Google Universal App Campaign (UAC) Setup to achieve highest ROAS

Introduction

Google Universal App Campaigns (UAC) are an effective way to promote our mobile app across Google’s vast advertising ecosystem. By following best practices, we can maximize our app’s visibility, drive downloads, and achieve our marketing objectives. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to set up conversions in Google Ads for mobile apps, how to set up conversion windows for each conversion based on the conversion type, and how bidding in Google UAC works.

Setting up Conversions in Google Ads for Mobile Apps A crucial step for measuring and optimizing our app’s performance. We’re not going to go into detail here, as there’s couple of ways how this can be done. Our recommendation is to go with Firebase, as we’re able to customize the conversions as needed + it allows us to run tROAS campaigns on Android devices.

Check out Google help page here for more info: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6397604?hl=en

Setting Up Conversion Windows for Each Conversion Based on the Conversion Type A conversion window is the time frame during which a user’s interaction with our ad is considered relevant for conversion tracking. Setting up the appropriate conversion window for each conversion type is essential for accurate data analysis and optimization. Here’s how we can set up conversion windows based on conversion types:

a. App installs: For app installs, a shorter conversion window, such as 1 or 7 days, is usually sufficient, as most installs occur shortly after ad interaction.

b. In-app purchases or subscriptions: In-app purchases or subscriptions may have a longer conversion window, such as 30 days or even 90 days, as users may take more time to decide to make a purchase or subscribe after installing the app.

c. Custom in-app events: For custom events, such as completing a level or inviting friends, the conversion window may vary depending on user behavior within our app. Analyze our app’s user data to determine the appropriate conversion window for each event.

How Bidding in Google UAC Works

Google UAC uses a machine learning-based bidding system that automatically optimizes our bids to achieve our campaign objectives. Here’s an overview of how bidding works in Google UAC:

Cost Per Install (CPI):

UAC can optimize for installs by targeting a specific cost per install. This option focuses on driving app installs at the desired CPI, and it is available for both iOS and Google Play apps.

Cost Per Action (CPA):

UAC can optimize for in-app actions, such as in-app purchases, subscriptions, or custom events. By setting a target CPA, you can aim to acquire users who are more likely to perform these actions. This option is available for both iOS and Google Play apps.

1. 1. We need to determine the value of our conversions: Analyze app’s user data and revenue streams to estimate the value of each conversion action, such as in-app purchases, level completions, or subscriptions. We calculate the average revenue generated per user for each action and use it as a starting point for our target CPA.
   2. Choose a realistic initial target CPA: Based on our analysis, we set an initial target CPA that aligns with our app’s revenue and user acquisition goals. This value should be realistic and achievable, taking into consideration our app’s current performance and market competition.

Target Return On Ad Spend (tROAS):

UAC can optimize for a specific return on ad spend, which focuses on driving revenue from users acquired through our ads. With this optimization option, Google’s algorithms aim to maximize the total value of conversions while maintaining the target ROAS. Due to Apple’s limitations on data sharing, tROAS optimization is not available for iOS apps. This is mainly because Apple’s AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) framework restricts the access to user-level data, making it impossible for Google’s algorithms to optimize for tROAS accurately.

How to run tROAS optimization profitably

1. Logic behind the setup: When setting up our UAC, you’ll need to choose tROAS as our optimization goal and set a target percentage. This percentage represents the desired return on ad spend. For example, if you set a tROAS target of 200%, it means that for every $1 spent on ads, you aim to generate $2 in revenue.
2. How it works: The tROAS optimization relies on the conversion value data that you provide through our conversion tracking setup. This data represents the revenue generated from in-app purchases, subscriptions, or other valuable actions that users perform in our app. The more accurate and granular our conversion value data, the better Google’s algorithms can optimize our bids for tROAS. For example: If our selected covnersion’s window is 7 days and tROAS is set to 60%, we’re telling google to adjust the bidding to achieve D7 60% ROAS. Of course this is what needs to be set accordingly to the app’s performance, as targets set too high will throttle the daily spend and therefore the number of events achieved, that google needs for its optimization.
3. How we set it up:
   1. In case we already have historical data on our current app, we set the target as percentage of revenue on last day of our conversion window setup in the conversion we are using as the optimization goal. We look at the app’s performance and set the percentage a little big higher than the accumulated revenue in the window (D7, D30 etc) which our target conversion is set on.
   2. If there are no historical data, we start with desired ROAS we’d like to achieve in the timeframe based on the conversion window.
4. Best practices for tROAS optimization
   1. We prioritize events with high frequency and value in Google Universal App Campaigns (UAC). For mobile apps, especially games heavily reliant on in-app monetization, we concentrate on tracking in-app purchases as conversion actions. However, if a game’s monetization primarily depends on ads, we set up ad impressions as the main conversion in Google Ads.
   2. Target Return on Ad Spend (tROAS) is an excellent optimization goal for apps that can achieve at least 10 target conversions per day, focusing on maximizing revenue. If the number of target conversions is below this threshold, tROAS may not perform well, and Target Cost Per Action (tCPA) campaigns could be a more suitable option for driving in-app actions.
   3. After launching a tROAS campaign in Google Ads, we allow it to run for at least the duration of the conversion window set for the target conversion. This approach provides the machine learning algorithms with ample time to optimize bids and gather sufficient data for evaluation.
   4. Emphasize short conversion windows – Google recommends focusing on 7-day conversion windows for app installs and other conversion types in UAC. Our experience confirms that this timeframe yields the best results for user acquisition and campaign performance.

We strongly suggest to run tROAS when possible. We tested this optimization on in App heavy games and Ad heavy games and in both cases, this optimization has brought us better performance than optimizing towards events.