Advertising on TikTok

Performance and Reporting Considerations for iOS 14 or Later Dedicated Campaigns

Last updated: September 2024

App Readiness

  • Update your Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) SDK to the version that supports SKAdNetwork API.

  • Complete the conversion value configuration in the MMP interface.

  • Send TikTok all data, including unattributed data, from your MMP


Campaign Consolidation Strategies

  • We currently support up to 15 iOS 14 or later dedicated campaigns, and 5 ad groups per campaign for each iOS app. 5 ad groups per campaign is now supported by the launch of the multi-ad group feature. Support for more campaigns and ad groups per campaign is expected in future product releases.

    • For dedicated campaigns using more than 1 ad group, modeled SKAN conversions are reported at the ad group level based on first-party ad engagement signals using statistical methods.

    • Consolidating multiple countries into a single campaign is recommended to increase the campaign's reach, resulting in less Privacy Withheld Installs, and with SKAN 4.0 it will also result with more data granularity. When consolidating - you may want to consider selecting countries within the same tier or some costs (CPM/CPI). If you are required to report performance separately for every country, you will have to target the countries separately. This can be done on the Ad Group level if you have concerns about your quota limitations, or on the campaign level if your quota has enough availability.

    • iOS 14 or later dedicated campaigns can be run separately for TikTok and Pangle, or they can be combined into a single campaign using Auto-Placement. We recommend auto-placement as this is a more efficient use of the 15 campaign limit. Playable ads on Pangle are also supported via auto-placement, so this further reduces the need for separate campaigns.


Bidding & Optimization Strategy

  • We recommend adopting Maximum Delivery to generate as many results as possible at the Maximum Delivery per result given the expected performance fluctuation. When using the multi-ad group feature, we recommend using Maximum Delivery for both ad groups.

  • Due to delayed conversion signals from our delivery system, optimizing towards your target CPI using Cost Cap bidding is likely to experience severe overbidding and traffic fluctuations.

  • Make sure your campaign has enough budget to account for CPI fluctuation.


Creative Strategy

  • We recommend using Smart Creative in order to manage your ads more efficiently and effectively, since Smart Creative is TikTok's next-generation automated creative solution that enables advertisers to quickly combine creative assets while driving performance with anti-creative fatigue strategies. Smart Creative ensures that the potential of ad combinations are maximised through anti-creative fatigue strategies, prolonging the ad group lifespan and enabling advertisers to enjoy efficient cost per results for an extended period of time.

  • Leverage ad level SKAN reporting to understand creative-level performance, and optimize performance based on these results.

  • You should always upload a variety of creative assets.

  • Smart Creative will help you auto-select the top-performing creatives out and refresh the fatigued one in delivery.


Reporting Considerations

  • Due to limitations of SKAdNetwork API, there is a random delay, up to 72 hours of reporting Conversions (SKAN) to Ad networks. Therefore, these conversions will be reported at the time they are received by TikTok, and not at the time they occur.

  • SKAN now supports view-through attribution, or SKAN VTA. It's important to note that SKAN VTA only counts impressions of more than 3 seconds, which means that SKAN based VTA conversions might appear lower than the VTA conversions you're used to seeing. Lastly, the SKAN VTA attribution window is set by default to 24 hours, and is not configurable.

  • There are 3 SKAN metrics in Ads Reporting - Conversion (SKAN), CPA (SKAN) and CVR (SKAN) for your performance evaluation of iOS 14 or higher dedicated campaigns.

  • These 3 metrics are available at Account level, Campaign level, Ad Group level, and Ad level.

  • SKAN conversions reported at the ad group level or below may be modeled based on first party ad engagement signals using statistical methods. Modeling is only applied at the ad group and ad level.

  • SKAN 4.0 has 3 attribution windows reporting up to 35 days

  • Geo breakdown, Ggender, OS, Aage SKAN metric breakdowns are not available, so consider using broader targeting strategies or using separate iOS 14 or later campaigns to test performance for specific audience groups.


Performance Management

  • We recommend not making any campaign adjustments in the first 72 hours after launching the iOS 14 or higher campaign and after each subsequent adjustment to allow enough time for all conversions to get attributed and posted back to TikTok.

  • We also expect a longer learning phase for the iOS 14 or later campaigns due to SKAN delays and IDFA loss.

  • When evaluating overall campaign performance, please wait for an additional 72 hours so that the campaign can fully receive all SKAN conversion post-backs.

  • Expect discrepancies in reporting between MMP and TikTok. MMPs are offering both SKAN-based (for all iOS 14 or later users) and IDFA-based reporting (for opted-in users) vs. our dedicated campaign reporting in TikTok Ads Manager will be based on SKAN data only.

  • Due to reporting limitations of SKAdNetwork API, your previous performance experience from iOS traffic may no longer be applicable for dedicated campaigns. You are encouraged to test out different feature combinations and creatives to get familiar with the new delivery outcomes.