If we look at key areas of a UA manager’s ad playbook, for example video ad campaigns, a significant amount of effort is put into optimizing conversion rates by improving every aspect of the ad creative. However, until the recent emergence of rich media intermediate pages within the offerwall user flow, creative optimization was not a focus for offerwall advertisers, who focused instead on adjusting their bids. The idea behind increasing bids is to get a higher spot on the publisher’s offerwall store, to increase visibility, attract users with higher rewards, and therefore engagement from users. However, advertisers can only raise their bids to a certain limit based on their ROAS goals.
Now, with ironSource there is a huge opportunity for advertisers to improve their offerwall campaigns beyond raised bids - using a similar approach to creative optimization seen in other ad units. The goal with this is optimizing each step of the user journey in offerwall campaigns to increase conversions. It has several similarities to app store optimization (ASO), with both aiming to help your app stand out from the crowd, capture users’ attention, and drive installs. Below we run through each step of the offerwall user flow and explain the different ways you can optimize them to take your ironSource offerwall performance up a notch.
Step 1: Clicking on the offer
At the first stage - getting the user to click on your offer - it’s important to remember that your offer is shown on a list with a number of other competitive offers. Therefore, the focus of your conversion optimization should be on standing out from the crowd and capturing attention.
To that end, the offer's headline can make a significant impact: you have two lines of text at your disposal, which you should optimize through A/B tests of different variations. As a rule of thumb, make sure to localize the language based on the geo of your target audience.
In addition to the text, also experiment with the icon’s design, and test if your campaign performs better with the icon as a GIF or a still image. The icon is the first thing users will see, so make sure it’s eye catching.
Benchmark*: Out of the total campaign impressions, 2.3% of users generally click on an offer
Step 2: Clicking on the intermediate page
Once a user clicks on an offer from the offerwall, they are taken to a new page not dissimilar to an app store listing: it shows a video of the advertiser's game and instructions for completing the offer. At this stage, you are just two clicks away from converting the user to install your app and begin completing your event. Therefore, the aim here is to make the user perception of your game and the post-install event as appealing as possible.
To optimize this stage, experiment with different videos and images - just like ASO, a small change in design can have a big impact. Also play around with the offer's instructions: they should be easy to understand, and need to accurately reflect the difficulty and time required to complete the event. Because users see the reward on the intermediate page too, make sure to align the reward with the time investment required from them.
Benchmark: Of the users who converted to this stage, an average of 55% click to initiate the offer and go to the app store to install.
Step 3: Installing the game
Once you convert the user on the intermediate page, they are taken to the app store listing of your game where they can see reviews, information about the game, and screenshots of the gameplay. Here, you are one click away from the user installing your app, and all the core principles of ASO can be applied.
For instance, having good reviews is important for encouraging users to install. Apart from having a great game, good reviews (or at least avoiding bad reviews) can also be achieved by ensuring your offerwall events are accurately represented in your description. To learn more about how to leverage positive app store reviews, check out our eBook here.
The icon on your app store listing is also very important, so be sure toA/B test different ways to optimize it. As a rule of thumb, avoid cramming too many elements together - a simpler look tends to work better - and choose one simple visual to be the core component of the icon, like your game's main character. Try to make the background a soft color, and contrast that with a more striking color for the character or symbol you include.
Learn more about ASO on our webinar here.
Benchmark: 50% of users who make it to the app store listing decide to install.
Step 4: Completing the task
Once you convert users, and they install your app to begin the event, focus on ensuring the maximum number of users actually complete the event. In the realm of user flow optimization, this can be achieved by ensuring the event is accurately described. If a user starts your event and sees that it requires more effort and time than anticipated, the likelihood of them becoming frustrated and ultimately churning increases. Choosing the right event is also very important: aim for an event that is appealing and challenging enough to create strong engagement with the game, while also ensuring it is achievable. Learn more about choosing the right event here.
Another way to boost completion rates is sending pop-up notifications to users who stopped playing, informing them that they can still complete the event and enjoy its rewards. Doing so also increases retention.
Benchmark: 40% of users who download the game and begin the event, make it to the end to receive their reward in the original game.
*Benchmarks vary according to the game genre and the depth / complexity of the campaign
Ready to acquire high quality users at scale? Get started with the ironSource offerwall now
And download our new eBook, The Ultimate Offerwall Guide, for more insights direct from ironSource’s team of experts
