5 Steps to Successfully Market Your Free-to-Play Mobile Game www.applift.com - info@applift.com C
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Free-to-Play is the place to be for mobile game publishers right now. It only takes a quick look at the top grossing charts of the mobile app stores to realize that Free-to-Play has clearly asserted itself as the leading business model in gaming. New hits are making the industry headlines on a regular basis, while publishers are breaking revenue records one after the other... It s tempting to go down the Free-to-Play road as well. And one would be wrong not to! Free-to-Play is here to stay. However, while offering an almost unlimited revenue upside, free games also present clearly identified challenges for publishers, especially when it comes to marketing and advertising. As monetization happens within the game, it is indeed important to know at what price you can buy new users on average in order to eventually turn a profit. It s a numbers game. It is therefore essential to concentrate your marketing efforts on acquiring the best users at the right price as well as making the best use of all the distribution channels available, both within and outside of the app stores. And, yes, there are quite a few of them. Whether you want to publish and market a Free-to-Play game or are thinking about going that direction, let us help you navigate the mobile marketing galaxy! 2
Read our 5 steps to successfully market your game Within the app stores: 1. Master App Store Marketing Outside of the app stores: 2. Go For a Wise Mix of Traffic Sources 3. Plan your Launch 4. Get Ready for the Long Haul 5. Track Beyond the Install Game on! 3
#1 Master App Store Marketing A successful app marketing strategy starts with the optimization of your game s presence within the app stores. They offer a great and free distribution channel and one would be wrong not to use them effectively. Here s how to make the most of the app stores in two steps: discoverability (getting found) and conversion (getting downloaded). Discoverability: Cutting through the noise Getting your app discovered within the app stores can mainly be achieved through the native search function. According to Nielsen, 63% of people use the search function to discover new apps. It is therefore paramount to optimize all the information that will enable your app to show up as highly ranked as possible in search results. Title Both on Google Play and the Apple AppStore, the keywords used in the title weigh greatly in the search algorithm. The title should be compelling but no t too long (for instance, on ios titles are truncated after 12 characters). Keywords Apple and Google differ in their ways to integrate account keywords. Here are the main differences as well as a few tips on how to choose them: Our tips: Use 100 characters, including commas; Keywords are specific to each local AppStore, and should therefore be entirely localized and not just translated; Do not repeat the keywords already present in the title, do not leave spaces; Use only single words and single forms, avoid articles; Focus on the long tail: tailored keywords bring you higher ranking; Your game s category is automatically a keyword, no need to add it to the list. Our tips: Include your main keywords (around 5 times in your description), while keeping it readable and cohesive; Use phrases; they are as important as words; Screen competitors descriptions; Google s roots are in search: use Ad- Word s keyword tool as well as the auto-response search suggestions in Google Play to assess your keywords popularity; It can be a good strategy to be opportunistic and include some trendy and/or seasonal keywords (Christmas, Olympics, Gangnam Style...). 4
Conversion: Closing the deal After people have reached your app page, you still need to convince them to download it! Here is how to make the most out of the marketing assets present on the stores, both visual (icon and screenshots) and written (title and description). The icon is a particularly important element on all platforms, but it comes at a premium on Google Play, as it is the only visual asset directly visible from search. Our tips: Make the content elements pop out The icon should make it obvious what the app is about Consider using a border so it looks good on any background Visual assests are courtesy of King.com Limited 5
ion the AppStore, one search result is shown at a time, therefore conferring a strong benefit to the first app showing up. The best way to optimize the conversion potential of your game is to go through a funnel of click stages. At each of these stages, users can download the app if they are convinced by what they see. If not, they can either leave the page or click to go one step further to get more information. Ideally, you want to give the best possible first impression. This is why you should concentrate most of your efforts on the assets which are visible directly from the search function. Let s use Candy Crush Saga as an example of how the assets should be displayed. 6
