What a good Google App campaign looks like

The app was downloaded on a Tuesday, in the minute between ordering a coffee and it arriving. By the weekend it was on the second screen of the phone, next to a few others that had been downloaded the same way.

An install is the start.

The users who come back are what the app was built for.

App campaigns promote an app across Google Search, Google Play, YouTube and other Google channels from one campaign. A good one brings in people who open the app, use it and come back, not just people who download it. It’s judged on what those users do after the install, and most of that starts with what the campaign counts.

What a good App campaign has in common

• It counts what users do, not just installs.
• The installs come from people who meant to install.
• The ads suit each place they appear.
• It’s judged on the users who stay.

Counting what users do

An App campaign works towards whatever it’s asked to count. If that’s installs, it will find installs.

In a strong account, the campaign also knows what happens inside the app. A sign-up, a first booking or a first purchase is counted as well, so the campaign can learn which kinds of people go on to use the app, not only which ones download it.

The easiest check is to list what’s being counted and ask whether each one is something the business would call a good result.

Installs people meant to make

Some places ads can show make it easy to tap by accident, like a game between levels or a screen that changes just as a finger lands.

A healthy campaign’s installs come from people who wanted the app. They open it soon after installing, and they do something once they’re in. The store page plays its part too: when its screenshots and first few lines pick up where the ad left off, the people who install are the ones who meant to.

Comparing installs with first opens over the same weeks usually shows whether the two numbers tell the same story.

Ads that suit each place

App campaigns build their ads from the text, images and videos they’re given, and show them across Search, Play, YouTube and other Google channels.

In a well-run campaign, there’s enough variety for each place to get something that suits it. Upright video for YouTube Shorts, clear images for feeds, and short lines that make sense in search results. Weaker pieces get replaced over time, based on how they perform.

Looking through the assets the campaign has to work with, and how each one is rated, shows how much it has to choose from.

Judged on the users who stay

An app is only useful to the business if people keep using it. A campaign can bring in plenty of installs at a good price and still not add many regular users. It’s the same gap as counting YouTube views as the result.

A good App campaign is judged over weeks, not days, on how many of those users are still opening the app, and what they’re worth. That view often changes which campaigns look best.

The app’s own analytics are the place to look. Users from the campaign should keep coming back at a rate the business is happy with.

Where to start

Go through it the way a customer would: the ad, the store page, then the first few minutes in the app. Then look at how many new users are still opening it a few weeks later.

That’s also where a review starts.

If you’d like us to look at yours, request a review, or read more about App campaigns.