The World behind the Click
What Mobile App Install Ads are missing
App install ads have become the cornerstone of mobile user acquisition campaigns. With the hope of cutting through the ever growing app store maze, more and more money is flowing into the new advertising vehicle of choice to drive additional users into apps.
Marketing managers and advertising agencies do a thorough job with personalizing and optimizing their mobile campaigns to get the maximum install bang for the buck.
Surprisingly, a very common shortcoming can be noticed in these otherwise highly optimized campaigns: The app store world that opens up after the ad is clicked seems to be ignored.
The Post Click Inconsistency
I am always impressed by how well most email campaigns handle consistency in my user experience when I go from a link in an email to the actual website. From messaging, branding over to personalization — everything is continued on the web’s landingpage.
Unfortunately, this is exactly where app install ads fall short. After a potential new user clicks an ad and lands in the app store, a whole new world opens which is barely connected to what has been advertised before.
While install ads try to grab consumers attention with a focus on specific messaging and strong visuals, the subsequent app store visit falls short in building up on these marketing elements
For the person clicking on the ad, the discrepancy between what is promised in the install ad vs. what is shown in the app store feels inconsistent and definitely not reassuring. Consequently, less app installs can be assumed due to lower store-view-to-download conversion.
If you want to experience this yourself, go ahead and pick up your social media app of choice to click through some app install ads. This is what I did, with instructive and entertaining results from which I am sharing a small selection with you.
Cross Channel UX for the win
As mentioned, the approach of a consistent user experience across channels is not new. E-mail marketers became very focused on creating closed loop experience between emails and websites as it has a strong impact on conversion. On a higher level, a consistency across all brand touchpoints has been dubbed one of the key factors for achieving superior business results and customer satisfaction.
There is a strong opportunity here to apply the focus on UX consistency also to app marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, only few companies have done so.
There is some help for that
The good news is that with some small changes the gap between install campaigns and app store entries can be narrowed.
- Match campaign and app store visuals: If your app install ads feature strong visuals try picking those up in the app store entry as well. These visuals do not necessarily have to be the same but should feel consistent at least.
- For campaign changes, keep app store updates in mind: Your 30%-off-campaign is about to launch? A change in your messaging strategy popped up? Make sure to think of your app store entry to reflect these changes as well or potential customers will get confused of why the store feels different than the rest of your brand. For iOS Apps remember that it requires an app update to change screenshots.
- Have logo consistency: From the ads that I looked at, some prominently presented a logo which was nowhere to be found in the store. Even worse, sometimes the logo was there but logo colors were different so that it did not really connect to what was displayed on the screen before.
- Test different store versions: On the Google Play Store you can a/b test different app store versions, including screenshots and description texts. The testing feature is a great way to confirm if your changes really outperform the previous store version. Results from Google Play Store testing can then also be leveraged on the iOS App Store, where such a testing function currently does not exist.
- Create awareness & responsibilities for all people involved: Quite a lot of people can be involved in managing your app — agencies, marketing managers, product managers and developers all come to mind here. To prevent your app install optimization efforts from getting lost in the different parties’ every day work, it is important to create a joined understanding of the topic, followed by clear responsibilities and goals.
The opportunity for a better App Install Ad UX
Looking at the inconsistency in the ad click flow underlines the importance of a coherent user experience. Of course, the subject comes with very specific challenges, such as the variety of parties involved and knowledge required on how app stores work. Looking at the ever growing amount of money involved in running app install campaigns, the opportunity of improving campaign performance through a better user experience still feels well worthwhile.
So when you get ready to start your next campaign make sure to have an eye on post click consistency — I am very curios to hear your thoughts.
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Further Reads:
- I wrote about the opportunity of putting more brand-feeling into app stores here.
- App install ads and their optimization are important in the Discovery and Download stage of the App Store Optimization Funnel. This post gives a more detailed overview of the stages involved in optimizing performance in the app store:
