If you’ve ever downloaded a game or app after seeing an ad on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, Mobile Attribution Platforms have become part of a huge supply chain. They operate in the background of mobile advertising, but they allow app companies to understand which ads work and which do not. Without these platforms, marketers would be left guessing and businesses could be putting millions into ads that do not work. There is over $200 billion a year in the mobile app economy.
With that kind of spend on ads and downloads, it's imperative to understand what works and what does not. This is where mobile attribution platforms come into play. They track users journeys, connect ad spend to installs, and provide businesses the necessary insight to scale the business accordingly.
Why Mobile Attribution Platforms Matter
Consider mobile app marketing like basketball: you may shoot dozens of shots, but if you don’t know whether those shots are going in, how do you plan to improve? This is the very problem that marketers are facing without mobile attribution platforms. These platforms will keep track of every “shot”, every ad click, install, and in-app event, so that marketers are not guessing where to “shoot” their money and where to stop wasting their very valuable spending.
Research shows that approximately 68% of app installs are attributable by an ad. However, not all ad channels are created equal and that is one of the issues with an ad without a mobile attribution platform, while the organization could be spending thousands of dollars on one ad channel that is only returning minimal app installs and cash, they could have found a more efficient and less expensive ad channel that has been proven to be successful before.
This is the Benefit of Attribution tools, they allow organizations to see patterns amongst ad channels that can lead to true marketing success.
Here is the deal, not all attribution partners are equal. That is why they are looking to work with a trustworthy mobile measurement partner(MMP). One example could be Apptrove, an MMP that provides app marketers with meaningful insights into their campaigns with accurate results (without the inflating numbers).
If companies are not just getting raw numbers, that number matters as they can enact upon their intelligence, as and marketer know if the download was from a Facebook ad, a Google campaign or if it came from a small yet influential voice from someone on social media. Most importantly they will know the value of where their budgets are directed and whether those areas need to be adjusted.
The Role of User Acquisition Tracking
Closely related to attribution is user acquisition tracking. This is just being aware of how many new users get on an app and their reason for doing so. Marketers want more than installs; they want good quality users, who stick around. Did the user download the app and never open it again? Or did they become a loyal user making purchases month after month?
With a combination of mobile attribution platforms and user acquisition tracking, marketers can filter out the noise present in all the data. They can find "high-value" or "quality" users and place their budgets against campaigns that bring that in. For example, you'd spend $1 on an ad, and if you make $5 back from purchases, you'd be living the dream! This can happen but only because attribution systems work.
Mobile Analytics Platforms: Diving Deeper
Once users enter the app, another tool comes into play with mobile analytics platforms. Analytics platforms sort of work like a magnifying glass. They help businesses understand what users are doing inside an app, how long they spend in the app, and what features they love (or hate) in the app and when they stop using the app altogether.
When combined with mobile attribution platforms, Analytics tools can paint the complete picture of what's happening. Attribution can tell you, "This is where the user came from," and analytics can provide a wide variety of data to show what the user did next. Combined, they can enhance the decision-making process of app marketers to become more intelligent.
Final Thoughts
To any marketer invested in mobile marketing, it's very simple: don't fly blind. The days of spending money on ads without understanding their outcomes are over. Mobile attribution platforms are the compass that helps businesses navigate forward. With a forward-thinking provider like Apptrove as a partner, app companies can understand installs, users and a dollar spent on advertising to its fullest.
Success in mobile marketing is not about guessing—it's about knowing. The knowledge starts from attribution.
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