Google offers developers the simplest path to publishing an app and access to hundreds of millions of handsets around the world. While Google Play is easy to access, there are many important things to consider when publishing an app, Everything from choosing the right analytics to deciding which strategy to use to monetize is a crucial factor in the equation that determines the financial success of any App. GameChangerSF's Phil Shpilberg and Anya Shapina discussed the strategies available to maximize revenues on Google Play at the Bay Area Android Fest at Intel Santa Clara on April 12, 2014.
The video of the presentation is available on the last slide and here: http://youtu.be/gYgsVRT4jvE
2. Who We Are
We engage in highest ROI activities:
– App Store Optimization (ASO)
– ROI-driven Paid User Acquisition
– Viral User Acquisition
We make games more F2P games more profitable
We develop the right Marketing
Strategy and help implement the right
Tools for success
4. Agenda
• Free vs Paid
• Making Free To Play Work
– KPIs and ARM Model
– KPI benchmarks
• Paid Acquisition Tips
• Free Acquisition Channels
– Viral Channels
– ASO
5. Paid vs. F2P Potential
5
Paid App Free App
Size of Audience Limited Huge
Ease of Monetization Simple Challenging
Paid User Acquisition Virtually Impossible Scalable (based on LTV)
Product Lifecycle Front Loaded Long Tail
Download Velocity Limited High
Organic Growth Potential Limited High
6. $0.00 $10.00 $20.00 $30.00 $40.00 $50.00 $60.00 $70.00 $80.00 $90.00
Units
Price
Price Elasticity of Demand in Console Games
Why is Free the Best Price
(for Games)?
Price Elasticity of Demand:
Revenge of the Econ Nerds!
Everyone can pay what they want. No players lost due to price
A hideous oversimplification – best selling games
Free
2 Billion
(Angry Birds)
Paid Mobile
Tetris
100 million
Paid Console
Super Mario Bros
1985
43 Million
Paid Console
GTA V
2013
32.5 Million
Free
Candy Crush
500 Million
7. The Business Model
App As A Service (AAAS) – as opposed to a fixed product
• App as an evolving product
• Connected to the user
• Recurring revenue
• Data driven features
• Community driven and tested
F2P Business Model
8. What KPIs Drive Profitability (ARM)
Retention
• D/W/M retention
• Average User Lifetime
• Stickiness (DAU/MAU)
Monetization
• LTV
• Revenue
• Conversions
• ARPDAU
Acquisition
• CPI (Paid Acquisition)
• Organic/Viral Acquisition
• eCPI ($Marketing/Installs)
Making Money with Free Apps:
Acquire the right players, Retain them and Monetize them
9. When KPIs Get Optimized
Beta Launch Wide Launch
Retention
• 2nd Day
• 7th Day
• 30th Day (maybe)
Question to Answer
• Is this game viable? Is it fun?
Monetization
• % Converting
• DARPPU
Retention
• 30 Day
Acquisition
• CPI
• Virality/Organic
Question to Answer
• Does the game monetize?
Acquisition
• CPI
• Virality/Organic
Monetization
• % Converting
• DARPPU
Question to Answer
• Does the game scale profitably?
LAUNCH IT! It doesn’t have to be perfect
Retention
Retention
Monetization
Acquisition
Acquisition
Monetization
Scaling
Make
Money
10. Why Analytics is So Crucial
You can’t make money if you don’t know what to optimize
11. KPI Benchmarks: iOS and Android
While
Most apps monetize slightly better on iOS.
However, higher organic rate and lower cost of acquisition
allows for better profitability on Android
12. Paid Acquisition
The Eco-system is difficult to navigate
Where do I start?...
Ad
Network
Agency?
DSP?
RTB?
CPM?
CPC?
Display?
Video?
RichMedia
13. Paid Acquisition Tips
These Simple Rules Will Keep You Out Of Trouble:
1. DO NOT buy incentivized traffic. Google algorithm will punish you.
2. DO use install tracking solution (Mobile App Tracking, AdX and etc.)
3. DO acquire from high quality sources like Facebook, Ad Colony and etc.
4. DO produce killer video creative. Video ads work.
5. DO NOT buy installs at eCPI higher than your LTV
– unless there is a solid business reason
15. App Store Optimization (ASO)
App Store Discovery accounts for >60% for an average app!
Better Visibility in app store searches
Higher rank compared to competitors
Higher rank for specific keywords
App Discovery
How users discover new apps
16. App Store Rank Algorithms
http://gamechangersf.com
Parameters in App Store
Rank Algorithms
1
Ap p St o r e
De v e l o p e r Na me x x
Ap p Tit l e x x
Me t a Ke y wo r d s x
Ap p De s c r ip t io n x
Re v ie ws Number and quality Number, quality and
content
Do wn l o a d
Ve l o c it y
x x
Un in s t a l l Ra t e x x
So c ia l Fa c t o r s Facebook, Twitter Google+
L in ks t o Ap p Pa g e Traditional SEO style
pagerank