Ad Spend Tracking
Ad Spend Tracking
Section titled “Ad Spend Tracking”Connect your advertising accounts to see campaign spend alongside attribution data. Calculate ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) to understand which paid campaigns are profitable.
Overview
Section titled “Overview”BoostOps integrates with major advertising platforms to pull spend data and combine it with attribution analytics. This lets you see:
- Campaign Spend: How much you spent on each campaign
- Attributed Installs: Installs from each campaign
- Revenue: Revenue from those installs
- ROAS: Return on Ad Spend (Revenue / Spend)
Supported Ad Networks
Section titled “Supported Ad Networks”Apple Search Ads
Section titled “Apple Search Ads”Full integration with Apple Search Ads Attribution API:
What You Can Track:
- Campaign spend by campaign, ad group, keyword
- Impressions, taps, installs
- Cost per tap (CPT) and cost per install (CPI)
- Keyword performance
- Ad group performance
- Daily spend trends
Attribution:
- Uses Apple’s official Attribution API
- 100% accurate attribution (Apple provides the data)
- No device fingerprinting needed
Setup: Connect Apple Search Ads →
Google Ads
Section titled “Google Ads”Integration with Google Ads API:
What You Can Track:
- Campaign spend across App campaigns
- Daily spend trends
- Campaign-level metrics
- Cost data by campaign
Attribution:
- Uses BoostOps attribution (Google doesn’t provide install-level data via API)
- Match installs to campaigns based on timing + campaign parameters
- Best when combined with UTM parameters in App campaign URLs
Setup: Connect Google Ads →
Facebook Ads
Section titled “Facebook Ads”Integration with Facebook Marketing API:
What You Can Track:
- Campaign spend across Facebook + Instagram
- Ad set performance
- Daily spend trends
- Campaign-level metrics
Attribution:
- Uses BoostOps attribution + deferred deep links
- Facebook doesn’t share install-level attribution via API
- Best when using BoostLinks for Facebook campaigns
Setup: Connect Facebook Ads →
How It Works
Section titled “How It Works”1. Connect Ad Account
Section titled “1. Connect Ad Account”Connect each ad platform via OAuth:
- Go to Settings → Integrations → Ad Networks
- Click “Connect [Ad Platform]”
- Authorize BoostOps to read campaign data (read-only access)
- Select ad accounts to track
2. Automatic Data Sync
Section titled “2. Automatic Data Sync”BoostOps automatically syncs spend data:
- Frequency: Every 24 hours
- Historical Data: Pulls last 90 days on first sync
- Ongoing: Daily updates for new spend
- Campaigns: Auto-discovers new campaigns
3. Match to Attribution
Section titled “3. Match to Attribution”BoostOps matches spend to installs:
Apple Search Ads: Direct match (Apple provides attribution)
Google Ads / Facebook Ads:
- Match based on install timing
- Use campaign parameters (UTM tags)
- Device/IP matching (where available)
4. Calculate ROAS
Section titled “4. Calculate ROAS”For each campaign:
ROAS = Revenue from Attributed Installs / Ad SpendExample:
- Spent $1,000 on Campaign A
- Drove 500 installs
- Those users generated $2,500 in revenue
- ROAS = 2.5x (making $2.50 per $1 spent)
Dashboards & Reports
Section titled “Dashboards & Reports”Paid Installs Dashboard
Section titled “Paid Installs Dashboard”See all paid UA campaigns in one view:
Metrics:
- Total ad spend (all networks)
- Total attributed installs from paid campaigns
- Blended ROAS across all paid channels
- Cost per install (CPI) by network
Location: Projects → Your Game → Paid Installs
Campaign Performance
Section titled “Campaign Performance”Drill down into specific campaigns:
Per Campaign:
- Campaign name
- Spend
- Installs
- CPI (Cost Per Install)
- Revenue from installs
- ROAS
- Status (active, paused, completed)
Filtering:
- By ad network (ASA, Google, Facebook)
- By date range
- By ROAS (show only profitable campaigns)
- By status
Location: Projects → Your Game → Paid Installs → Campaigns
Daily Spend Trends
Section titled “Daily Spend Trends”Track spending over time:
- Line chart showing daily spend by network
- Identify spending spikes or drops
- Compare to install volume
- See spend trends vs revenue trends
Location: Projects → Your Game → Paid Installs → Trends
Apple Search Ads Deep Dive
Section titled “Apple Search Ads Deep Dive”For ASA, get detailed breakdowns:
By Keyword:
- Which keywords drive installs?
