Shopify App Store ads: how they work and what they cost
Shopify sells ad slots in its own App Store: in search results, on category pages and on the homepage. Here is how they work, according to Shopify's documentation, and how to tell whether they pay for themselves.
Updated
Where ads appear
| Page | Ad slots on desktop | Ad slots on mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Search results | 4 | 3 |
| Category pages | 4 | 2 |
| Homepage | 4 | 4 |
Every ad carries an ad badge. On the homepage and on category pages, ads sit in a "Sponsored apps" section. Merchants who already have your app do not see its ads.
How the auction works
You pay per click, at the price you bid. Search ads run an auction on keywords that weighs both your bid and how relevant your app is to the search: Shopify says keywords cost less for highly relevant apps. Since November 2024, brand names can be bid on, and an app that strongly matches a search for its own name is shown above the ads.
Setting up an ad
- Any Partner with a published app in good standing can advertise.
- An ad can target up to 100 keywords. Keywords are broad match by default; write a keyword in [brackets] for exact match.
- The budget is daily, in US dollars, with a minimum of 5 dollars a day. Shopify sets a minimum bid but does not publish it; with no data yet, the suggested bid starts at 1 dollar.
- You can target countries. Targeting by merchant plan is reserved to Built for Shopify apps.
- The ad's look comes from your listing: you cannot edit it separately.
Billing
Shopify bills ads every 30 days, or as soon as your balance passes 100 dollars, in US dollars, on a Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card (no prepaid cards). Clicks from bots are credited back.
How Shopify credits results to an ad
- An install is credited to an ad if it happens within 30 days of a click.
- A paying customer is credited on a 30-day last-click basis.
- Revenue is counted by impression date and is not adjusted for Shopify's revenue share.
- Shopify reports the return on ad spend, but full results can take up to 64 days, plus the length of your free trial.
Because revenue is not adjusted for the revenue share and arrives late, judge a campaign on what merchants actually pay you after their trial, not on the first week. The "Current merchants" export of the Partner Dashboard shows whether each install came from organic search or a paid ad.
Compare paid and organic visits
With Google Analytics 4 connected to your listing, every visit carries surface_type: search for organic search, search_ad for a search ad. Comparing the two over the same weeks shows whether ads bring merchants your organic rank would not have.
Luseri splits your listing views between search, ads, categories and other App Store pages, from your own Google Analytics, so you can follow both side by side.
Questions
- What is the minimum budget for Shopify App Store ads?
- 5 US dollars a day, according to Shopify's ads FAQ. There is also a minimum bid, which Shopify does not publish.
- Can I bid on a competitor's name?
- Shopify removed its list of restricted ad keywords in November 2024, so brand terms can be bid on. An app that strongly matches a search for its own name is still shown above the ads.
- Do merchants who already installed my app see my ads?
- No. Shopify does not show an app's ads to merchants who already have it.
- Do ads improve my organic ranking?
- Shopify has not said so. Ads sit in their own slots, with a badge.