Introduction to App Category targeting

Targeting app categories allows you to accomplish several user acquisition goals, such as:

  • Deliver your ad to users already engaging with apps like yours
  • Deliver your ad to users in popular or high-performing app categories
  • Avoid delivering your ad to users in lower-performing app categories

Similar to App targeting, this feature allows you allow- or blocklist. Instead of allowing and blocking individual apps, you allow and block whole app categories, allowing you to run a highly-targeted campaign with minimal configuration.

When you open the category targeting settings, there are three groups of app categories to choose from:

  • Game categories: apps with Game as the primary category, and one of the provided subcategories. For example, apps with the primary category Game and the subcategory Action. Other categories: apps with a primary category other than games. For example, apps with the primary category Finance. Unknown/Null: apps for which Unity has no category data or the data is recorded as Null.

App Category targeting options

Configure App Category targeting in the following ways:

  • Target all categories: your campaign targets all apps, regardless of category information
  • Select categories: you choose which app categories your campaign will target
  • Exclude categories: your campaign targets all categories other than those you choose

Your campaign uses Target all categories by default. Review the following tables to understand how the other targeting options, Select categories and Exclude categories, function in your campaign.

Select categories

Refer to this table for examples of using Select categories to allow-list app categories you want to target in you campaign:

Note: When choosing a category from the Game categories group, you are selecting a subcategory. The primary category for any selection in this list is Game.

Categories selected by AdvertiserApps targeted by the campaignApps not targeted by the campaign
  • Game subcategory: Puzzle
  • All apps with the primary category Game and the subcategory Puzzle
  • Any apps without the primary category Game
  • Any apps with a subcategory other than Puzzle
  • Any apps with no subcategory information
  • Any apps with no primary category information
  • Game subcategory: Puzzle
  • Unknown/Null
  • All apps with the primary category Game and the subcategory Puzzle
  • All apps for which Unity has no category information
  • Apps with the primary category Game but a different subcategory than Puzzle
  • Any apps with a primary category other than Game
  • Any apps with a subcategory other than Puzzle

Exclude categories

Refer to this table for examples of using Exclude categories to blocklist app categories you don’t want to target in your campaign:

Note: When you select Exclude categories, your campaign targets all categories except for those you select to exclude.

Categories excluded by AdvertiserApps targeted by the campaignApps not targeted by the campaign
  • Game subcategory: Casual
    • All apps with the primary category Game and a subcategory other than Casual
    • All apps with no category information
    • All apps with the primary category Game and the subcategory Casual
    • Primary category: Entertainment
    • All apps with a primary category other than Entertainment
    • All apps with no category information
    • All apps with the primary category Entertainment