Online gaming is one of the fastest growing industries of this century and undoubtedly, also one of the biggest gainers during these times of lockdown. Unlike other industries, which have been hit by the pandemic, online gaming has been positively affected and in 2020, its global market is forecasted to be worth $159 billion, which is almost three times music industry revenues ($57 billion in 2019).
Over the past few months, as more people across the world added online gaming apps into their daily entertainment, organic installs went through the roof and CPM’s fell to all-time low. How can online gaming apps ensure that their acquisition levels remain high in the aftermath of Covid-19 and that their newly acquired audiences don’t drop out?
THE POWER OF ASO
According to a report by TechCrunch, around 65% of downloads happen through searches on the app store, which clearly states that ‘search’ is the most used method for finding and downloading new apps. Even though results for App Store Optimization (ASO) typically take longer to display compared to the instant gratification of paid marketing, investing in optimizing organic app presence and ranking is undoubtedly one of the first things gaming platforms should consider when trying to grow their user base.
TURNING A GAME INTO A LONG-TERM HABIT
Just as important as attracting new gamers is the ability of online gaming platforms to retain them long-term. How can an app or a game turn into a fun long-term habit rather than a short-term solution for people with more time?
While a lot of this is dependent on the game itself and how much it is able to hold a person’s interest, there are some tweaks gaming companies can use such as faster release of characters and game titles to keep interest active, combining human communication with gaming, e-sports tournaments moving from offline to online locations and a higher focus on multi-player gaming online where users can talk to each other.
In order to retain the more ‘casual gamers’ attracted during the lockdown, gaming apps can also try to introduce private leagues or private tables which would enable users to measure themselves and play against friends and family rather than more serious global gamers.
CUSTOM RE-ENGAGEMENT TO INCREASE REVENUE
According to a recent report by NewZoo, today’s online gamers buy fewer games compared to previous decades, but spend more time playing – this made the industry more reliant on recurring revenue generated from a base of active users. As a result, the industry is heavily focused on increasing engagement per user.
Online games have different types of users. Some play all the time. Some don’t play as often but spend money. Others played once and then stopped. Re-targeting allows platforms to interact differently with each of these user groups in the attempt of getting them to engage with the app again. The core pillar to effective retargeting is determining which users to focus on and which message to use. Based on their behaviour, users can be targeted across various type of channels and with ads showing them different app features, levels or promos. If done right, retargeting ensures a higher engagement per user leading to increased revenue.
The spread of Covid-19 has undoubtedly accelerated the growth of an industry which was already on an upwards trajectory. The booming number of online gamers worldwide is a testament that these platforms have become one of the main sources of entertainment today. Whether the new online gaming audiences are here to stay, only time will tell. Meantime, these apps shouldn’t miss out on retaining their latest acquired audiences ensuring users keep playing, independently of the global scenario.
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