Playbook

Show Paywalls Based on the Ad Users Came From

Route each acquisition source to a paywall built for it. With Superwall, match the paywall to the ad and keep optimizing remotely without an app release.

Match every paywall to the ad that earned the tap. Superwall paywalls are remote, so you can route each acquisition source to a paywall built for it — and change it anytime without an app release. Your ads are tightly targeted; don't let a one-size-fits-all paywall undo the message that earned the tap.

Why it matters

You pay to earn a click, then a one-size-fits-all paywall undoes the targeting. High-intent, paid traffic meets a paywall that wasn't written for them, and conversion leaks. Marketing and acquisition teams consistently ask to connect campaign data to what users actually see — and to keep iterating without waiting on engineering. Because Superwall paywalls are configured remotely, growth teams can match the paywall to the ad and keep optimizing on their own.

What you can do with Superwall

  • Route users by the ad they came from. Build a campaign audience and show different paywalls to different acquisition sources. Audiences are evaluated top-to-bottom, and the first match wins.

  • Filter on real attribution data. Connect the Apple Search Ads integration (requires SDK 3.12.0+) and use campaign name, ad group, keyword, and match type as audience filters.

  • Use your own marketing attributes. Pass attribution data — like the source, campaign, or creative a user came from — with setUserAttributes and reference it directly in audience filters.

  • Match the offer to the intent. Send trial-seekers to a trial-forward paywall and discount-hunters to a deal — by editing copy, design, offers, and pricing per source, with no new build.

  • Test per source. Within any audience, split traffic across multiple paywalls by percentage to run variants head-to-head for that ad cohort.

  • Read results by ad. Break down proceeds, sales, conversions, new trials, and trial conversions by campaign name, keyword, and match type in the charts.

How it works

  • Register a placement. Your app registers a placement (for example on app open or at a feature gate). Superwall evaluates it against your campaign.
  • Attach attribution data. Enable the Apple Search Ads integration so Superwall stamps each acquired user with their campaign, keyword, and match type, and/or set your own marketing attributes via setUserAttributes.
  • Build audiences that filter on it. In the campaign, add filters — for example, campaign name is "Annual Deal" or keyword match type is EXACT — to define each ad cohort. You can combine conditions with AND/OR rule groups.
  • Assign paywalls. Point each audience at the paywall that fits that source, or split across variants by percentage to test.
  • Publish and iterate. Change paywalls remotely with no app release. Note: per the docs, there is a delay before Apple sends search-ad attribution to Superwall, so avoid filtering on app-launch-level events with that data.

Proof from customers

Marketing, attribution, and user-acquisition came up repeatedly in customer conversations, alongside the platform's most-requested job: paywall A/B testing and experimentation. Teams want their acquisition data connected to the paywall and the ability to keep optimizing without an engineering queue.

The Apple Search Ads docs spell out the matching use cases directly: "showing a specific paywall to a user who was acquired via a search ad," and "tailor messaging from the keyword that was used."

Use cases

  • Offer-matched paywalls: a "free trial" ad leads to a trial-forward paywall; an "annual deal" ad leads to a discount-forward one.

  • Brand vs. generic keywords: show high-intent brand-keyword users a premium framing and broad-match users a more persuasive, education-first paywall.

  • Campaign-level pricing tests: run different price points or intro offers per acquisition campaign and compare results.

  • ROAS analysis: attribute trials and proceeds back to the campaign, keyword, and match type that drove them.

Get started

  • Install the Superwall SDK and register your placements.

  • Connect the Apple Search Ads integration and/or set marketing attributes.

  • Build attribution-based audiences and assign a paywall to each source.

  • Sign up for Superwall to start matching paywalls to your ads.

More solutions

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Attribute Influencer Revenue with Custom Web Checkout LinksGive every creator a unique web checkout link, tag the source, and trace each paid conversion back to the influencer who earned it.Playbook
Audience Segmentation & Targeting for PaywallsBuild audiences, score users by likelihood to convert, and target the right paywall, offer, and price to each segment from the Superwall dashboard — no app release required.Playbook

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