Search Ads Popularity or SAP is a scale that shows the popularity of each search term from 5 to 100, where 5 is the minimum frequency or absence of popularity, and 100 is the maximum popularity.
In our Telegram channel, we have already discussed thefrequency of SAP updatesand concluded that there is a delay of three days. But is this really
the norm for SAP updates?
We decided to investigate the matter in more detail and conduct a new experiment to determine our conclusions.
To determine the presence, quantity, and periodicity of SAP freezes in the App Store.
By "SAP freeze", we mean a long period when Apple does not update SAP.
On February 13, 2023, we made 30 unique queries for 3 search terms:
"пропала грамота" (lost diploma), "Енеїда" (Aeneid), and "11.22.63".
All of these terms had no search volume at the time of testing.
Given our existing knowledge of SAP behavior, we anticipated that any surge in popularity would not manifest until at least three days had elapsed.
However, the search term "Енеїда" (Aeneid) exhibited a rise in frequency as early as the following day, February 14, and returned to the value of 5 only after the end of the freeze. For other queries, popularity did not change since the freeze period lasted from February 16 to March 6.
To identify the periods during which SAP was not updated by Apple, we opted to examine additional search terms that were popular across all countries. Our analysis revealed a total of 42 such queries in 2022.
Below are the charts depicting the dynamics in popularity updates, where the freeze period is highlighted in gray.
First half of 2022:
Second half of 2022:
2023:
It appears that currently the situation is improving and reverting to the state
of the update frequency that was observed in the first half of 2022.
The frequency of SAP updates varies and can last from three days to several weeks. Therefore, the rule that the delay in SAP updates lasts for three days is
no longer an absolute certainty.
We recommend taking this into consideration when doing ASO analysis.
After all, some events may occur during a prolonged freeze period, and in cases like these, their impact on SAP will only become apparent after the end of the freeze.
Kudos: Yaroslav Vorona, ASO specialist at RadASO
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