Optimizing App Placement

• Cofounder of W3i

• History in Consumer App Space

• Recent Focus on Mobile App Stores

My Background

@robertjweber

Rob Weber

Survey

@robertjweber

• How many of you have a mobile optimized website?

• How many of you have a mobile app?

• How many plan to build a mobile optimized website in the next 12 months?

• How many plan to build an app in the next 12 months?

Agenda

• What’s New in the World of App Stores

• User Tracking & App Analytics

• App Store Optimization (ASO)

• Monetization Tips & Best Practices

@robertjweber

New iOS App Store Design• The way apps are listed changed. Prior to iOS6, there was a fold

on the screen at 25 results, 50 results, etc, which made these cutoff points natural “cliffs” with respecting to “bursting” campaigns targeted at achieving high organic install rates.

• Now there are no such “cliffs”, and distribution is more evenly distributed outside of the top 4 to 6.

• As far as anyone can tell the App Store ranking algorithm has not changed much, but still relies heavily (if not exclusively) on volume of downloads. According to research from App Annie it took 54,000 downloads a day to reach the Top 10 in Free in early October

Windows 8• Windows is dominant OS globally.

• Massive distribution is a certainty on PCs

• Tablet traction is a bonus.

• Develop for Windows 8's three modes and you are on desktop PC/tablet plus 70% done with work needed for Windows Phone 8 and xBox once those are available. Microsoft is friendly to developers with labs and resources that increase your success.

• Unity 4 is likely out in Q1 giving you full access to incredible engagement integration in the OS using the same tool that you build for on other platforms.

Current State of Mobile User Identification

@robertjweber

• Open UDID• Encrypted MAC• SHA1• MD5 Hashed

iOS

• Android ID• Android Device IDAndroid

iOS Advertiser ID• Apple provided a definite right way to support ad tracking on iOS.

• The vast majority of traffic is still using UDID, and we have no idea if and when Apple will pull the plug on the old identifier

• Advertising Id will change upon device reset, good for consumers.

• Advertising Identifier makes the recent proliferation of alternate tracking ids obsolete: OpenUDID, SecureUDID, ODIN1, Md5 and Sha1 hashed MAC address, etc.

• The id is only available on iOS 6 devices. Not older devices: iPad 1, iPhone 3G or older. iOS 6 traffic may already be above 60% of all iOS traffic on the web. W3i’s own network has a very low number of sessions from devices that are not iOS 6 capable.

Measuring User Acquisition

@robertjweber

Measuring User Acquisition

@robertjweber

Strategy

Identify Ad Campaign Goals

What are the key results?• Loyal users, 30 days• Paying users• Acquire addicted users

Measuring User Acquisition

@robertjweber

StrategyMeasure User Acquisition against results

What variables to consider?

• Technical Information Device Type

Operating System• Demographics

Country Location Age Gender

• Source Type Information Where does the network buy their ads from Category of apps

Measuring User Acquisition

@robertjweber

Four steps to get featured on Google Play

1) Suggest an app into the wall of suggestions: http://goo.gl/mod/DfIv

2) People vote on the apps that are on the wall of suggestions

3) The apps with the most positive votes are reviewed every Friday by Google’s Android Develop Relations team (2pm PT on “Hangouts”): http://www.youtube.com/user/androiddevelopers

4) The apps they like most are passed on to Google Play’s editorial team to be considered for featured / staff picks placement on Google Play

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

Advertising – Burst Campaigns

• What is a burst campaign• Why use a burst campaign• Get your ducks in a row• Focus on finding the right source• Do not underspend• Be wary of increased cost during peak periods

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

• Advertising – Burst Campaigns• SEO

• Promotion• PR

• Cross-Promotion • Luck & Trade Shows

It now takes more than 50,000 U.S. Daily Installs to get into the top 25, how do you get there?

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

• Do your research• Quality makes all the difference• Leverage your social network• Carefully plan your iTunes Web preview• Improve your copywriting

PR

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

• Start by building a relationship with reporters and app review sites so that when your story is ready, they are a receptive audience

• Develop a hit list of the sites/writers that are covering similar stories and then point out to the writer why your news adds value

• Do the work for them providing copy, images, and video

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

Cross-Promotion/Bartering

“We cross promoted heavily from our game Hit Tennis 2, and we arranged for five friends to advertise Hit Tennis 3 in their games”

“The campaign ran in 2 phases for a total of 10 days”

“Kicked us up into the top25 free in the USA, and ultimately up to 300,000 downloads per day in total”

App Store Optimization

@robertjweber

Luck & Trade Shows

Measuring Engagement

@robertjweber

Session/DAU=User Daily Engagement

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.08.3

5.66.1

4.7 4.5

3.53.1

2.73.0

3.5

App1 App2 App3 App4 App5 App6 App7 App8 App9 App10

10 Most Popular iOS Apps

Measuring Engagement

@robertjweber

Session/DAU=User Daily Engagement

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

7.0

5.8

6.5 6.3

4.03.5

2.63.0 2.8

3.1

.

