Twitter Rolls Out App Install & Engagement Ads Globally

Twitter, looking for a bigger piece of the lucrative mobile app install business, announced today the official global launch of its mobile app promotion suite.

The ad product, in beta testing with companies such as Lyft and EA for the last six months, enables the placement of promoted tweets that link directly to the iOS and Android app stores. Twitter users who click though can download the app immediately; those with iOS devices will get an install notification after the app is fully downloaded.

Such ads are becoming a staple of the digital marketing industry. They are a major contributor to Facebook’s mobile advertising revenue, which kicks in 59% of the social network’s total revenue. Twitter’s mobile share of ad revenue was 80% in the first quarter. Google joined the app ad fray in April with new app install formats for search, YouTube and the Google Display Network.

Twitter’s product uses its existing targeting capabilities, including interest, keyword, TV targeting and tailored audiences. “You can also layer on gender, geo, language and mobile platform targeting to pinpoint the users who are best suited for your app,” Twitter wrote in a blog post.

Twitter also introduced a new pricing structure — cost-per-app-click — that charges advertisers only when a user clicks to visit one of the app stores or opens an app directly from Twitter.

More details are available at Twitter’s official blog.