Sean Oliver leads Mobile Product Marketing at Optimizely. Prior to Optimizely, Sean worked on Consumer Product Marketing at LinkedIn and Microso . When he’s not optimizing all things mobile, he can be found hiking and traveling the world.
Dave McClure’s Pirate Metrics (AARRR) Startup Metrics for Pirates Push Notifications Remarketing App Store Listing In-App Advertising Social Advertising ASO New User Onboarding Waitlist In-App Purchases Ads Desktop Purchases My App
Why Optimize?
To successfully start a process of optimization, you’ll need:
Customer Acquisition Costs Quantifying LTV:CAC Monetization Retention Virality Acquisition Costs Lifetime Value :
2 Acquisition Activation Retention
Defining Acquisition:
How Users Discover Apps
First Impressions
App Store Optimization: Opportunities to influence a download decision
App Store Optimization: Test your value prop with assets you have
App Store Optimization: Use a landing page to test elements of ASO. Low-cost traffic
3 Acquisition Activation Retention
Defining Activation: Converting someone who has downloaded an app into an active user. This metric also indicates the quality of your First Time User Experience (FTUE).
Activation Hurdles 81% of users say an app needs to make a good first impression for them to continue using it
Keys to a Great User Onboarding Experience Optimizing
Increased activation from 25% to 66.5%
Activation—Retention “For us, activation is directly correlated to retention. Without activation, retention is poor.”
When optimizing for activation, consider: • Does your app require registration? • What is the order of operations for first time users? • Does your app help users complete actions on first-time use? • Does your app live up to its value prop during onboarding? Optimizing for Activation
4 Acquisition Activation Retention
Defining Retention: A measure of how many of your customers/users come back over time.
Mobile app retention varies widely by app category Optimizing User Retention Source
Retention Hurdles iOS notifications are opt-in.
Optimizing for Retention Optimize when and how you ask for push notification permissions:
Ideas for Tests:
5 Acquisition Activation Retention BONUS: Reviews!
Reviews are important because they affect ASO
The Result: Optimize for App Store Reviews More, High-Quality Reviews = Higher App Store Ranking = More Efficient Acquisition Learn More in their Blog Post
2015 KISSmetrics Guide KISSmetrics Demo h p://kiss.ly/growth h p://kiss.ly/demo
Optimizely Mobile Guide Optimizely for Mobile optimize.ly/appoptimization optimizely.com/mobile
3. Sean Oliver - Optimizely - @SeanOliver
Sean leads Mobile Product Marketing at Optimizely. Prior to
Optimizely, Sean worked on Consumer Product Marketing at
LinkedIn and Microso . When he’s not optimizing all things
mobile, he can be found hiking and traveling the world.
Thue Madsen - KISSmetrics - @ThueLMadsen
Thue is the KISSmetrics Webinar Wizard and Marketing Ops
Specialist. Before joining forces with KISSmetrics, he was a
Ly driver in SF, which is also how he ended up as a
KISSmetrics marketer. Whenever Thue is not trying to
automate everything around him, you can find him fishing
and hiking in the Sierras.
6. Dave McClure’s Pirate Metrics (AARRR)
Startup Metrics for Pirates
Push Notifications
Remarketing
App Store Listing
In-App Advertising
Social
Advertising
ASO
New User
Onboarding
Waitlist
In-App
Purchases
Ads
Desktop
Purchases
My App
7. Why Optimize?
“Your assumptions are o en wrong and how you
expect people to use your app is actually not how
they use it at all. When you’re optimizing your app
you can see that, iterate on it, and make a more
usable product.”
— Ben Cole, Conversion Coordinator, MEC
10. To successfully start a process of optimization, you’ll
need:
• Business case - what’s the goal and potential impact?
• Buy-in from the team and key stakeholders
• Developer know-how or support to install an SDK
• Bandwidth allocated in sprints for testing, or dedicated point person
• Bo lenecks - what is the #1 metric you need to improve right now?
• Customer insights - analytics, qualitative feedback, etc.
What You Need to Get Started
13. Defining Acquisition
Acquisition: The process of driving users
to install an application and/or use the
app through either paid or organic
marketing.