App1 App2 App3 App4 App5 App6 App7 App8 App9 App10

10 Most Popular Android Apps

Measuring Retention

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

67%

38% 38% 37%32% 31% 29%

26% 24%

13%

DAY 1DAY 7DAY 30

App1 App2 App3 App4 App5 App6 App7 App8 App9 App10

@robertjweber

10 Most Popular iOS Apps

Measuring Retention

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

52%

35%

31%28% 27% 27%

22%

18% 18%

13%

DAY 1DAY 7DAY 30

@robertjweber

10 Most Popular Android Apps

App1 App2 App3 App4 App5 App6 App7 App8 App9 App10

21

Monetization

How do you measure monetization?

@robertjweber

Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU)

Lifetime Value (LTV)

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Percentage of Paying Users Each Day

Source: Kontagent & W3i

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

ARPDAU benchmarks, ARPDAU for highest grossing Apps

$.05$0.25 $.60

$1.50GoodHighest Grossing

Monetization

@robertjweber

It’s all in the design…

• Integrated Interfaces for In-App Purchases/Offers• Explain What an In-App Purchase • Upgrade Does • Up Sell At the Right Time

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Case Study

My Pet ZombieOptimization Pays Off

The Challenge: Riptide was looking for a monetization product that would give them sustainable revenue to supplement their revenue from in-app purchases knowing that less than 5% of their users would be the “heavy hitters” of their app willing to actually buy virtual currency.

The Solution: Riptide integrated the W3i monetization platform featuring offers at the least invasive time during gameplay and positioning them as a reward with a limited availability time encouraging the user to act.

The Results: Initial CTR were 10.8 times better than mobile display ads with conversion rates 2.4 times better. After Team W3i’s initial optimization CTR’s were 52.5 times better with conversion rates 2.6 times better.

Original Optimized

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

It's best to show players an offer or IAP option in the area where they are spending in game currencies. In Battle Bears Royale, the developers have a free gas button that takes players to the IAP menu and form there they can access the offer wall. The target audience for BBR is teens so "free gas" directs more players to the IAP than something like "get cash". Keep the wording in mind when designing your buttons.

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Offer shop menus in pause menus, or preferably in more than one area. Catapult King has their shop menu in their pause menu. However, since that’s the only menu in the game this also serves as a good example when only having one location for your IAP menu is appropriate.

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Never assume players know how to get to your IAP menu. In Finger Shot RPG, one would assume you just tap the in game currencies, right? Wrong. Tapping the currencies does nothing. You actually need to buy something you can't afford and then it'll bring you to the IAP menu.

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Try not to clutter the screen when possible. In Puzzle Quest 2 it's somewhat difficult to see what everything is for. A much better approach would've been to split this sections into screens of their own; bag inventory on one, equipment slots on another, etc. Also if you have items or equipment, monetize on them! If I want to buy anything in the game, I need to exit to the main menu. Never take players out of their way to make an IAP, and especially never out of their game!

Monetization

@robertjweber

Benchmarks (bullets 1-3)

Main menu of Puzzle Quest 2…

Their IAP screen is only located here at the bottom, as if IAP's were an after thought.

Measuring Virility

@robertjweber

Learn How Top Grossing Apps Are Using Social to Improve Their Apps Performance, by Mark Pincus

“…users’ retention rates doubled compared to the average game’s retention rates when acquired through social. Not only do compelling social features dramatically increase user retention, they also help drive down user acquisition costs.”

Measuring Virility

@robertjweber

• Add SSO to get FB Bookmark & Search Result

• Use a single FB App ID on all platforms

• Publish via Open Graph to get distribution

• Design frictionless Requests & Invites

• Use all Social Channels• Native Deep Linking for native

distribution• Social Design

Gareth Davis, Product Manager at Facebook, GDC 2012

7 Best Practices

Pros/Cons of 3rd Party App Analytic Tools

@robertjweber

6/15/2012

D = DashboardCu

stom

Com

paris

on C

harts

1

KPI C

harts

2

Even

t Tab

le

User

Snap

shot

3

Virtu

al Re

venu

e Sna

psho

t

Real

Reve

nue S

naps

hot

Sess

ion

Char

t

Best

Selle

r Cha

rt

Top

Item

s

Tren

ding

4

Segm

enta

tion

5

Coho

rt An

alysis

6

User

Ret

entio

n Ch

art

Crea

te A

Form

ula

Oper

ation

al An

alysis

7

Vira

lity

8

User

Stre

am9

A/B

Test

s

User

Pat

hs10

Fully

Cus

tom

izabl

e Dat

es

One M

onth

One W

eek o

r One

Day

All T

ime

Price Key PointsD D X X X X X X Free for up to 25,000

data points (event). $150/about 10,000 users month

Not originally built for mobile. It works but implementation is diffi cult

D D X X X D X Free - make money from advertising

Free. Recently introduced campaign source insights. Not originally built for gaming.

D X X X X X X $2000 for up to 50m events/month

Ability to add custom events to funnels, virality. Unlike Flurry or Apsalar, their focus is analytics, not ads

X D X D D D X X D X X X X $1500/mo for up to 250k MAU, $275/50k MAU post-threshold

Experimentation platform/consulting

X D X X* X** X X Free for basic analytics Free

*The segmentation is very limited right now, only allows breakdown by country which is not very useful**Flurry calculates retention differently than the other providers (I'm not sure how yet)

Notes:

FUNNELSFEATURES

Questions

@robertjweber

Contact me- robert.weber@W3i.com @robertjweber

Careers.W3i.com- Tell a friend

• Manager of Operations• Sales• UX• Development (.Net)• Development (Android)• Development (iOS)