1. 2. 3. At this stage, only the first screenshot is displayed, so it will play a large part in the users first impression. The average rating will also strongly impact judgments, which is why it is advised to include a pop-up notification mechanism within your game to ask users to go off to the App Store and rate it. The second stage is where all the information about your game can be accessed. The first screenshot is still important, but users can easily access the others by flicking to the right. Give life to your screenshots: add explanations, make them tell a story! The main thing being to show the users its best features and walk them through the game. Scrolling down on the landing page, users can access the more textual and descriptive data about your game: description, update notes and general information. Only the first lines of the description are shown at first hand, which is why you should put most of the efforts on the beginning of the text: Demonstrate value through favorable press mentions, review quotes and awards. 7
#2 Choose a Wise Mix of Traffic Sources The main challenge when acquiring users outside of the app stores is the number and variety of traffic channels available, both free and paid. Here is an overview of the mobile advertising universe as well as some tips on how to choose the right sources. Free Channels As much as you cannot avoid spending to acquire users, there are ways to do it for free. The most common practice is cross-promoting your game with other apps according to a barter scheme. This implies having ad offer mechanisms implemented in your app so as to be able to push other games. You also need to have a large-enough user base so as to be in a position to send traffic back. Cross-promotion can be achieved either directly with other publishers, which can turn out to be time-consuming, or through a 3rd-party solution. However, this will in many cases require you to integrate an SDK in your game. Paid Channels Now, let s get to the inevitable: paid user acquisition channels. Here is a guide on how to get around the galaxy: Mobile advertising is a numbers game. The amount of money you can earn from a single user on average over the time they will be using the app will govern how much you can spend to acquire someone at a profit. Therefore, it is essential to keep a tight handle on the cost of acquisition of your users, as on average your CPI (Cost Per Install) should always remain below your ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), in order to be eventually profitable. Now, with the great variety of traffic suppliers, advertising formats and billing methods, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself: 8
Should I buy CPM, CPC or CPI? Depending on the traffic suppliers you choose to work with, you will either be billed on a Cost-Per-Mille (CPM - cost per 1,000 impressions), Cost-Per-Click (CPC) or a Cost-Per-Install (CPI) basis. Buying on an impression or click basis tends to yield higher volumes, because there is more inventory available. However, it also means that your resulting average CPI will depend on the conversion rate from impressions to clicks (in the case of CPM) and from clicks to downloads: you are taking on a risk. On top of this, if you buy on a CPC or CPM basis, you will need to actively manage the campaigns in order to optimize the traffic sources. Beyond being very time-consuming, it will also require experienced staff with background in performance marketing, which in turn will increase your overall advertising budget. By opting for CPI billing, you eliminate all risk associated with both the click-through rate (impression to click) and the conversion rate (click to install). Should I integrate a proprietary SDK from an advertising partner? Many advertising companies will ask you to integrate their SDK to track the installs they re generating for you. This is sometimes needed either because you are being billed on a CPI basis, or simply to measure the effectiveness of the campaign based on effective CPI (or ecpi), although you are actually being charged per impression or click. This turnkey solution might seem tempting, especially as it is usually offered for free. However, be careful not to lock yourself in and become entirely dependent on one company for your entire marketing strategy. While there is no doubt you should integrate a tracking SDK in order to attribute conversions, we recommend to keep tracking and analytics technically distinct from advertising, so as to remain flexible and be able to switch partners if you are not satisfied with the results. 9
Which SDK? We often refer to SDK (Software Development Kit), but there are actually several types, the two most referred to with regard to mobile advertising being: Monetization SDK: This SDK serves and displays ad offers to your game s users through banners, interstitials, offer walls or native ads (integrated in the gameplay). They allow you to monetize your traffic. Tracking SDK: This SDK tracks where your installs come from. It will typically generate a link to place behind the creative or link used for your marketing campaigns, and match the data conveyed on the click with the one from the install to allocate conversions to the traffic source. The type of data and attribution method will depend on the tracking technology employed. Which advertising format should I go for? There are quite a few paid advertising options available for your campaigns: email, search, display, content... The last two being the most commonly employed, let s focus on them: With content advertising, your game is brought forward in the context of a review or a recommendation. It is a powerful advertising channel: conversion rates as well as traffic quality are relatively high, because your app is discovered with intent. It can take several formats, such as review mobile websites, native discovery apps or the so-called promo apps, which will showcase your game and send out push notifications to their users. While promo apps are sometimes able to generate high volumes, they generally cannot deliver sustained installs over longer periods of time. With display advertising, your app is simply promoted through creative artwork placed within an app or on a mobile website. While conversion rates tend to be lower, it remains the best way to generate a large amount of installs over a longer period of time. 10
