Your app is more than just a product -- it’s a business that will ultimately need to scale in order to succeed. After emerging from the depths of coding your app, it is time to establish your mobile app as a business and consider the many aspects that go into finding and growing your user base. That is where user acquisition (UA), user experience (UX), and personalized monetization strategies come into play.
In this article, we will explore how mobile apps can scale successfully by implementing effective UA, UX, and monetization strategies.
There are a few criteria that the app product will have to fulfill before dedicating effort to scale.
First, ensure you have an established app build. Are all of the features functioning properly? Is there a journey for the user to embark on? Have you ensured that the app has a minimal crash rate? Do you have a curated app store listing?
Second, ensure that ad-driven monetization fits into your business model. The suggestions and tips included here are tailored for both hybrid business models that include ads and in-app purchases as well as a strictly ad-based business model. If your app will lean solely on subscription, then this information may not be as relevant.
Third, it would be ideal to have some consistent users on the app platform already with the aim of expanding the audience. These tips will be applicable to apps starting from a user base of none but are more tailored to apps with a small user base that your team is ready to multiply.
Now that we have done a gut check on your app’s eligibility, we can start with the steps to scale.
Users do not just interact with your app’s content, they also influence your app’s reputation by writing reviews, reporting bugs, and making a commitment to return to the app consistently. These user activities are essential to keep in mind given that install volume and ranking are correlated with ad revenue. The more users who install and favorably review the app, the higher the probability that other users will notice these positive trends and join your user flock.
The most efficient way to invite the maximum number of users to your app is to invite them at scale with an ad campaign platform that leverages machine learning.
One important hallmark of these types of ad campaign platforms is multidimensional signals. Rather than using one-dimensional proxies like age, gender, device, and category to target hundreds of user combinations, you want to aim to have hundreds of proxies that include additional information about the user to generate millions of targeting combinations. Platforms such as Google Ads are known for implementing machine learning marketing.
In addition to proactively reaching out to prospective users, you can also convert visitors by:
After acquiring users, you want them to meaningfully engage with your app and to become consistent repeat users. This is where you will take a look at your conversion funnel as pictured below.
The goal of retention and engagement efforts is to transition your users from average engagement to deeply engaged -- and to ensure the content turns from minimally sticky to highly sticky. You can affect this change by improving a few key entry points and the overall onboarding process for your app.
After verifying that your user flows are fluid and engaging, you will now want to start optimizing for revenue per daily active user.
Incorporate ad formats that bring value to the user and minimally interrupt the user flow. Your options include:
Once your ads are placed, automate the competition between your ad networks to increase the likelihood of a favorable eCPM. Work with ad servers that have both mediation and real-time bidding as options.
Mediation uses historical data to select the highest paying ad network to serve an ad, whereas real-time bidding is a solution that allows a variety of eligible bidders to compete in real-time for your inventory. These two features can be used in tandem with one another for more optimal performance.
Keep in mind that ad pricing is heavily context-dependent. Invest some time in learning about the user behavior, advertising norms, and eCPMs for your top geographies and verticals. You can use that information to set strategic price floors and to run experiments to continually improve your app.
There you have the basic steps to transform your app into a scaled business.
Just remember that when you pivot and start to scale:
Happy scaling!
Zora Williams hails from the Washington DC Metro Area and has always had a passion for understanding how to leverage technology to its most fruitful purpose. She currently works as a Strategic Account Manager for the global mobile apps business at Google. Her partners predominantly represent the Utility, Communication, and Dating verticals operating within North American and Canadian markets.