Apple Pushes Second Ad Slot to App Store, Expanding Business

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg News

The Apple logo on a store in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Monday, April 26, 2021. Apple Inc. is increasing its U.S. investments by 20% over the next five years, allocating $430 billion to develop next-generation silicon and spur 5G wireless innovation across nine U.S. states, after outstripping its growth expectations during the pandemic. Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg , Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. rolled out a second advertising slot to the App Store, adding another potential revenue generator for its niche ads business.

The company launched a new position for a paid advertisement on the App Store’s Search page, which will pop up at the top of the suggested apps list. Previously, developers could bid for an ad for specific terms within the search results themselves.

“Millions of users visit the App Store Search tab every day to find and download their next app,” Apple said Tuesday in an announcement on its website. “With Search tab ads, you can capture the attention of these customers before they search.”

The second slot marks the latest incremental upgrade to Apple’s advertising business in recent years. The company also sells some advertising in the Apple News and Stocks apps. The iPhone maker hasn’t disclosed how much revenue it generates from advertising, but the figure is estimated to be a small slice of its more than $50 billion per year generated by services.

Apple has launched several new services in recent years, including Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade, seeking to augment revenues from hardware.