User acquisition agencies can make app growth a whole lot easier when trying to navigate the crowded mobile app market. They know all the tricks to boost the visibility of mobile apps and attract the right users through proven expertise and specialization.
In this guide, we will walk you through the essential criteria for selecting the best user acquisition agency for your needs. From proven track records to innovative strategies, we’ll cover everything you need to know to make an informed decision and maximize the full potential of mobile apps.
Top User Acquisition Agencies & Platforms
User acquisition agencies offer a range of services tailored to increase app downloads and user engagement. They employ targeted marketing campaigns, harness advanced analytics, and provide expert insights to help you acquire high-quality users efficiently.
Working with top user acquisition agencies can be a game-changer for your app’s success. These agencies have a proven track record of delivering results through innovative strategies and a deep understanding of the mobile app ecosystem.
Choosing the right user acquisition agency is crucial to achieving your app’s growth objectives. It involves evaluating factors such as the agency’s expertise, past performance, and the range of services they offer.
Finding the top user acquisition companies can be a challenge itself. Therefore, we have listed only the best of them for you below.
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Learn more >What is mobile user acquisition?
Mobile user acquisition is the process of acquiring new users or customers for your mobile app business, using marketing strategies to increase awareness of your product.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, you want your product to stand out in the crowd. Simply releasing your services onto the app space isn’t going to do the job alone. It will take more know-how and expertise to ace the process.
User Acquisition Services Buyers guide
Download our User Acquisition Services Buyers guide to get a full list of the best service providers on the market to choose from. The guide also covers what is a user acquisition company and how to choose the right one.
You may have spent hours upon hours, developing the best product there is. But the fact of the matter is, no customer means no business.
To return the investment into your mobile app, let alone increase your app ROI, you will want to strongly focus on continuously increasing the number of customers.
Customer acquisition is therefore an ongoing analysis of data, constantly identifying innovative and effective ways to attract new users that drive profitable action as well as testing to validate various app marketing hypotheses.
Mobile user acquisition is a suite of app marketing activities in which ad creatives connect mobile apps with its users, introducing the best channels that drive increased app installs.
Brands will typically implement customer acquisition marketing efforts to obtain new users and increase app installs, including a variety of acquisition strategies to boost their client base.
Now that we have discussed the overall definition of mobile user acquisition, we can take a deep dive into why implementing an effective user acquisition strategy is so important and what companies can help you attract more customers.
Top User Acquisition Platforms and Agencies
The best user acquisition companies
Mobile user acquisition companies specialize in helping businesses acquire new users for their apps. These companies utilize various strategies and tactics to drive installs, registrations, and the overall usage of mobile apps.
Their expertise often includes mobile advertising, app store optimization, influencer marketing, and mobile-specific analytics to maximize the efficiency (and effectiveness) of user acquisition campaigns. Focusing on the mobile ecosystem, these companies aim to assist clients in growing their user base and maximizing their return.
We’ve listed the best user acquisition companies below.
1. Moburst
Moburst helps app developers and publishers increase their app’s visibility and boost their overall user acquisition.
Overview
Moburst was founded in 2013 by Gilad Bechar. Since then, it has served startups and brands such as Google, Samsung, Reddit, Uber, Dunkin, YouTube, Bumble, Robinhood, and Playtika.
Moburst has offices in New York City, San Francisco, London, and Tel Aviv.
Services
Moburst provides its customers with the following services:
- Creative solutions, including the production of banners, video ads, and other promotional materials
- Focuses on purchasing ad space across various platforms to target the right audience effectively. Moburst uses data-driven strategies to optimize the cost per install and maximize the return on investment
- Optimizing your app’s presence on app stores to improve visibility and increase download rates. This includes keyword optimization, creative asset design, and localization
2. Performcb
Their offerings include the Cost-per-Acquisition, Cost-per-Install, Cost-per-Lead, Cost-per-Engagement, Cost-per-Sale, and Pay-per-Call models.
Overview
Founded in 2002, Performcb has built a strong reputation in the performance marketing industry, being recognized as the number one CPA Network worldwide since 2015.
The company focuses on various verticals, including finance, entertainment, eCommerce, health, and wellness.
Services
Performcb provides its customers with the following services:
- Specialized strategies for industries such as finance, entertainment, eCommerce, health, and wellness to boost user acquisition
- Real-time analytics for campaign performance and transparency, as well as the accessibility of marketing data
- Software for advanced fraud detection and protection that ensures brand safety and marketing compliance
3. Zoomd
The platform integrates over 600 media sources into a single dashboard, allowing advertisers to optimize their marketing efforts and gain insights into consumer behavior.
