As an app developer, the biggest problem you have is “How can I show my wonderful creation to every user possible?” and this isn’t as straightforward as “tell your friends”. Users today are informed, and use different channels to find, understand, and get apps.
Did you know that 3 out of 4 users do some kind of research before installing an app?!
So what is the problem?
Among all those informed users, how do you attract new, interested users that will generate revenue for you?
You don’t just want a ton of users, you want a ton of users who love your app.
So, how do you wade through the horde of less-than-interesting users, for the ones that truly matter? First, we need to see where users are searching (see the image below).
Second, we need to see what are good ways to find new users that will match our service (or app).
Three recommended methods
To attract NEW users, you can run app install campaign on Google search. These ads will be shown just to users who don’t have your app.
To find the users that are potentially most interested in your app, use Installed app category. It can find new customers who have already installed apps from related categories in Google Play or the App Store.
Paid User Targeting
And to find high-value users – use Paid User Targeting. It enables you to show ads to app users who have previously made a purchase.
For Android, you can also show ads to only those users who have made an in-app purchase with a certain category.
In order to use this tool effectively, you need to understand Average revenue per users and the Life Time Value. Why? Because “you can’t manage what you can’t measure!”
Average Revenue Per User
ARPU if you wish to sound like a pro is a simple ratio that divides the revenue generated by the number of users in a time period.
It gives you additional insights into how your campaign is really performing. It’s not a rocket science. If:
1. Revenue goes up and ARPU goes down –> you are not attracting users that spend. Not that good.
2. Revenue goes up and ARPU goes up –> you are making more money out of your users. Good for you!
And besides ARPU, there’s another handy metric called Lifetime Value (or LTV),
Lifetime Value
This is a new report in Google Analytics for apps that allows you to understand the value of a user to your business. Rather than looking at isolated session data, you can instead look at the ongoing impact users have. From the date of acquisition and through the rest of their activity. Life Time Value is especially important if you’re running User Acquisition campaigns. Your acquisition cost per user should not exceed your user’s LTV.
So, what happens when you get ARPU, LTV, and our new API working together?
Well, developer GREE tried just that, and ended up seeing a 5x improvement to their monetization!
Slides
Ido Green 