Google Ads

App Masters · Jul 14

The Web2App Playbook: Scale Your App Without App Store Limits

Now unifies app events with web events, a move that signals the push toward web-to-app since Google also runs an app store.

Tips

• Unify web and app conversions in Google Ads and your MMP▶ 1:50

App Masters · Oct 7

Copy This Meta Ads Strategy to Scale Your Web2App Campaigns (Part 2/2)

Search is the hardest platform to run because you must keep adding negative keywords by hand. Add it later, after Meta works.

App Masters · Aug 12

5 Free ASO Keyword Research Tools That Help Apps Print Cash

It needs a Google Ads account and turns "AI note taker" into narrower phrases like "AI meeting note taker", which are easier to win than the crowded head term.

Tips

• Use Google Keyword Planner to find more specific variants of a keyword▶ 8:18Minutes ranks number two, not number one, for AI meeting note taker, which shows niche variants can be contested but reachable.

Lenny's Podcast · Jul 28

The ultimate guide to paid growth | Timothy Davis (Shopify)

Paid takes the first four spots on Google. Davis recommends starting with Search, using quality score and ad relevance reports, and aiming for click share over impression share.

Tips

• Start with Google Search, then Meta, then YouTube if you have video▶ 7:05Davis calls paid search the baseline for everyone, since paid fills the top four spots on Google and Meta is nearly pay to play.
• Use Google's quality score, ad relevance and ad strength reports to find leaks▶ 51:32In one client report, brand ad relevance was only 35% above average while the other components were 75 to 84% above; one poor ad had a $7 CPC.
• Optimize for click share, not impression share▶ 56:56In a 2023 account test, impression share stayed flat but click share rose, while the control reached many people who did not care.
• Use auction insights to spot true competitive threats▶ 1:00:40A report showed one competitor's line staying steady while another faded after the close variant keyword issue was fixed, so the second was an accident, not conquesting.
• Ask your platform rep for anonymized competitor benchmarks▶ 54:42Healthcare and legal have some of the highest CPCs he has seen, far above B2B.
• Build awareness with display or video, not search keywords▶ 29:05A romantic hotel suite service moved its spend from search keywords like booking hotel rooms to GDN, and that is when the company started reaping rewards.

App Masters · Apr 30

(Part 2/3 - 6 Figure App Exit) Little Known App Growth Strategies for Indie Developers

Text-only search ads at $10 to $20 per day are the cheapest first paid channel for validating tracking, push notifications and paywall. Optimize for in-app actions like trial start, start with a target cost of one and raise it slowly.

Tips

• Start paid acquisition with text-only Google search ads at $10 to $20 daily▶ 0:36A $20 per day budget is enough to see people coming in and validate features.
• Run only one paid channel at a time until it works▶ 3:01
• Optimize Google campaigns on in-app actions like trial start, not installs▶ 4:47
• Begin Google ads at $10 per day, set target CPI to one, and raise slowly▶ 5:43A campaign set at a $1 target cost showed no impressions in 24 hours until the bid was raised.
• Do not start with Apple Search Ads before knowing your paywall performance▶ 1:01
• Scale TikTok and creative-heavy ads only after paywall and retention are proven▶ 1:54

App Masters · Apr 23

(Part 1/3 - 6 Figure App Exit) How to Validate 6-Figure App Ideas

It showed 1 to 10 million monthly searches for "Instagram story viewer". Google volume suggests real App Store demand, and he wants huge volume, not 40,000 searches against heavy competition.

Tips

• Check Google Keyword Planner for the listed app's main keyword▶ 0:56An Instagram Story Viewer keyword showed 1 million to 10 million searches per month.
• Pick niches with huge search volume so you can squeeze in▶ 1:55Around 40,000 searches a month with a lot of competition is described as hard.

App Masters · Oct 31

The Simplest Facebook Ads Strategy for App Installs

It needs about 10 events per campaign per day, which is why it recommends a budget of about 10 times your target CPA.

Tips

• Send synthetic high-quality events back to Facebook and Google as optimization signals▶ 3:25Used for a cash back and rewards app at Times Internet to attract a specific audience.
• Judge feedback signals on recency, frequency and quality▶ 2:41Facebook needs 50 events in a rolling 7 days; Google needs 10 events per campaign per day.

App Masters · Jun 20

How the Gaming Ecosystem is Approaching Growth in 2023

Strong at lower-funnel event optimization and a great Android source, with tROAS for SKAN in beta. Optimizing via Firebase gave a clear uplift, and search often brings the best quality and lowest CPI.

Tips

• Trust your single source of truth, not in-platform channel numbers▶ 22:39
• Optimize Google UA through Firebase and write strong ad copy▶ 24:11Margarita saw a really great uplift in performance after switching to Firebase.

App Masters · May 13

How User-Generated Content Ads Increase Installs by 30%

On Android it needs no extra tracking because Google owns the system and the ad platform. It is a first channel to exhaust before adding new ones.

Tips

• Without an attribution tool, stick to Apple Search Ads and Google App Campaigns▶ 11:16
• Exhaust the primary channels before adding a new advertising channel▶ 12:56

App Masters · Sep 15

App Store Optimization for Apps Ready to Scale (Part 3/4)

One guest tested headlines in Google Ads and put the winner into screenshots. Paid and organic users differ, so it sometimes lifts organic conversion and sometimes fails.

Tips

• Test headlines in Google Ads, but verify them against organic conversion▶ 29:18

App Masters · Apr 7

How to Get Started with Facebook Automated App Ads

Built for the same broad-testing approach as Automated App Ads. Learnings on geo and creative from Facebook tests can be carried over to it.

Tips

• Test broadly first, then relaunch focused on winning audience clusters▶ 2:53
• Know what AAA hides: no placement and little demographic data▶ 4:12

App Masters · Feb 1

App Store Optimization in 2021 - Optimize These 7 Things (Part 6/6)

Running Google ads signals relevance and brings better data and more organic downloads. Some clients saw rankings and organic downloads fall whenever they stopped the ads.

Tips

• Keep some Google Ads spend running to protect organic Google Play downloads▶ 9:56Clients saw rankings and organic downloads suddenly drop each time they paused ads.

App Masters · Oct 5

How to Market a Paid Niche App & 10X Revenues

Suits a narrow niche with only a few keywords, so the campaign can stay small.

Tips

• Use Google Ads for a narrow niche with few keywords▶ 14:08
• Treat content marketing as a multi-year investment▶ 13:14It took about four years for Steve's content to make him findable.

App Masters · Jul 12

Google Play App Store Optimization (ASO): The Best Tool (Part 1)

Steve says keyword search volume can be checked in Google AdWords to settle disagreements between tools, such as one keyword scoring 41 in one tool and little traffic in the other.

Tips

• Treat Mobile Action's chance score as your main competition signal▶ 6:08Mobile Action gave a chance score of 98 for a keyword where the client ranked 7 unoptimized.
• Cross-check keyword traffic scores in Google Ads▶ 6:02One keyword showed 50 in Mobile Action and 5.9 in Sensor Tower, which are wildly different scales to reconcile.

App Masters · Jun 27

App Marketing Strategies: The Most Effective Campaigns

Offers cost-effective downloads when keywords and bids are chosen carefully. Poor targeting makes costs climb, and it eventually taps out, rated about three stars for download potential.

Tips

• Target Apple Search Ads and Google AdWords keywords carefully to control cost▶ 11:31Rated about three stars for download potential.