Glossary/Mobile & App Marketing

• Alternative App Marketplace

  A third-party iOS app store permitted in the EU under the Digital Markets Act since iOS 17.4.

• Android App Links

  Verified web links that open the matching Android app directly, the Android counterpart to iOS Universal Links.

• App Clips

  Lightweight slices of an iOS app that users can launch instantly from a QR code, NFC tag or link without a full install.

• App Install

  A user downloading and first opening an app; MMPs typically count the install at first launch, not at download.

• App Open Ad

  An ad format shown when users open an app or return to it from the background, often on a loading screen.

• App Preview Video

  A short video on an App Store product page that shows the app's features and experience before download.

• App Store Commission

  The share of digital sales Apple and Google keep from in-app purchases and subscriptions, typically between 15% and 30%.

• App Store Featuring

  Editorial placement of an app in the App Store or Google Play, such as the Today tab, which developers can pitch for.

• App Store In-App Events

  Timely events such as challenges, launches or live streams that developers showcase on App Store product pages and in search.

• App Store Optimization (ASO)

  Improving an app's store listing, including title, keywords, screenshots, and ratings, to rank higher and convert more visitors into installs.

• Apple Search Ads (Apple Ads)

  Apple's advertising platform, renamed Apple Ads in 2025, placing promoted apps in App Store search results and other store placements.

• Auto-Renew Rate

  The share of active subscribers who have subscription auto-renewal turned on, a leading indicator of upcoming churn.

• Average Revenue Per Daily Active User (ARPDAU)

  Daily revenue divided by daily active users, a common mobile gaming metric for monetization efficiency.

• Average Revenue Per Paying User (ARPPU)

  Revenue divided by the number of users who made a purchase, showing how much paying users spend.

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

  Total revenue divided by total users over a period, measuring how well a product monetizes its audience.

• Battle Pass

  A game monetization model where players buy access to a seasonal tier of rewards unlocked by playing and completing challenges.

• Billing Grace Period

  A window in which a subscriber keeps access while the app store retries a failed renewal payment.

• Click Spamming

  Mobile ad fraud where fake clicks are fired en masse so fraudsters can claim credit for organic installs that follow.

• Click-to-Install Rate

  The percentage of ad clicks or store page visitors that result in an app install.

• Coarse Conversion Value

  A low, medium or high value Apple sends in SKAdNetwork 4 postbacks when crowd anonymity is too low for a detailed conversion value.

• Conversion Value (SKAN)

  A value an app assigns to post-install user actions under Apple's SKAdNetwork, sent back to advertisers in a privacy-preserving postback.

• Conversion Value Schema

  The mapping that assigns user actions or revenue ranges to SKAdNetwork's 64 possible fine conversion values.

• Crowd Anonymity (Privacy Threshold)

  Apple's tiered privacy rule that reduces the detail in SKAdNetwork postbacks when a campaign drives too few installs to protect user anonymity.

• Custom Product Pages

  Alternate App Store product pages with different screenshots, videos, and text that can be matched to specific ads or audiences.

• Custom Store Listings

  Google Play listings tailored to specific countries, user states or campaign links, the Play equivalent of Apple's custom product pages.

• Daily Active Users (DAU)

  The number of unique users who engage with an app or product on a given day.

• DAU/MAU Ratio (Stickiness)

  Daily active users divided by monthly active users, showing how often monthly users return each day.

• Day-N Retention (D1 / D7 / D30)

  The percentage of users from an install cohort who return to the app on day 1, 7, or 30 after installing.

• Day-N ROAS (D7 / D30 ROAS)

  Revenue generated by an install cohort within N days of installing, divided by the spend to acquire them; used to forecast payback.

• Deep Linking

  Using a link that opens a specific screen or content inside an app rather than its home screen or a web page.

• Deferred Deep Linking

  A deep link that still routes a user to specific in-app content after they first install the app from the link.

• Freemium

  A model where an app is free to download and use, with revenue from premium features, purchases, or subscriptions.

• Google App Campaigns

  Google's automated campaign type that promotes apps across Search, Play, YouTube, Discover, and the Display Network from supplied assets.

• Google Play Install Referrer

  An Android API that passes referral data from the Play Store to an app at first launch, enabling accurate install attribution.

• Hard Currency (Premium Currency)

  An in-game currency mainly bought with real money, unlike soft currency that players earn through play.

• Hard Paywall

  A paywall that requires users to start a trial or subscription before they can use the app's core features.

• Hybrid Monetization

  Combining in-app advertising, in-app purchases, and subscriptions in one app to maximize revenue across different user types.

• Hypercasual Games

  Simple, instantly playable mobile games monetized mainly through ads and scaled with cheap, high-volume user acquisition.

• Impression-Level Revenue Data (ILRD)

  Per-impression ad revenue from mediation platforms, shared with MMPs to calculate ad-revenue ROAS and LTV by campaign.

• In-App Event (Post-Install Event)

  A user action tracked inside an app after install, such as registration, purchase, or level completion, used to optimize and measure campaigns.

• In-App Message

  A message, such as a modal, banner, or tooltip, displayed to users while they're actively using an app.

• In-App Purchase (IAP)

  Buying digital goods, upgrades, or subscriptions within an app, usually processed through the Apple App Store or Google Play billing.

• In-App Review Prompt

  A system dialog, governed by Apple and Google APIs and limits, that asks users to rate an app without leaving it.

• Install Hijacking

  Mobile ad fraud in which malware detects a new install and fires a fake click to steal attribution credit for it.

• Install-to-Trial Rate

  The percentage of new installs that start a free trial, an early indicator of subscription app performance.

• Interstitial Ads

  Full-screen ads shown at natural transition points in an app, such as between game levels, that users can close.

