User Acquisition
What is user acquisition, or UA?
User acquisition is the process of acquiring users for a mobile app through marketing activities focused on generating installs.
Successful gaming companies focus on UA campaigns being ROI positive — meaning the users they acquire generate more revenue through effective monetization or in-app purchases (IAP) than it costs to acquire them.
How does user acquisition work?
When launching a UA campaign, developers have the option of partnering with multiple supply partners and using their underlying technologies — as well as different types of creatives.
UA is usually carried out through mobile ad networks, which allows advertisers to advertise by serving in-app ads on apps from other companies, or by cross-promoting on their own apps and games.
This is a data-centric approach. A good UA strategy takes into account the apps they are advertising in, the cost of acquiring new users, and the life-time value (LTV) and average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) of the users they acquire.
The importance of User Acquisition (UA)
You can have a great app but without a good UA strategy, you will struggle to succeed in an hyper-competitive mobile app industry. A user acquisition (UA) strategy should focus on getting the right users for your app, reaching a point where your strategy is ROI positive and scalable, and growing your app to move up the charts.