- Cost per tap and cost per install by keyword
- Keyword-level ROAS
- Identify expensive vs cheap keywords
By Ad Group:
- Ad group performance comparison
- Spend distribution across ad groups
- Ad group-level ROAS
By Campaign:
- Campaign trends over time
- Budget utilization
- Campaign-level profitability
Location: Projects → Your Game → Paid Installs → Apple Search Ads
Blended ROAS
Section titled “Blended ROAS”Calculate overall UA profitability:
Studio-Wide Blended ROAS:
- Total spend across all games, all networks
- Total revenue from all paid installs
- Overall profitability of paid UA
Per-Game Blended ROAS:
- Total spend for this game across all networks
- Total revenue from paid installs
- Game-specific profitability
Formula: Total Revenue from Paid Installs / Total Ad Spend
Location: Dashboard → Studio Analytics
Attribution + Spend Together
Section titled “Attribution + Spend Together”The power of BoostOps is seeing attribution AND spend in one place:
Campaign Comparison
Section titled “Campaign Comparison”Compare all acquisition channels side-by-side:
| Channel | Installs | Cost | CPI | Revenue | ROAS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Search Ads | 1,500 | $3,000 | $2.00 | $7,500 | 2.5x |
| Google Ads | 800 | $2,400 | $3.00 | $4,000 | 1.7x |
| Facebook Ads | 1,200 | $3,600 | $3.00 | $6,000 | 1.7x |
| Cross-Promo | 500 | $0 | $0 | $1,500 | ∞ |
| Organic | 2,000 | $0 | $0 | $8,000 | ∞ |
Insight: Apple Search Ads has best ROAS despite higher volume from organic.
Revenue Attribution
Section titled “Revenue Attribution”Link every dollar of revenue back to the acquisition channel:
- User installed via Apple Search Ads campaign “Holiday Sale”
- Made 3 purchases: $4.99, $9.99, $19.99
- Total LTV: $34.97
- Campaign ROAS contribution: $34.97
Aggregate across all users in the campaign to calculate total ROAS.
Optimization Insights
Section titled “Optimization Insights”Find opportunities to improve ROAS:
Questions You Can Answer:
- Which campaigns have ROAS > 2x? (scale these)
- Which campaigns have ROAS < 1x? (pause these)
- Which ad networks are most efficient? (shift budget)
- Which keywords are profitable? (increase bids)
- Which geo regions have best ROAS? (target more)
Best Practices
Section titled “Best Practices”Set ROAS Targets
Section titled “Set ROAS Targets”Define profitability thresholds:
- ROAS > 2x: Highly profitable, scale aggressively
- ROAS 1-2x: Profitable, maintain or slowly scale
- ROAS 0.5-1x: Break-even or slight loss, test for 30 days
- ROAS < 0.5x: Losing money, pause immediately
Track LTV Curves
Section titled “Track LTV Curves”Don’t judge campaigns on Day 1 revenue:
- Users take time to monetize
- Track D1, D7, D30, D90 revenue
- Calculate predicted LTV based on retention curves
- Some campaigns have better long-term value
Segment by Geography
Section titled “Segment by Geography”Different regions have different economics:
- US users might have higher LTV but higher CPI
- Emerging markets might have lower CPI but lower LTV
- Calculate ROAS by country/region
- Adjust bids accordingly
Test Creative Variations
Section titled “Test Creative Variations”Try different ad creatives:
- Run A/B tests with different images/videos
- Track CPI and ROAS per creative
- Identify winning creatives
- Scale winners, pause losers
Monitor Daily
Section titled “Monitor Daily”Check profitability regularly:
- Daily check: Any campaigns spending without conversions?
- Weekly review: Which campaigns improved/declined?
- Monthly deep dive: Overall trends and strategic shifts
Limitations & Caveats
Section titled “Limitations & Caveats”Attribution Accuracy
Section titled “Attribution Accuracy”Apple Search Ads: 100% accurate (Apple provides attribution)
Google Ads / Facebook Ads:
- Best-effort attribution (not as accurate as Apple Search Ads)
- Relies on device matching + timing
- Some installs may be mis-attributed
- Use UTM parameters in campaigns for better matching
Data Delays
Section titled “Data Delays”- Apple Search Ads: Updates once per day
- Google Ads: Updates once per day
- Facebook Ads: Updates once per day
- Revenue: Real-time (from analytics platform)
Historical Data
Section titled “Historical Data”- First sync: Pulls last 90 days of spend data
- Before BoostOps: No historical attribution (only spend data)
- Ongoing: Full attribution + spend going forward
Privacy & iOS 14.5+
Section titled “Privacy & iOS 14.5+”- iOS 14.5+ limits tracking (ATT prompt)
- Users who opt out can’t be tracked deterministically
- Apple Search Ads uses Apple’s Attribution API (not affected by ATT)
- Google/Facebook attribution relies on probabilistic matching for opt-out users
Pricing
Section titled “Pricing”Ad spend tracking is included in paid BoostOps plans:
- Free Tier: View connected ad accounts, see basic spend data
- Paid Tier: Full ROAS analysis, campaign comparisons, optimization insights
- No Extra Fees: Included with attribution tracking
See Pricing for details.
Setup Guides
Section titled “Setup Guides”Connect Ad Networks:
Related Features:
- Attribution Tracking - See all attribution channels
- Campaign Reports - Studio-wide analytics
Need Help?
Section titled “Need Help?”Getting Started:
- Quick Start Guide - Full setup walkthrough
- Ad Networks Integration - Step-by-step connection guide
Troubleshooting:
- Common Issues - Ad network connection problems
- Contact Support - Get help from our team
Ready to track ad spend? Connect your first ad account and start tracking ROAS.