Green Noise

Green Noise ranked by copying Apple's autofill into its title and subtitle. The app launched as "Green Noise App" with the subtitle "Green Noise for Better Sleep", both taken from the App Store autofill suggestions for the main keyword. It reached number one for green noise for a while and still ranks third, with almost no attention since.

The keyword field held only "green, noise, app, com, free" because Steve Young had no time for fuller optimization. He treats title and subtitle as the bulk of ASO, followed by ratings and then revenue.

Superwall▶ 22:10

A hard paywall and $60 yearly price multiplied revenue on the same downloads. Green Noise joined the portfolio at about $1,000 a month. After a hard paywall with a trial and a $60 yearly price, it reached $8,000 to $10,000 a month on the same 100 to 150 daily downloads, with no new features.

Start-trial rate went from 6% to 13% while trial-to-paid stayed flat. The paywall launched in mid-May and was fully hard by June; between June and August the only change was a close button (the X) on the paywall, and revenue fell by half. The cost of the hard paywall is more one-star reviews.

Superwall▶ 20:11

Pick a narrow painkiller keyword like green noise over broad meditation. Steve Young contrasts meditation, a vitamin category, with narrower terms like green noise or binaural beats, where users are more likely to pay and accept a hard paywall.

He checks the top three apps for a keyword and expects to win if the number two or three app has only about 100 reviews and few titles use the term. Two keywords with search volume near 30 at number one gave about 100 to 150 downloads a day.

Superwall▶ 12:05