Marketers love acronyms, and mobile marketers are no exception. You’ve probably always wondered what ARPU, CTI, PCR, CPI are. Don’t worry, we’re going to figure it out together with the experts at AppsFlyer, a marketing measurement and customer experience platform.
Mobile app marketing is ultimately data-driven, and the most effective way to measure performance is to determine which metrics are key success criteria. No single metric can fully capture the impact of your ad spend, so we’ll list all the important metrics so you can better understand how you can effectively measure engagement, content, conversion, performance, and more. We recommend avoiding over-complication and measuring KPIs that are not relevant to your business. Try out a few options to find the one that works best for your app and needs, and then optimize those metrics as you go.
- Fraud rate during app installation
The percentage of fraudulent installations detected and blocked relative to the total number of app installations. This is calculated by the formula: number of fraudulent installations / total number of NOI (inorganic installations)
2. Average user revenue (ARPU)
This metric includes in-app purchases, ad impressions, ad clicks, subscriptions, and paid downloads. ARPU is calculated by the formula: revenue for the period of time/total number of users
3. Average revenue per paid user (ARPPU)
Approximate revenue generated from one user over a certain period of time through subscriptions, in-app purchases, or downloads. ARPPU is calculated by the formula: total revenue / number of paying users
4. Average session per user
The average time users spend on your app per session. It helps to determine the ratio of highly engaged users to less engaged ones. The metric is calculated using the formula: total sessions / total users
5. Return on advertising spend (ROAS)
The metric measures the profitability of an advertising campaign and is calculated by the formula: revenue per user / total marketing costs
6. Click to Install (CTI)
A metric that shows the percentage of users who clicked an ad and installed your app. CTI is calculated by: number of downloads/number of clicks
7. Cost per Install (CPI)
Measures the cost that an advertiser pays to a publisher for installing an app. CPI is calculated by the formula: advertising costs/total number of downloads in advertising campaigns
8. Cost per action (CPA)
The cost of getting a user to perform a certain action, including registering an account, making an in-app purchase, or setting up notifications. CPA is calculated by the formula: cost / total number of measured actions
9. Actual cost per thousand impressions (eCPM)
The revenue generated per 1000 impressions is used by publishers to optimize ad placement, monitor monetization campaigns, and measure the overall effectiveness of ad monetization. eCPM is calculated by the formula: (total ad revenue/total impressions) * 1000
10. Lifetime value (LTV)
The amount of revenue received from one user for installing an application in the period up to a certain date. LTV is calculated based on: total revenue generated since a certain date of installation/total number of users who installed the app on that date
11. Paid conversion rate (PCR)
The volume of conversions from paid advertising, including PPC, display advertising, social media advertising, and sponsored reviews. PCR is calculated based on the total number of conversions/total number of interactions with conversion-related ads
12. Cost per click (PPC)
This metric shows how much it costs to click on an ad. PPC is calculated using the formula: total ad spend/number of clicks
13. Retention rate (RR)
The number of users who returned over a certain period of time. This is calculated by: total active users during the date range after installation/total number of users who launched your app for the first time during the same date range.
14. Repeat purchase rate (RPR)
The number of users who made several purchases in more than one session, which indicates a higher LTV. RPR is calculated by the formula: total number of purchases from existing users/total number of purchases
15. Return on experience (ROX)
Measures the financial impact of a campaign on customer experience. ROX is calculated using the formula: benefit (e.g., revenue)/cost of experience (software, services, labor) x 100%.
15. Remarketing conversion rate / Average remarketing rate
The percentage of remarketing conversions compared to all marketing conversions. Remarketing is key to improving content and user LTV, and has been proven to be much cheaper than acquiring new users. This metric is calculated using the formula: total remarketing conversions / total marketing conversions
The above formulas will allow mobile marketing specialists to analyze the progress of campaigns and, having evaluated the obtained indicators, adjust the tools if necessary.
