Digital services for mobile games

User acquisition and growth for mobile games

From the first install to a scalable business: we cover paid user acquisition, ASO, strategic marketing, marketing data science, monetization and product – as one connected growth system rather than isolated channels.

ROAS D7 → D180 LTV
The basics

What is user acquisition?

User acquisition (UA) is the process of winning new users for an app, a game or any other digital product through marketing – paid campaigns on ad networks and via social platforms, app store optimization, influencer marketing, cross-promotion and more.

Succeeding user acquisition is data-centric. It maximizes the margin between what it costs to acquire a user and the revenue that user generates over time, so campaigns pay back and can be scaled. In mobile games – one of the most competitive user acquisition markets – that takes channel and bidding expertise, constant creative testing, reliable measurement and a product that monetizes.

How we approach user acquisition and growth →

CPI
Cost per install – what a new user costs on a given channel.
LTV
Lifetime value – the revenue a user generates over their lifetime in the game.
ROAS
Return on ad spend – revenue from a cohort divided by what it cost to acquire it.
Payback
The number of days until a cohort's revenue has covered its acquisition cost.
Services

Everything a mobile game needs to grow

Games rarely fail on one lever. Acquisition cost, store conversion, retention, monetization and the product itself move together – so we work across all of them, from strategy to hands-on execution.

User acquisition

Paid user acquisition for mobile games that scales profitably – planned against LTV and ROAS targets, not install volume.

  • Meta, Google, AppLovin, Unity, LevelPlay, TikTok & DSPs
  • Bid & budget strategy, tROAS and value optimization
  • Creative strategy & structured creative testing
  • Soft launch, global launch and scaling

App store optimization (ASO)

More organic installs and higher conversion from every paid click, on the App Store and Google Play.

  • Keyword research & metadata
  • Store listing experiments & custom product pages
  • Screenshot, icon and video testing
  • Featuring & localization strategy

Product & strategic marketing

Positioning, audiences and go-to-market plans that make paid and organic growth work for the same goal.

  • Market & competitor analysis
  • Positioning, messaging & brand–performance continuum
  • Launch planning & market sequencing
  • Marketing budget planning and media mix

Business analytics & marketing data science

Decisions you can trust: clean data from MMP to warehouse, and models that predict value before it shows up in revenue.

  • Cohort ROAS & predictive LTV (pLTV) models
  • User segmentation; custom bidding types
  • MMP setup, event taxonomy and signal engineering – AppsFlyer, Adjust, Firebase
  • Data pipelines & dashboards (e.g. BigQuery)
  • Incrementality, MMM & KPI frameworks

Monetization

Revenue design that supports growth: the LTV you can earn decides the CPI you can afford.

  • Ad monetization & mediation (incl. ILRD-based analysis)
  • In-app purchase economy, offers & pricing
  • Hybrid monetization for casual & hybrid-casual games
  • Retention & LiveOps levers

Product development

Market-tested product decisions – from concept validation to the features that move retention and payback.

  • Concept & marketability tests before production
  • Prototype and soft-launch KPI targets
  • Playable ads & rapid creative prototyping
  • Feature prioritization from data
Why work with us

One partner for the whole growth loop

Strategy, operations and analytics in one place – embedded in your team, or as an extension of it. We are equally comfortable defining the plan and running the campaigns.

15+years in mobile games and the app economy
6disciplines covered, from UA to product
Allstages – concept test, soft launch, scale
Anysize – startup studio to listed publisher
Approach

How we work

Clear targets first, then fast iterations. Every engagement can be consulting, management or hands-on operations – or a mix that changes as your team grows.

Define

Agree on goals and guardrails: payback window, ROAS and LTV targets, markets and budget.

Design

Build the plan – channel mix, measurement setup, creative and store strategy – and prioritize by impact.

Refine

Test, measure, cut what doesn't pay back and scale what does. Weekly, not quarterly.

Build

Leave lasting capability: documented processes, dashboards and a team that can run them.

Channels & networks

MetaGoogle AdsAppLovinUnity AdsIronSource / LevelPlayTikTokApple Search AdsDSPsInfluencer

Measurement & data

AppsFlyerAdjustSKAdNetwork / AAKMeta AEMCAPIBigQueryPythonLooker Studio
FAQ

User acquisition for mobile games – common questions

What is the difference between user acquisition and ASO?

User acquisition usually means paid campaigns that bring new players in; app store optimization (ASO) improves how your store page ranks and converts. The two reinforce each other: every paid click lands on the store page, and paid volume can lift organic rankings – so we plan them together.

How do you measure whether user acquisition is working?

We look at cohort ROAS against a payback curve (for example D7, D30 and beyond), predicted LTV, retention and CPI or CPM by channel and creative. On iOS that includes SKAdNetwork / AdAttributionKit data and modeled or incrementality-based views, because user-level attribution is incomplete after ATT.

Do you only do UA?

No. User acquisition is one part of growth. We also cover ASO, strategic and product marketing, business analytics and marketing data science, monetization and product development – because acquisition costs, store conversion, retention and revenue depend on each other.

Can you work alongside our in-house team?

Yes. Most engagements are embedded: we plug into your existing UA, product or data team, take over specific workstreams or set up processes your team then runs on its own.

Which games and stages do you support?

Casual, hybrid-casual, puzzle, mid-core and strategy games on iOS, Android and web – from concept and marketability tests through soft launch to global scaling.

What does an engagement look like?

Typically a short assessment of your current setup and numbers, followed by a project or a monthly retainer for consulting, management or hands-on operations. Get in touch and we will suggest a fitting setup.

Contact

Ready to start a project?

Tell us about your game, your stage and what you want to achieve. We usually reply within two business days.

Prefer email? info@user-acquisition.com

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