I wonder how many of you are still using the intermediary page for optimizing TikTok iOS ads. Previously, I introduced the function of this intermediary, where TikTok added a Profile Page within the product to help collect user click behavior, thereby assisting with iOS optimization.
From the functional principle of the intermediary page, the click price on the intermediary page should be slightly higher than the cost per install. In other words, the “Cost per App Store Click (Onsite)” should be lower than the “Cost per App Install (SKAN)” metric. However, recently, while optimizing iOS ads, the click price on the intermediary page has become more expensive than the install price, resulting in the “Cost per App Store Click (Onsite)” being higher than the “Cost per App Install (SKAN)” metric.

The main reason is that iOS optimization has added a small SKO feature that improves iOS optimization by shortening the conversion path. This feature is developed by TikTok based on Apple’s iOS components. The specific process is that if the user does not click the ad within 3-6 seconds of it being displayed, the system will automatically determine the display. If the user clicks the “Get” button on the SKO plugin after the display, the app will be downloaded directly without going through the intermediary page, and the App Store will not need to be opened.

If the user clicks on any part of the ad other than the “Get” button or swipes the video content sideways, they will be redirected to the intermediary page or the App Store page as usual. If we use the intermediary page, this portion of the data will be recorded, while the data from clicks on the SKO plugin is not included. This is the fundamental reason for the data discrepancy.
If the user does not click on any part of the ad and waits for the video to finish, they will not be directly taken to the next screen. Instead, an enlarged version of the CTA button will appear to guide the user towards conversion. At this point, the click-through usually leads to either the intermediary page or the App Store page, depending on whether the intermediary page feature is used.
The official statement indicates that the application of this plugin effectively aids TikTok’s ad system in learning and is beneficial for iOS optimization, and it is now fully implemented. However, a potential issue arises because the intermediary page data does not include clicks from the SKO plugin. As a result, the reference value of intermediary page clicks diminishes in the early stages, which is not very advantageous for manual adjustment of ad materials by optimizers. This change affects the pacing of material optimization.
Therefore, while this tool helps the ad system further learn and optimize, it also impacts the early manual intervention benchmarks for iOS optimization by optimizers. The short-term effects may vary, but from a long-term development perspective, it will be beneficial for the stable optimization of iOS on the TikTok platform.