Overview
Zoomd was founded in 2012. Its clients include a wide range of global brands in industries such as eCommerce, fintech, gaming, and entertainment.
The company’s mission is to empower marketers to outperform their objectives through tech innovation and comprehensive marketing solutions.
Services
Zoomd provides its customers with the following services:
- Mobile app user acquisition through advanced algorithms and data analytics to reach beyond key performance indicators
- Helps to simplify global advertising efforts by integrating multiple advertising channels
- A self-serve platform, Skipper, that’s dedicated to user acquisition management
4. Propeller Ads
This includes demographic and interest-based targeting, as well as custom audience creation.
Overview
PropellerAds was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus.
PropellerAds serves a global market with significant traffic volume and reach, registering over 12 billion ad impressions daily across 195 geographic locations. The company is dedicated to providing affordable performance marketing solutions.
Services
Propeller Ads provides its customers with the following services:
- Advertisers can reach users directly on their devices with personalized messages, even when they are not actively browsing. This helps in maintaining engagement and driving users back to the app or site​Â
- Browser-based notifications that act like native ads, providing a seamless user experience without requiring user consent
- Interactive ads that capture user attention effectively. Interstitials overlay the content, while popunders appear behind the main browser window, minimizing disruption
5. Favoured
Favoured is known for its results-driven approach and has received several accolades.
Overview
Favoured is a multi-channel digital marketing agency founded in 2017 that specializes in driving growth for innovative companies.
Based in London and Leeds, the agency is known for its strategic approach to digital marketing, focusing on achieving measurable results for its clients. Favoured has worked with prominent brands, including Durex, Elvie, and Wombat Invest.
Services
Favoured provides its customers with the following services:
- Conversion strategy, email, push and in-app pop-up automations, MarTech implementation, CRO and ASO
- Product photography, motion graphics, and video filming to create captivating content for your social and ads to drive user acquisition
- Paid social media marketing with expertise in TikTok, Apple Search and Instagram advertising
6. Creative Clicks
The company facilitates user acquisition and monetization through various channels, including social, search, programmatic, native, and in-app display advertising.
Overview
Creative Clicks was founded in 2009 by Raymond Kokken and Ramon Bulk and is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
The company operates in over 65 countries and works with more than 36,000 vetted partners to deliver significant reach. Creative Clicks serves a variety of verticals too, including adult, dating, eCommerce, education, entertainment, finance, gambling, Nutra, lead generation, mobile, and sweepstakes​.
Services
Creative Clicks provides its customers with the following services:
- Utilizes machine learning to target and acquire high-quality users at scale
- Analyzes ad data to optimize performance across various metrics such as behavioral data, geo-location, and device types
- Implements proprietary fraud detection software and dedicated monitoring teams to protect ad spend
7. Yodel Mobile
The platform focuses on full lifecycle marketing, offering (tailored) strategies that cover the entire journey of a mobile app from pre-launch to scaling.
Overview
Yodel Mobile was founded in 2007 and is based in London. The agency is known for its comprehensive approach to mobile marketing, combining creative, strategic, and analytical expertise.
The company has worked with a variety of high-profile clients, including The Economist, NBCUniversal, and Fujifilm, among others.
Services
Yodel Mobile provides its customers with the following services:
- Enhances app visibility and conversion rates in app stores through keyword optimization, creative asset design, and metadata optimization
- Runs targeted campaigns across various channels such as social media, search engines, and programmatic advertising to attract high-quality users
- Develops strategies to keep users engaged and active within the app, including push notifications, in-app messaging, and lifecycle marketing
8. Phiture
The company is particularly well known for its Mobile Growth Stack, a strategic framework for managing and optimizing mobile growth efforts.
Overview
It’s a Berlin-based mobile growth consultancy and agency founded in 2016 by Andy Carvell and Moritz Daan.
Phiture works with a range of high-profile clients including Headspace, Adobe, and Spotify. The agency has a reputation for delivering impactful growth strategies and has received industry recognition for its expertise.
Services
Phiture provides its customers with the following services:
- Improves app visibility and conversion rates in app stores as well as conducting keyword research, metadata optimization, and A/B testing of app store creatives
- Runs and optimizes paid acquisition campaigns across various channels
- Develops strategies to enhance user engagement and retention and implements lifecycle marketing, push notifications, and in-app messaging
9. Verve
The company specializes in leveraging location data to deliver targeted advertising and enhancing the precision of ad targeting to reach the right consumers at the right times.
