tech giant companies claimed that they have lost billions of dollars because of ATT.
The company’s recent earnings call was not in a positive way. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer said that the Ad business faced Covid-related difficulties. Tim Cook committed, that it’s a “great” discovery tool for developers to promote their apps in the App Store.
Apple is going to open more slots for ads in its App Store. Potentially on Maps, podcasts, and Books. It signals that Apple is looking to expand its advertising business. A recent report from Insider revealed that Apple’s senior vice president is reportedly planning to restructure the services business to grab more attention to streaming and advertising.