14. App Store Ads Referrals
Icon Design Ad Copy
App Title
Screenshots App Store Listing
Promotions
Referral Copy
Incentive
First-Time User Experience
Optimization for Acquisition
18. App Store Optimization
Icon
Title
Screenshots
• User testing
• Use as an ad
• Keyword in title
• Be aware of character count
• Keep consistent
• Treat as banner ads
• Add context & value prop
InstaSize
Photo & Video
20. LOG IN WITH GOOGLE
Start Your Free KISSmetrics Trial
21. App Store Optimization
Use a landing page to
test elements of ASO.
Low-cost traffic:
- Social ads
- AdWords
- Retargeting from
Website
22. App Store Optimization
Or create a landing page
that looks just like your
app store listing.
Bring moments to Life with Flipagram
#1 Free App in over 80 countries with almost
100 million users!
DOWNLOAD
25. Defining Activation
Activation: Converting someone who has
downloaded an app into an active user.
This metric also indicates the quality of
your First Time User Experience (FTUE).
26. Activation Hurdles
81% of users say an
app needs to make a
good first impression
for them to continue
using it
81%
19%
56%
44%
56% of users haven’t
signed up for an app
because the
registration process
was too long or
confusing
Source
First Impressions Ma er; Clarity + Speed
27. Keys to a Great User Onboarding Experience
Optimizing User Onboarding
Stay Focused
Show, Don’t Tell
Remove Friction
Indicate Advancement
Be Human
Keep Educating
More detail in this blog post
28. Increased activation from 25% to 66.5%
French Girls Optimizes Activation
• Optimizing quality of the first-time user
experience (FTUE)
• Create understanding of how the app works
• Activation = the difference between 1-2 days of use
and 7+ days of use
29. Activation—Retention
“For us, activation is directly correlated to
retention. Without activation, retention is poor.”
— Jeff Farkas, Developer & Backend Architect, French Girls
33. When optimizing for activation, consider:
• Does your app require registration?
• What is the order of operations for first time users?
• Does your app help users complete actions on first-time use?
• Does your app live up to its value prop during onboarding?
Optimizing for Activation
36. Defining Retention
Retention: A measure of how many of
your customers/users come back over
time, o en measured at specific intervals
like “7-day retention”.
37. Mobile app retention varies widely by app category
Optimizing User Retention
Source
38. Optimizing for Retention
Install First-Time Use Repeated Use
Registration
Customization
Instant Gratification
Push Notifications
Email
App Flow & Dynamics
Notification Permissions
39. Retention Hurdles
iOS notifications are
opt-in. Generally, less
than 50% of users
will receive push
notifications.
50% 50%
95%
5%
Android notifications
are opt-out, meaning
nearly all users (95%)
receive push
notifications.
Source
Push Notification Differences: iOS and Android
40. Optimizing for Retention
Optimize when and how you ask for push notification permissions:
Opt-in prompts help to add context before making “the ask”
41. Customize future calls to action during onboarding:
Optimizing for Retention
User-specific information to personalize future messaging
Source
43. Ideas for Tests
• Think about push notification permissions in the context of your
FTUE
• Create a plan for enabling notifications beyond the first session
• Obsess over the quality of each email or push notification you send
• Encourage linking mobile and web accounts to bring customer data
together and personalize the experience
Optimizing for Retention
44. When optimizing for retention, consider:
• Are there network effects in my app that can pull my users back in?
• Is there a pa ern or schedule of how users start their sessions?
How can it be encouraged?
• What information about my users do I have that can personalize
their future experiences?
• Can you apply any gamification techniques to your app?
Optimizing for Retention
47. Reviews are important because they affect ASO
• Quality of reviews is important, but so is quantity
• Be thoughtful about how you ask for feedback
• Don’t interrupt your user’s experience
• Optimize when, where, and with what tone you ask
Optimizing for App Store Reviews
49. 3 Things They Optimized:
Optimize for App Store Reviews
Threshold (Timing)
of Request
Location
of Request
Flow
of Request
10 Sessions
3x in 1
Week
Learn More in their Blog Post
50. The Result:
Optimize for App Store Reviews
More, High-Quality Reviews = Higher App Store Ranking =
More Efficient Acquisition
Learn More in their Blog Post