Overview
Verve, also known as Verve Group, is a global mobile marketing and advertising technology company that was founded in 2005.
Their mission is to disrupt the ad value chain to create more value for advertisers, publishers, and consumers. The company’s core values include curiosity, collaboration, simplicity, action, and continuous improvement.
Services
Verve provides its customers with the following services:
- Offers tools to optimize ad spend and maximize return on investment (ROI) as well as boost user acquisition
- Includes programmatic ad buying, performance marketing, and contextual targeting
- Helps publishers increase revenue through higher CPMs and better fill rates and provides open-source development tools to ease the transition from cookie-based targeting
10. Remerge
The company assists in A/B testing of creatives, resizing, and building dynamic ads to enhance engagement and is able to measure the actual impact of ad campaigns.
Overview
Remerge was founded in 2014 and operates globally, with offices in New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Singapore.
The agency partners with numerous high-profile clients across various industries, including gaming, eCommerce, and food delivery. Remerge also collaborates with various mobile measurement partners such as Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava, and Singular.
Services
Remerge provides its customers with the following services:
- Leverages data to target potential users who are likely to install and engage with the app
- Re-engages users who have already installed the app but have become inactive (or have not completed desired actions)
- Creates personalized ads based on user behavior and preferences
11. ConsultMyApp
The agency is able to implement marketing tech to support app growth as well as develop comprehensive marketing strategies that are tailored to client needs.
Overview
ConsultMyApp (also known as CMA) was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in London, UK, with additional locations in Germany.
The company works with a variety of long-term clients, including well-known brands such as Deliveroo, The Telegraph, Tide, and PureGym.
Services
ConsultMyApp provides its customers with the following services:
- Improves mobile app visibility and download rates across the app stores
- Employs strategies to acquire new and long-term users through paid advertising campaigns
- Enhances user engagement and retention through leading customer relationship management
12. PreApps
PreApps has been instrumental in the success of many apps, helping them achieve millions of downloads. Their expertise covers multiple app categories, including games, health and wellness, productivity, social, and even travel apps.
Overview
PreApps was founded in 2012 by Sean Casto and is headquartered in Boston, United States.
The company has a strong track record, having worked with high-profile clients such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, ESPN, Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and NBC Universal.
Services
PreApps provides its customers with the following services:
- Implements marketing strategies to generate interest and build hype before an app’s launch through press releases, social media marketing, and influencer outreach
- Facilitates beta testing to gather user feedback and improve app functionality before the official release
- Enhances app store listings by optimizing keywords, writing compelling descriptions, and designing eye-catching visuals to improve visibility and increase downloads
Why are user acquisition agencies important?
Whether you are an indie app developer and a big app development powerhouse, mobile user acquisition will always be one of, if not the most, important aspect of your business.
Today there are over 3.2 billion smartphone users out there, with 1.28 billion tablets in people’s hands. And as more and more people are owning mobile devices, app installs are booming at a rapid speed, with over 5 million mobile apps available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store marketplaces combined.
Mobile commerce is on the constant rise, currently making up almost three quarters (72.9%) of total e-commerce. Hence, mobile apps are becoming the core focus of brands to take their business to the next level.
With user acquisition allowing you to establish your place in this new market space, it provides more benefits that support the overall health and success of your brand:
Growth
It’s no secret that growth is what businesses strive for, but it is the various, unique strategies that feed into the growth of a business that remain an integral component one must master in order to succeed.
And for mobile businesses, acquiring new users and maximising their value will help you increase your in-app purchase revenue.
To keep your brand upping its numbers, you want to keep retargeting and remarketing your campaigns, and implement a solid user acquisition strategy to retain your customers, while continuing to earn yourself new and valuable users.
Visibility
Another reason why you will want to look into a top user acquisition company is because integrating an effective user acquisition strategy will significantly help enhance your visibility, allowing your app to rank higher in app stores. This is due to the number of downloads being a relevant ranking factor to app store algorithms.
Driving more traffic to your product will also lead to more ratings, reviews and engagements, all of which are valuable metrics to app stores.
The more opportunities you create for increasing the number of organic installs, the more visibility you can obtain, keeping your app a profitable service.
What do mobile user acquisition agencies do?
