This case study highlights the organic growth of Rocket Games using Sensor Tower's App Intelligence.

1. 2016 © Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved. sensortower.com
Case Study
App Intelligence Case Study:
Rocket Games Employs Sensor Tower to
Launch its Mobile Gaming Studio
Background: Starting a Mobile Gaming Studio
When Bill Gelpi, Darren Allarde, Niko Vuori, and Steven Jian left Zynga
to start a mobile gaming studio, they needed a partner who could
demystify the App Store.
“We wanted a partner that could help us understand what the
App Store Optimization process was like as a whole. How do apps get
surfaced organically? What is the value of a keyword? We knew we
weren’t going to have the large user acquisition budgets we had at
Zynga, so organic discovery was paramount,” says Allarde. “Sensor
Tower was easy to use and the most comprehensive solution. There
was also a sense of accuracy with Sensor Tower that other solutions
lacked.”
Today, with the help of Sensor Tower, Rocket Games has
published more than 40 apps that have been played by more than
three million users worldwide. What follows is a look at how Rocket
Games grew its user base using Sensor Tower’s App Intelligence
platform.
In addition to growing its user base, Rocket Games wanted to look at
what competitors were doing in the App Store. The team looked to
answer questions such as: What do competitors’ reviews looks like?
What keywords are they using? Have they localized their app and its
metadata? By utilizing Sensor Tower’s App Intelligence, Rocket Games
has been able to conduct powerful market research to understand the
Casino subgenre and tweak its strategy.
“We consider Sensor Tower a partner. There’s no better way to
be in the know than to connect with the people that are working with
App Store data every day. Being able to pair up and understand these
things together has been key,” says Allarde.
For Rocket Games, the App Store Optimization (ASO) process for an
existing app is quite different from the one utilized for a new game.
With a new game, extensive market research is required to select an
app title and identify initial keywords. For simplicity’s sake, this case
study looks at the process Rocket Games utilizes when updating an
existing app.
Customer
Key Titles
Viva Slots Vegas Jackpot
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Sensor Tower Product Used
App Intelligence
Results
10 to 20 percent average lift in installs if
new keywords end up ranking in the
top 10 search results.
Solution: An Inside Look at Rocket Games’ ASO Process
Challenge: Beyond Installs—Seeking Rich Insights

2. 2016 © Sensor Tower Inc. - All Rights Reserved. sensortower.com
Case Study
Rocket Games begins this process in Sensor Tower by checking the
app’s current keyword performance and the ranking of keywords in its
title. Moving beyond keywords, the team looks to keyword phrases. For
instance, instead of only looking at its rank for “slots,” Rocket Games
digs into its ranking for phrases such as “free slots” or “best free slots”.
Using its keyword list and the terms in the title, the team
comes up with valuable phrases and tracks performance. “We set some
general rules. If we’re ranking in the top 10, that’s great. If we’re not
ranking in the top 10—but we’re just outside—then we’ll think about
promoting that word from the keyword field to the title,” says Allarde.
This is an ASO strategy that works well, as terms in the title are given
more weight in the App Store’s ranking algorithm. Allarde continues, “If
we’re not ranking well at all—say, 800—then we remove that keyword
and select a new term from our running keyword bank.”
When adding to its keyword bank, Rocket Games turns to App
Intelligence’s auto-complete phrases and related searches for
additional ideas. The team has found value in ranking well for a related
phrase that is one tap away from a high traffic query such as “free
games”. Using related searches, auto-complete suggestions, and
Keyword Spy, the publisher is able to maintain an updated and
relevant keyword bank.
Rocket Games uses Sensor Tower every day to inform its daily
operations and stay on top of ASO. Using the process outlined above,
Rocket Games has been able to take multiple games within its
portfolio from a baseline of 400 installs to 600 installs per day through
ASO alone.
“We strongly believe that keyword optimization was a high
contributor to that growth. It doesn’t happen at each update. On
average we see a lift of 10 to 20 percent if we replace poor performing
keywords with new keywords that end up ranking in the top 10,” says
Allarde.
Visibility on the App Store is the way Rocket Games has been
able to grow to more than three million users with little to no
advertising. “If you’re not doing paid user acquisition, then your users
come from organic search or word of mouth,” Allarde says, cautioning
that, “word of mouth is difficult because your game has to have a
degree of virility. Even then, your growth will be fleeting.”
Today, Sensor Tower is part of Rocket Games’ day-to-day
workflow. Before, the team operated through spreadsheets with no
centralized system. Sensor Tower has given Rocket Games the
infrastructure to scale its ASO efforts and the partnership needed to
demystify the App Store algorithms.
Solution (continued):
Results: Explosive User Growth and Powerful Insights
“We consider Sensor
Tower a partner.
There is no better way
to be in the know than
to connect with the
people that are
working with App
Store data every day.
Darren Allarde
Co-Founder/General Manager,
Rocket Games
About Sensor Tower
Sensor Tower is the leading solution for
mobile marketers, app developers, and
industry analysts who demand
competitive insights on the mobile
economy. Sensor Tower's product suite
includes: Rankings & Leaderboards,
App Intelligence, Store Intelligence, &
Ad Intelligence.
Learn more
Visit sensortower.com/
solutions/app-intelligence to learn
more about using Sensor Tower to
shape your acquisition strategy.
”