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App targeting
  • App targeting setup
  • Intro to App targeting
  • Configure App targeting
App category targeting
  • App Category targeting setup
  • Introduction to App Category targeting
  • Configure App Category targeting
  • App Category targeting best practices
Device targeting
  • Device targeting setup
  • Target iOS devices
  • Target Android devices
Source bidding
  • Source Bidding setup
  • Introduction to Source Bidding
  • Configure Source Bidding
Regional targeting
  • Regional targeting setup
  1. Grow your game
  2. Unity Ads User Acquisition
  3. Campaign targeting

Introduction to App Category targeting

Implement app category targeting in Unity Ads to include or exclude entire app store categories from your user acquisition campaigns.
Read time 3 minutes
Last updated 2 months ago

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
    .
The app category targeting options in campaign setup.

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 Advertiser

Apps targeted by the campaign

Apps 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 Advertiser

Apps targeted by the campaign

Apps 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

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  • On this page
    • App Category targeting options

      • Select categories

      • Exclude categories


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