User acquisition agencies are like the talent scouts of the digital world. Their main gig is to help businesses grow by attracting new users or customers. Imagine you have a cool new app, but nobody knows about it. That’s where these agencies come in. They create and execute marketing strategies to get your app in front of the right people.
User acquisition agencies use all sorts of tactics like social media ads, influencer partnerships, SEO, and even old-school email campaigns.
The goal? To get more people to download your app, sign up for your service, or buy your product. They also keep an eye on the data to see what’s working and tweak the approach as needed. It’s all about driving growth and making sure your business reaches its potential.
This may sound like a stack of work to get through. And yes, there are several ways to master the process. But we’ve put together the most common methods that bespoke user acquisition companies use for successful campaigns.
Identify target mobile app users
When it comes to acquiring new users, among many goals and tasks that app marketers have, front and centred is to identify potential users. This is a crucial steppingstone for a mobile user acquisition campaign to be successful.
The logic here is, the better you can identify the target users of your business, the better your budget will be spending and the more customers – hopefully loyal ones – will be acquired for your mobile app.
By and large, a target audience for your app are people who engage with the app the most and complete as many actions inside the app as you need them to.
Create lookalike audience
Once your mobile app gets its initial user base acquired, the next step should be building your so-called lookalike audience.
A lookalike audience is a term introduced by Facebook Ads platform that defines a method to reach new customers, as they share similar traits to your best existing ones.
Lookalike audience is built on data gathered about users who have similar interests related to a particular product or service, and provides additional insight into which audience to target that is likely to engage with your business.
Carry out creative testing
The next crucial step is to design and test a set of ad creatives to use in your user acquisition campaigns to attract new app users efficiently.
Implementing creative testing will allow you to spend your ad budget wisely while exploring new concepts that will work for your app exclusively.
Even though there may be general guidelines for designing efficient creatives, creative testing is vital in keeping your customer acquisition plan efficient and reliable for user growth.
What strategies do top user acquisition companies use?
Top user acquisition companies use a variety of strategies to attract and retain users. They leverage social media advertising, influencer partnerships, and SEO to increase visibility and drive traffic.
Content marketing and email campaigns keep the audience engaged, while app store optimization ensures apps are easily found and appealing. Paid search ads target people already interested in what you offer, and retargeting ads bring back those who didn’t convert initially.
User acquisition agencies rely heavily on analytics to track performance and make data-driven adjustments. By combining creative approaches with a deep understanding of their audience, they craft effective campaigns that turn potential users into loyal customers, helping businesses grow and succeed in the competitive digital landscape.
With app owners and marketers having a plethora of customer acquisition strategies to choose from for their plan, we have highlighted the most common and productive ones for you below.
Content marketing
All too often, organic content marketing efforts are overlooked, as they don’t seem to make much of an impact. However, content marketing is a crucial component in SEO that can massively help improve it, enhancing visibility and therefore attracting new users.
Having a blog that covers topics surrounding your app, addressing users’ frequently asked questions and feeding their curiosity, or even getting in touch with online publications to publish articles that tell the story of your business can give your product the ultimate boost in awareness.
Content marketing introduces people to your brand and lays out its benefits, with a set of good writing skills, a sense of humour and the ability to let people know how your app is the ultimate solution to their enquiries.
Paid advertising
In mobile user acquisition you get organic and paid acquisition. Paid acquisition can be a quick way to get leads and drive profitable action from users.
Pay-per-click (PPC) is the most common paid internet advertising model, in which a marketer pays a publisher for each time their ad is clicked on. In essence, the marketer pays to use an ad space, which cost is often agreed on through bidding.
Using paid ads on mobile platforms, such as Apple Search Ads and Google Universal App Campaigns, social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are a great way to get your app to the top of the search result pages and recognised on other websites.
Influencer marketing
All of the top social media platforms have users that have risen to the popularity of a celebrity. These people have many loyal followers who are highly engaged with what these influencers have to say.
Many products and services are being advertised via influencers, and apps are just yet another type of product for them to introduce to their fans. To facilitate influencer marketing, several influencer marketing agencies and platforms have stepped up to mediate relationships between brands and Influencers.
Influencer marketing is therefore effective for short-time app download-bursts to increase their rankings on app stores and generate lasting results as well as to promote mobile user acquisition on a regular basis.
PR & press coverage
Before influencer marketing was born, getting an app covered by a major publication was one of the most desirable outcomes of an app marketing campaign.
