If you ever clicked an ad for a game, installed it, and then wondered how the game company confirmed their ad was effective, you have stumbled upon SKAN Analytics. It’s similar to the sleuthing behind iOS advertising. App marketers can no longer follow every user interaction due to Apple’s privacy regulations; therefore, they need smart tools like SKAN Analytics to identify what works. And when app developers are looking for a trusted mobile measurement partner, platforms like Apptrove can step in to aggregate data, ensuring data validity and privacy.
How SKAN Analytics Came to Be
Before Apple’s restrictive privacy settings, app marketers had an avalanche of data at their fingertips. Then came new guidelines which made tracking user behaviour increasingly difficult, and Apple came up with the SKAdNetwork – its official privacy-safe advertising measurement offering.
This was the catalyst for SKAN Analytics, which was created to allow developers and marketers to analyse installs, revenue, and user engagement while honouring the privacy of users. Rather than following users specifically, SKAN Analytics interacts with data on an aggregated basis, and therefore, you will see patterns and trends vs. personal data.
SKAd Meaning: What’s Behind the Name?
You may be asking, What does SKAd mean? It stands for “StoreKit Ad Network.” StoreKit is Apple’s framework for managing in-app purchases, and SKAdNetwork is the part that just makes sure ad installs get tracked accurately.
So, when people are talking about SKAN Analytics, they are talking through the analysis of data coming from Apple’s SKAdNetwork. It is a mouthful, but the basic principle is very straightforward: advertisements should be measurable, while still respecting user privacy.
How Does SKAN Analytics Work?
You can think of SKAN Analytics like a basketball scoreboard. You don’t see each player’s heart rate or energy level, but you do see the score, the time left in the game, and which team is currently winning.
When a user clicks an ad and installs an app, SKAdNetwork sends a signal called a “postback” that verifies that the install happened; however, this is not as cut and dry as it may sound. The amount of data you get can be limited; you will not get real-time information or personally identifiable information; you will only receive a delayed summary that is privacy-safe.
SKAN Analytics will bring all those summaries together, helping marketers connect the dots and still understand what is driving installs and ultimately revenue.
The Role of SKAdNetwork
Without SKAdNetwork, advertisers would be blind. Apple created SKAdNetwork as their way to update old tracking methods that were not privacy-compliant. With SKAdNetwork, advertisers’ data stays safe, but it has become much more complicated for marketers to navigate.
This is precisely why the SKAN Analytics tools are so necessary – to make sense of the limited information SKAdNetwork provides. Marketers would have information that is not just random numbers – they would have real insights: which campaigns are showing a return, which campaigns need improvement, and where to allocate budget.
What is SKAN 4.0?
Up to this point, we have talked about the main ideas, but you might have heard about Apple’s new update: What is SKAN 4.0?
SKAN 4.0 is Apple’s new and improved version of SKAdNetwork, which Apple created to give marketers more useful insights. What are the improvements?
More postbacks- Instead of 1 delayed signal, advertisers can now receive 3 total, allowing to develop a more detailed understanding of user behaviours over time.
Coarse conversion values – Even if you won’t get the granular data you might have been used to, you would still be provided with a few “buckets” of data (like low, medium, high engagement).
Better support for web-to-app – better app to connect when you are clicking an add-on in Safari and installing an app.
This was a milestone for SKAN Analytics. It was one of the first times marketers could see a limited amount of data in real time!
Why SKAN Analytics Matters
Here’s why app developers and marketers are enthusiastic about SKAN Analytics:
- It tells them which ads perform without compromising any of Apple’s privacy policies.
- It helps them avoid wasting money on poorly performing campaigns.
- It provides insight into user quality, as well, and not just install talent.
Think about it this way: If you ran three different ads on TikTok to promote your game, you would want to know which ad gave you players who played your game for a week. SKAN Analytics can tell you that… but not using personal data.
In Closing
Initially, Apple’s privacy policies presented barriers to marketers. However, thanks to SKAN Analytics, the industry found a way to pivot. Marketers are now able to run successful campaigns despite using SKAdNetwork data, and appreciate what SKAd means, and also being able to work using all the recent SKAN updates, like What is SKAN 4.0.
The next time you install a game you saw an ad for, remember – SKAN Analytics is quietly making sure that the ad world continues to spin while keeping your secrets from being discovered.