Here is a round up of the major traffic suppliers of display advertising: Ad Networks: They can generate the largest volumes, but do not offer CPI billing. However, some will give you the option to integrate their SDK in order to optimize towards a CPI goal. Depending on the type of ad network, they might or might not disclose their publishers (blind vs. premium). Mobile Agencies: They have access to a wide array of traffic sources, but as a general rule do not work with publishers directly and typically require a minimum test budget of at least $10,000. They don t work on a performance basis and some will ask of you to integrate their SDK. Big App Publishers: They sell their traffic to advertisers directly, cutting out the middleman. It can however be time-consuming to set up individual deals with each of them and they make it difficult to test traffic quality. Affiliate Networks: They work directly with publishers, and typically charge you on a CPI basis. They have access to a wide array of direct traffic sources (publishers, ad networks, email campaigns...) Summing up: Limit your risks! Choose performance and buy traffic on a CPI basis as much as you can in order to reduce risk and internal effort associated with campaign monitoring and optimization. Diversify your traffic sources, or work with a partner who has access to all of them. Avoid commitment to minimum spends, especially if your budget is limited or if you want to test specific markets. Do not lock yourself in with a single turnkey advertising SDK. 11
#3 Plan Your Launch When launching a Free-to-Play game, you should get everything ready as early as you can. Here s our pick of items to take into consideration: Consider a soft launch. It is common practice to test a mobile game and its monetization mechanics in smaller markets, in order to make adjustments before the main launch. The English-speaking countries used for soft launches are usually Canada and Australia, as the monetization patterns there are very similar to the US: if the metrics indicate that it is working in Canada, then there is a good chance that it will work in the US as well. In Europe, if your game is in English, you can test it in smaller markets such as Scandinavian countries, as they usually do not require you to localize it. However, be aware that these countries are much sought after and traffic there tends to be more expensive. Covet a featured spot in the app stores. A featured spot on Apple s App Store or Google s Play Store is more a godsend than an actual marketing strategy to rely on. However, as app stores are also in competition with each other, they are always on the lookout for great content and poster apps to showcase. Here is how to pull luck onto your side: On ios, you should prepare and upload all 5 available screenshots for both classic and Retina resolutions right from the start. On Google Play, there is no review process; however your game should offer a flawless user experience and be available for as many Android device resolutions as possible (especially the higher ones). It does not take much but can pay off a lot, so you would be wrong not to take a shot! Get in touch with the app stores editorial teams, sell the best and most innovative features of your game, and get all your marketing assets spot on by the time you submit or upload. 12
Focus and target Especially if your budget is limited, you need to focus and prioritize your marketing and advertising efforts on launch; it is impossible to do everything and be everywhere at the same time. Where should I launch? Depending on your game s genre and content, you may or not need to restrict the launch to the countries for which your game has been localized. For instance, there is no need to localize extensively if your game is casual or if you re launching in Scandinavian countries. Your app store assets should however be localized as much as possible (especially the screenshots) in order to maximise the conversion rate. The main driver of your targeting decision should in all cases be the price of local CPI s and monetization potential, i.e. conducting a geographic cost/ benefit analysis. Which platforms and devices should I target? The devices on which to launch will mainly depend on the type of gameplay you offer. If it requires a large screen to play in good conditions, we recommend focusing your efforts on tablets. As for the platform, if your game mainly monetizes through in-app purchase items, you should probably target ios devices in priority. If your game s business model relies on ad offers, spending budget on Android as well makes sense, as you will generally be able to acquire users at lower cost. Work with a partner who can efficiently target the countries, platforms and devices you chose to focus on for your launch. 13