Today, the number of publications that cover apps may have decreased, however, this channel is still relevant. You want to get the word out wherever you can.
Getting an app covered by media requires good planning, well-written outreach emails and relevant bloggers that can get your product out to the public.
Video content
Among all ad formats available to an app marketer, video is the most effective because it shows a mobile app in action, engaging a potential app user instantly.
Also, users of today’s digital age love visuals. So, producing video content can be a promising strategy to integrate.
Video content is the choice for the majority of app advertising platforms, as users are less interested in reading long-form articles about a product and would lean more towards moving images, preferably with a relatable and engaging story they can resonate with.
Email marketing
Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of online marketing and this strategy still works well when acquiring new users for your product.
Email provides an environment to introduce an app and its new features to people when they aren’t frantically pacing through their feed on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok.
Another email feature that makes it stand out from the rest is that you can send not just one email, but a series of emails to your target audience, via tracking pixel on your website. This means that these users have already expressed an interest in your brand, increasing the likelihood of them becoming a customer.
Traditional marketing
While we can appreciate the new, innovative digital marketing channels and modern strategies we know and love, offline marketing should not be overlooked.
TV, radio and podcast ads can reach out to people when they aren’t exposed to digital ads and can even be more helpful to your app brand.
And one should also not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth, as it can be extremely effective, even in the evolving digital landscape. Presenting your app at an industry-relevant conference or event and connecting with other industry professionals can go a long way.
Now that we have discussed the overall definition and processes of mobile user acquisition, we can take a deep dive into why implementing an effective user acquisition strategy is so important and what companies can help you achieve your brand objectives.
How much does user acquisition cost?
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) for mobile user acquisition campaigns can include a Cost per install (CPI) strategy, which is an extremely cost-effective way to attract new customers. This is mainly due to it being lower in cost than user acquisition done by external advertising channels.
Knowing the best techniques to implement into your user acquisition strategies will allow you to arrange your advertising costs wisely, running a well-oiled, sustainable business with minimal financial waste. Moreover, the cost to acquire new users for mobile app owners can vary significantly depending on several factors, including the platform, region, and type of app.
Here’s an overview based on recent data:
Cost per Install (CPI)
The average CPI globally varies by platform. For iOS, it’s around $3.60, while for Android, it’s about $1.22. In specific regions like North America, CPI can be as high as $5.28​.
For mobile games, the CPI can differ based on the genre, with casual games having lower costs compared to more complex genres like RPGs.
Cost per Action (CPA)
CPA for different actions also varies. For instance, registering a new user costs around $3.50, while acquiring a user who makes an in-app purchase can cost up to $87.
Advertising platforms
Google mobile app install ads have a CPC (Cost per Click) of $0.88 and a CPA of $5.42. TikTok ads have a CPI ranging from $1.75 to $4.00, with varying costs for different types of engagements​.
Additional costs
Marketing expenses include app market research ($5,000 – $15,000), app beta testing (up to $5,000), ASO tools ($25 – $1,500 per month), and app marketing agency fees (up to $25,000 per app)​ (Mobile Growth Association)​.
Optimization strategies costs
To reduce user acquisition costs, app owners can focus on App Store Optimization (ASO), leveraging organic acquisition channels, and improving user retention and engagement. It’s also crucial to monitor and adjust marketing strategies based on the performance of different channels.
Overall, the key to managing user acquisition costs effectively is to balance the investment with the lifetime value (LTV) of the users and continuously optimize marketing strategies to ensure a favorable LTV to CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) ratio.
This is where user acquisition companies step in and can take over the task of managing these costs for you. You will not need to worry about budgeting, and be rest assured your mobile app marketing efforts are in good hands.
How can I benefit from user acquisition agencies?
Mobile user acquisition agencies are essential in order for your business to grow and become a sustainable platform. There are a number of companies that step up the plate to help app publishers and marketers to acquire app users and increase traffic.
In a competitive marketplace with a diversity of unique services, you want to get people’s attention to your app, showing that this one is worth downloading from all of the rest.
And we now understand that this can be a rather difficult task that requires bespoke marketing know-how, dedication and out-of-the-box thinking. Identifying the best techniques that meet the needs of your unique mobile app can also feel like a complex task.
This is why user acquisition agencies exist, thankfully. So, we may have just the right services you need to see your brand shine.
User acquisition agencies and companies meet the demand for an efficient and transparent ad platform that will help grow mobile apps’ user base instantly.
