According to a recent mobile user acquisition report from VentureBeat, the job of app marketers is becoming increasingly challenging. The report surveyed 731 mobile developers, examining trends in the current UA landscape.
Gathering data from approximately 14 billion mobile ads, the study found that the cost of acquiring a new user has been steadily increasing in recent years. In fact, according to the data provided by VentureBeat, typical UA costs have tripled since 2012.
Interestingly, however, is AdColony’s relatively stable UA costs comparatively. While industry UA costs have risen 200%, AdColony CPIs have only risen 5.6% over the same time period. Perhaps, then, it’s not surprising that AdColony was the highest rated independent vendor at supplying quality users at a fair price.
While the reason for the UA cost stability on the AdColony platform is multi-faceted (yield-optimization engines, look-alike targeting, and view-through reporting), the industry-wide instability is causing yet another trend noted by the study:
Simply, when it comes to acquiring high value users, mobile marketers are turning to cost-per-action and cost-per-engagement campaigns. Given the trends toward post-install event campaign optimization and look-alike targeting, this shift was to be expected.
While the payment method of UA campaigns may be shifting, the top strategies listed by the 731 respondents resonate with another UA survey conducted earlier this year, as social and video ads prove to be the most effective mobile user acquisition strategies for publishers.
With respect to user acquisition costs by app genre, the 731 mobile developers surveyed reported similar findings to a recent Appsflyer index, showing an intriguing level of competition among travel apps.
Learn More
The full report, “Mobile User Acquisition: How top publishers get the best users for less money,” is available directly through VentureBeat. Additionally, highlights from the AdColony spring 2015 User Acquisition Survey, which features UA trends and insights from the top 100 earning developers, is also available.
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