Paid Installs

Paid installs

Paid installs, also known as non-organic installs (NOI), occur when a user downloads and installs an app after being exposed to a marketing campaign. These campaigns can take various forms of advertising, such as social media ads, display ads, video ads, or search ads, and are part of user acquisition efforts on paid and owned media. 

Advertisers pay a fee to the ad network or mobile app publisher for each user who clicks on the ad and installs the app. Owned marketing channels, unlike paid ones, are channels that businesses own and don’t have to pay for. Both types of campaigns aim to attract users to download an app after viewing and clicking on an ad.

Pay per install

Pay per install (PPI) is a common form of mobile app advertising where advertisers pay for each app install that is generated through an advertisement. Mobile app pay-per-install networks are platforms that facilitate this process by connecting app developers with advertisers who want to promote their apps through their websites, social media channels, and other mobile apps. To succeed in a pay-per-install campaign, it’s important to choose the right network and target the right audience. Advertisers should also optimize their app store listings, create engaging ad creatives, and continually test and refine their campaigns to improve performance.

Uses of paid installs

1. Boost app downloads and ROI

The objective of paid app installs is to enhance the number of downloads and augment the visibility and exposure of the app. By leveraging paid app-install ads or campaigns, a substantial amount of downloads can be generated in a relatively short period of time, thereby elevating the app’s rank on the app store being advertised. This, in turn, boosts the app’s visibility, attracting a new audience of potential users.

2. Grow organic app installs

Paid installs are crucial for brands competing for mobile real estate on smartphone home screens, as they can increase organic installs. By maintaining a certain amount of paid downloads and positive reviews over time, an app’s ranking can improve, leading to organic traffic and active downloads, which are organic app installs. However, this strategy is more effective for certain app categories than others. Social and multiplayer games, such as racing and word games, tend to benefit the most from this approach, as users often share them with friends to play together, resulting in multiple installs. In contrast, app categories such as tools, strategy, and shopping may see weaker organic boosts.

How to track paid app installs in Adapty

In Adapty, you can see paid app installs by navigating to the Analytics section of the Adapty dashboard. From there, you can view detailed data on your app’s installs, including the number of installs by acquisition channel, such as paid advertising campaigns. Adapty provides integration with mobile measurement partners including AppsFlyer and Adjust to provide you with full-funnel analytics on your app installs and subscriptions, allowing you to track the performance of your paid acquisition campaigns and see how your organic installs compare to your paid installs in terms of conversion rates and user retention.