App for Instagram Reels design decreased average CPA by 23% while growing daily installs by 4X

Summary

A mobile app for Instagram Reels design was running Apple Search Ads to get on top in their sub-category in various target countries but struggled to win the competition while staying within their KPIs. They turned to Asapty in search for the extended Apple Search Ads management capabilities and successfully decreased average CPA from $1.5 to $1.15 (23% drop) while growing daily installs from 400 to 1600 (4X).

Background

First introduced in August 2020, Instagram Reels came to the point of getting twice as many views as other content. 694,000 reels are sent in private messages every minute. It's no surprise that this trend led to a surge of apps offering design tools for Reels creation. Recognizing this opportunity, the client's team decided to capitalize on the momentum and developed an app with comprehensive Reels design features. Their offering includes templates, collages, video and background removal tools, and more. The app had already established a broad geographical presence, with ambitious plans for further international expansion.

To position the app at the forefront of the sub-category, the customer’s team tried running Apple Search Ads that allows showing the app straight up to the top of the search results.

Challenges

With apps fiercely competing in this very narrow sub-category, it turned out to be a tough battle. Although the app's team tried what seemed to be all possible tactics over time, they still struggled to achieve their desired results within their KPIs. However, understanding that Apple Search Ads still held huge potential for them, they began looking to upgrade their toolkit and extend the Apple Search Ads default platform capabilities. In search of a solution to unlock the full potential of their ads, they landed on Asapty.

How Asapty helped unlock the Apple Search Ads potential

New account structure

A solid account structure is the foundation for profitable growth. We've been using the single-keyword-ad-group (SKAG) structure since 2019, adapting it from our success with Google Ads to Apple Search Ads. The results have consistently been positive. SKAG offers unmatched control and clarity, allowing you to pinpoint exactly what's driving profit and what's not. This structure works for accounts of all sizes, ensuring you never lose track of important performance changes thanks to dedicated ad groups for each keyword.

We advised the Reels app team to adopt this structure, and using Asapty's SKAG creation tool, they implemented it quickly. With SKAG in place, the customer app team could get precise data and control bids and impression volumes at the level of each keyword. By just doing that, they already noticed the positive changes in their campaign performance.

Comprehensive keyword research

Another task was to significantly broaden the pool of keywords and search for missed or new bidding opportunities, not just in one country but across all markets in their extensive list. This was accomplished using Asapty's integrated keyword tool - Keyword Suggester - which searches for and finds all relevant keywords, groups them into clusters or lists, and creates new campaigns -all in one place without leaving in Asapty platform.

By overviewing the keyword strategy with the client’s team, we spotted some additional opportunities for growth by expanded their keyword search beyond just Reels-related terms. First, we considered extending the list with keywords of all types - brand, competitors, and generics. Second, our strategy encompassed all features relevant to the app, including keywords for templates, collages, background removal tools, and various other functionalities.

Custom product pages

Onboarding custom product pages is another solution we recommend to many of our customers, as they are a potent instrument for growing downloads by tailoring your app marketing offer to each audience segment. While working with this customer, we provided detailed recommendations for each custom product page to maximize its effectiveness and appeal to their segmented audience.

Running ads using custom product pages, the app team could spotlight specific features for each group they were targeting more efficiently. As a result, their daily installs went through the roof, being quadrupled.

Results

Onboarding Asapty platform tools, primarily Keyword Suggester, smart optimization, and custom product page management, baked with our team’s expertise and strategic guidance, the client’s team got unparalleled results in their Apple Search Ads campaigns. They knocked their cost per acquisition (CPA) down from $1.5 to $1.15, while boosting daily installs from 400 to a whopping 1,600 - that's 4 times more! They pulled this off by tapping into a bigger pool of keywords and making their search results super relevant with custom product pages.