How to Pair Rank Management with CPI Campaign
While app store optimization (ASO) plays a key role in rank management, there are more tactics to consider. When you pair rank management and CPI (cost per install) campaigns together, you can experience exceptional results. When you launch successful CPI campaigns, your install number will soar, which can be the perfect jolt for your category ranking.
In this post, we’ll provide insights on how we do this for our customers and why it’s a great ASO and user acquisition (UA) strategy.
Installs Impact Ranking on the App Stores
One of the primary elements of ranking on iOS and Android is the number of installs. When installs go up, category ranking does as well. It’s not the only factor, as Apple and Google both have ranking algorithms that crunch the numbers. While neither company is transparent about these algorithms, industry experts believe it’s a mix of velocity, app usage, number of new users, ratings, and other elements.
In hyper-competitive categories, the installs required to hit the top of the charts for iOS have decreased in 2022, according to data from Sensor Tower presented below.
Non-gaming apps need a much larger number of installs than gaming categories. Overall, non-gaming rose 37% in the past three years, while gaming decreased by 46%.
Google Play’s numbers have declined rapidly in the past three years, with non-gaming needing 56,000 installs a day and games 37,000 in 2022.
Reaching the top 10 has a much lower threshold for both Apple and Google Play. You can get your app in the top 10 on Apple with 52,000 and 26,000 downloads for non-gaming and gaming apps, respectively. For Google Play, non-gaming apps can move to the top 10 with 29,000 downloads and gaming at 16,000.
If category ranking is a critical element of your mobile app marketing strategy, you’ll need a boost from CPI campaigns.
CPI Campaigns and Rank Management: A Perfect Pair
The objective of a CPI campaign is to acquire new users with ads that target audiences across many mediums and hook them. The ad content can vary depending on whom you’re trying to entice, seasonality, promotions, features, category, and more.
No two CPI campaigns are the same, but they all should drive traffic to your app store profiles and motivate users to hit download. You can place these ads in many places, including in-app, mobile, desktop, social media, and more. Working with a robust ad network partner will ensure you get the ads in front of users who’ll respond to your ads.
So, where do CPIs and rank management meet?
It’s All About the Lift
If you’ve deployed CPIs before, you know that it’s quantity over quality. Of the paid downloads you earn, not all will become regular users. Many will uninstall and move on. However, that initial download is gold for you because it creates organic uplift.
Organic uplift occurs when, as a result of a paid campaign, your app rises in the category ranking with a steady influx of new users. Other users looking at the charts or searching in the stores will find your app when this happens. It turns up the visibility and can create organic installs, which typically involve more engaged users.
To leverage CPI campaigns to support rank management, you’ll want to develop a strategy in concert with your mobile app marketing platform partner. Here’s how!
3 Strategies to Use CPI Campaigns to Win at Rank Management
Here are some tips and tricks from our experts.
Go After Highly Competitive Keywords with CPI Campaigns
So many keywords and the apps they align to them are saturated. It’s a big sea, but you can become a big fish. For example, we work with many casino gaming apps. One such client wanted to improve its ranking for “slots.”
There are thousands of slot games on the app stores, so to increase it, we deployed a CPI campaign on iOS with interstitial ads. After eight days, they improved by 20 positions and earned over 190,000 installs.
This works because earning that keyword organic ranking would take years or might never be possible. It was also a keyword that indicated a user wants to find a slots game and play it, so these weren’t window shoppers. If this scenario fits your app, consider CPI keyword campaigns throughout the year to keep boosting your ranking.
Drive Greater Engagement with CPI Campaigns with CPE Language
Another great tip we give our clients is that to improve ranking is to drive the install with a twist of engagement. The ad is still a pay-per-install, but with CPE (cost per engagement) language, you have a better chance to retain that new user.
You can tweak these depending on seasonality, promotions, and other data trends. Some examples include:
- Install and create a free account.
- Get the app and add special features to your character.
- Download today and build your first playlist.
Leverage Influencer Marketing CPIs
You can add a new mix to your CPIs with influencer marketing. In this model, you’ll partner with content creators that are relevant and respected in your genre. The influencer shares the content with a unique link; you pay when someone installs your app. It’s one of the best ways to get positive ROAS (return on ad spend) in the channel.
Those downloading through this type of CPI are likely to be of higher quality and have greater purchase intent. The byproduct is still the same for your category ranking. More installs will help you move up.
Rank Higher by Earning More Installs with AdAction
The connection between CPI campaigns and rank management is clear. CPIs can directly impact where you land. By applying these strategies and working with the experts at AdAction, we can take you to the next level. Contact us today to get started.
