Understanding Success: Important Metrics in the Mobile App Marketing Funnel

Mobile apps are everywhere in modern life. Games, fitness trackers — mobile apps are an undeniable part of consumer habits. However, simply building a great app is only the first step as app developers and app marketers need to understand how users discover and engage with their apps and that’s where the Mobile App Marketing Funnel comes in.

The Mobile App Marketing Funnel is a model that does just that – it tracks the user’s journey and experience from the very first time they hear about your app to becoming a loyal or repeat user. Understanding the user journey and how audiences move through the Mobile App Marketing Funnel is critical to app marketers making informed decisions. This blog is going to break down the different phases of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel, key metrics throughout the funnel, and how understanding the Mobile App Marketing Funnel can help app marketers improve their app’s growth.

What is the Mobile App Marketing Funnel?

Mobile App Marketing Funnel outlines the stages for how users engage with your app over time. In a way, it’s a lot like a funnel in your kitchen; while it gets smaller at the bottom, it’s still a wide open in the beginning. In the same way, the marketing funnel starts with a big number of people and gets smaller for the amount of active users.

It is important to understand that there are different stages of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel. There are different stages of metrics that are closely tied to each stage. These stages help to clarify where users fall off and what app marketers can do about it. To track these metrics effectively, using a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) like Apptrove can make a big difference. Apptrove gives app marketers detailed insights across all funnel stages—helping them understand user behavior, measure campaign performance, and make better data-driven decisions.

Stages of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel

1. Awareness

The first stage. People have heard of your app because of ads, social media, or word of mouth. The aim is to get your app in front of as many potential consumers as possible.

Key metrics: 

Impressions: the number of times your app ad or app name is shown to users.

Click-through rate (CTR): how many users have clicked on your ad or your app link. 

To improve awareness, marketers employ Mobile app growth strategies like influencer marketing, app store optimization (ASO), and social media campaigns. 

2. Acquisition

This is when a user downloads or installs the app. While this is a significant step, it is only the beginning of your mobile app download journey. 

Key metrics: 

Cost per install (CPI): the amount of money you spend to get one user to install your app.

Install rate: how many people install the app after seeing it.

Marketers use targeted ads, promotions, and referral programs to make the Acquisition stage in the Mobile App Marketing Funnel even better.

3. Activation

This stage emphasizes getting users to open the app and make a key action — whether that looks like signing up, creating a profile, or finishing a tutorial.  

Key metrics:  

• First time user experience (FTUE): How seamless is the experience for new users?  
• Activation rate: Percentage of users that do a key action, after installing the app.  

Be sure that the app is easy to use! A good onboarding process can positively impact this stage in the Mobile App Marketing Funnel.  

4. Engagement  

This is where users start using the app, regularly. This stage is the central stage of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel and it goes hand-in-hand with the Mobile app engagement funnel.  

Your key metrics:  

• Daily Active Users (DAU)  
• Monthly Active Users (MAU)  
• Session length and frequency  

Use push notifications, emails, and in-app rewards to bring users back to your app. Good Mobile app growth strategiesplace a lot of focus on engagement.

5. Retention

Retention focuses on users returning to your app over time. A high retention rate indicates that users find value in your app.  

Key metrics to examine: 

• Retention rate (Day 1, Day 7, Day 30): Identifies how many users return after 1 day, 7 days, and 30 days. 
• Churn rate: Percentage of users that “stop” using the app.  

Improving this step in the Mobile App Marketing Funnel is critical for developing long-term success.

6. Revenue

Once you enter the revenue stage, there’s visible and measurable performance — you’re intending to generate revenue from your app. You may generate revenue from in-app purchases, by advertising, or subscriptions. 

Key metrics to examine: 

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) 
• Lifetime Value (LTV)
• Conversion rate: Percentage of users in the app that make a purchase, subscribe, etc. 

Understanding this stage of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel will help marketers understand which users are the most valuable.

7. Referral

Stage 5 is where delighted users are encouraged to tell their friends about the app, which generates new users at no cost.

Key Metrics:

• Referral rate: How many of the users invite others to use the app.
• Virality: How fast your app spreads from one user to others.
• Referrals can be impactful. They are pertinent at all stages of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel and can assist with lowering marketing spend.

Why These Metrics Are Valuable

Understanding the performance of each stage of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel allows you to:

• Spot where users leave.
• Make improvements on the user experience.
• Make sound decisions on where to put your marketing budget.
• Scale your app’s growth potential better.

Take for example, if 1000 people install your app, but only 100 of them come back after a week you can determine there is an issue with retention. Not to mention if you have a low install rate, you may want to recalculate the targeting of your ads.

Research shows that only 25% of users return to an app the day after they install! That structure highlights the importance of optimizing each stage of the Mobile App Marketing Funnel.

Final Thoughts

Mobile App Marketing Funnel is an easy imagination for marketing. It is also a useful tool, allowing you to make better decisions, save money, and hopefully increase the success of your app. By keeping track of each stage, from awareness to referrals, and by implementing some stellar Mobile app growth techniques, you can convert curious visitors into loyal customers. Furthermore, by concentrating on the Mobile app engagement funnel, you can make certain they are never unhappy, and they always come back for more.

The more familiar you are with the Mobile App Marketing Funnel, the better chance your app has of being successful and able to navigate the marketplace.