• Introductory Offer

  An App Store subscription discount for new subscribers, offered as a free trial, pay-as-you-go price or pay-up-front price.

• Involuntary Churn

  Subscription cancellations caused by failed payments, such as expired cards, rather than a user's choice to cancel.

• K-Factor (Viral Coefficient)

  The average number of new users each existing user brings in through invites or sharing; above 1 means viral growth.

• LiveOps

  Ongoing post-launch updates, events and offers that keep a game or app engaging and monetizing without new releases.

• Loot Box (Gacha)

  A paid or earned in-game item that gives randomized rewards, a monetization mechanic regulated or restricted in some countries.

• Monthly Active Users (MAU)

  The number of unique users who engage with an app or product within a 30-day period.

• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

  Predictable subscription revenue normalized to a monthly amount, a core health metric for subscription apps.

• Offer Codes

  Alphanumeric codes developers distribute that users redeem in the App Store or Google Play for free or discounted access.

• Offerwall

  An in-app page listing tasks, like installing another app or completing a survey, that users finish to earn in-app currency.

• Organic Install

  An app install not attributed to any paid campaign, coming from store search, browsing, word of mouth, or press.

• Payback Period

  The time it takes for revenue from acquired users to recoup what was spent acquiring them.

• Payer Conversion Rate

  The percentage of an app's active users who make at least one purchase in a given period.

• Paywall Conversion Rate

  The share of users who see an app's paywall and then start a trial or purchase a subscription.

• Playable Ads

  Interactive mini-demo ads that let users try a stripped-down version of a game or app before installing.

• Postback

  A server-to-server notification sent to an ad network or advertiser confirming an install or in-app event was attributed to it.

• Pre-Registration (Pre-Order)

  Letting users sign up on Google Play or pre-order on the App Store before launch so the app installs or notifies them on release.

• Predicted LTV (pLTV)

  A model-based estimate of a user's future lifetime value made from early behavior, used to optimize bids and judge campaigns quickly.

• Privacy Sandbox on Android

  Google's initiative to build privacy-preserving Android ad APIs, including Topics, Protected Audience, Attribution Reporting and SDK Runtime, to reduce reliance on advertising IDs.

• Product Page Conversion Rate

  The share of users who view an app's store page and then download it.

• Product Page Optimization (PPO)

  Apple's App Store feature for A/B testing alternative icons, screenshots and preview videos against the default product page.

• Promoted In-App Purchases

  In-app purchases displayed on an app's App Store page and in search, which users can buy directly from the store.

• Promotional Content (Google Play)

  Google Play's LiveOps feature for showcasing in-app events, offers and updates directly in the Play Store.

• Promotional Offer

  An App Store subscription discount developers can give existing or past subscribers to retain or win them back.

• Purchase Receipt Validation

  Verifying in-app purchases with Apple or Google servers so fake or refunded transactions are excluded from revenue and ROAS reporting.

• Push Notification

  A message an app sends to a user's device lock screen or notification tray, even when the app is not open.

• Push Opt-In Rate

  The percentage of app users who grant permission to receive push notifications.

• Re-engagement Campaign

  Campaigns targeting existing or lapsed app users to bring them back, using paid ads, push, email, or deep links.

• Reattribution Window

  The period after which a returning user who reinstalls or re-engages can be credited to a new ad source instead of the original one.

• Referral Program

  An incentive program rewarding users for inviting friends who sign up or install, driving low-cost acquisition.

• Rewarded Interstitial

  A full-screen ad shown at natural transitions in an app that grants a reward without the user first opting in.

• Rewarded Video

  An opt-in in-app video ad that users watch in exchange for an in-app reward, such as extra lives, coins, or premium content.

• Self-Attributing Network (SAN)

  A major ad platform, such as Meta, Google, TikTok, or Apple Ads, that determines its own attribution claims and reports them to MMPs.

• Smart App Banner

  A Safari banner, enabled by a meta tag on a website, that prompts iOS users to open or download the site's app.

• SMS Marketing

  Sending opt-in promotional or transactional text messages to customers' phones, prized for very high open rates.

• Soft Launch

  Releasing an app or game in a few test markets to tune retention, monetization and acquisition costs before a global launch.

• Software Development Kit (SDK)

  A package of code that developers embed in an app to add functions like analytics, attribution, ads, or push messaging.

• Store Listing Experiments

  Google Play Console's tool for A/B testing store listing graphics and text to improve install conversion.

• Top Charts (Category Ranking)

  App store rankings of the most downloaded or highest-grossing apps overall and by category, which drive organic visibility.

• Trial-to-Paid Conversion Rate

  The percentage of users who start a free trial of a subscription and convert to a paying subscription.

• Uninstall Rate

  The share of users who delete an app within a period, often tracked through silent push notifications.

• Universal Links

  Apple's standard for iOS links that open directly in the app if installed, or fall back to the website if not.

• User Acquisition (UA)

  Paid and organic efforts to drive new users to install an app, managed against CPI, ROAS, and LTV targets.

• User Onboarding

  The first-run experience that guides new users to an app's core value, heavily influencing early retention.

• Value-Based Bidding (tROAS for Apps)

  Bidding that optimizes app campaigns toward users predicted to generate the most revenue rather than the most installs.

• Web Payments (Link-Out Purchases)

  Directing app users to a web checkout to buy subscriptions or items, avoiding app store fees where rules or court rulings allow it.

• Web-to-App

  Strategies that move users from mobile web to an app, using smart banners, deep links, and web checkout funnels for app subscriptions.

• Whale

  A high-spending player or user who generates a disproportionate share of an app's in-app purchase revenue.

• Win-Back Offer

  An App Store subscription discount, introduced in 2024, shown to lapsed subscribers to encourage them to resubscribe.