#4 Prepare for the Long Haul Look beyond the burst A question that often comes up when launching a new game on ios is whether to buy a campaign to boost it into the top ranks of the AppStore s free charts. Indeed, to determine your game s chart position, the Apple algorithm takes into account the downloads received in the previous days, with a strong focus on the past 24 hours. Note that your game s appeal needs to be broad enough to benefit from such exposure, as a top chart position does not offer any targeting options. Provided that this condition is met, these so called burst campaigns need to be considered, because they can be a great way to gain visibility, acquire free organic users and bring your average CPI down. However, a burst can and should never be the end of your marketing efforts. Indeed, many publishers resort to burst campaigns and stop all advertising spend after their game has hit the top charts, hoping that once it s been discovered it will sustain itself on its own through the momentum. This (almost) never happens, especially if your game addresses a narrower audience of passionate players. Installs Installs VS Revenue Revenue Burst only Burst + Sustained Campaign 14
Look at the big picture With Free-to-Play, as monetization takes place within the game, it is essential to take the whole user lifecycle into consideration. User acquisition is only the first step! As the lifecycle being limited in time, you need to sustain your user acquisition efforts so as not to suffer a big drop in revenue after the boost effect has worn off. On top of that, relying solely on a burst campaign will prevent you from efficiently optimizing the various traffic channels you are using across time, as most installs occur within a very limited time frame. Update your app Updating your app on a regular basis will trigger two positive effects: it will improve your conversion rate (the update notes will catch the attention of the users landing on your app store page) and extend the length of your game s user lifecycle (existing users get more value through new content). Work with a partner able to deliver a burst campaign, but who is also in a position to sustain your user acquisition efforts over a longer period of time. 15
#5 Track Post-Install Events With Free-to-Play, getting people to download your game is never the end of the story. As a matter of fact, it is just the beginning, as you need to keep a close eye on both the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) of your players as well as the average CPI at which you acquire them. Therefore it is paramount to track the quality of the traffic generated by the various sources you are using. CLV Optimization: Depending on the length of your game s user lifecycle, it can take some time for monetization to take place after the first app launch. You nevertheless need to get an idea of the quality of the various traffic sources you are using as soon as possible, in order to optimize them. Waiting until the first users monetize could indeed lead to at least several days of inefficient ad spend. For this reason you should define and track in-game events which, while not necessarily being monetization items themselves, provide a good indication of the quality of the traffic (ie the likelihood of the users to monetize at some point). What to track? The relevant events to track in order to optimize CLV can fall into the following three categories: 1. Retention and Engagement Typical KPI s: specific in-game achievements, 3-day retention rate 2. Virality Typical KPI s: social media sharing rate, proportion of facebook logins 3. Monetization Typical KPI s: ad revenue per time played, amount and frequency of in-app purchases Depending on the setup of your game, you will usually be able to assess retention, engagement, as well as virality quite early in the user s lifecycle. However, monetization might only come later as it is directly dependent on the two other KPI categories. This is why it s important to track events falling in the two first categories in order to get a proxy of monetization potential as early in the cycle as possible and adjust your ad spend accordingly. 16
How close to the traffic source are you? In order to optimize your marketing spend, we advise you to take into account the proximity of the source with the final traffic supplier. Indeed, the closer you are to your various install sources, the more accurately and efficiently you can optimize your spend between them. For instance, ad networks provide aggregated traffic from many publishers, so the data they deliver will not generally get any more granular than their average, except if they can provide you with publisher ID s, which then allows you to optimize the traffic by its exact source. One final recommandation: it is better to work with an established partner who has historical data about the sources generating the traffic, and knows which ones are more likely to produce quality, paying users for your game, based on its genre and audience. Work with an experienced advertising partner which takes a holistic customer lifetime optimization approach and has the ability to track post-install events and attribute them to the various traffic sources which generated the users. Remember that the closer to the publisher the traffic source is, the most efficiently and accurately your ad spend can be optimized. Authors: Tim Koschella, Thomas Sommer 17
Here is your next step: Discover how AppLift can help you acquire quality users at scale for your Free-to-Play Game. Talk to us! info@applift.com AppLift GmbH Rosenstraße 17 10178 Berlin berlin@applift.com Tel: +49 (0)30 240 888 208 AppLift, Inc. 6 Mint Plaza, #802 San Francisco, CA 94103 sanfrancisco@applift.com Tel: +1 415 218 4881 AppLift Korea Inc. Building B. 1301, Boutique Monaco 1316-5, Seocho-dong Seocho-gu, Seoul Korea, 137-857 seoul@applift.com t: +82-70-4110-0682 f: +82-2-535-0682