What is an organic install?

An organic install occurs when someone installs an app without directly responding to an ad campaign and thus the installation cannot be attributed to a specific installation source. Any installation that can’t be tracked from performance marketing or advertising sources is considered an organic install.

Why Are Organic Installs Important?

Users installing an app organically can often be high-value users because they discovered the app and decided to download it because they were probably looking for the specific product or service that the app provides. Organic installs tend to represent more committed users and often have higher retention rates and in-app sessions than non-organic installs.

Driving organic installs is also important because it is a less expensive type of user acquisition and can reduce CPI costs because they aren’t paid for at the point of install.

How Does an App Get Organic Installs?

There are a few ways to generate valuable organic installs for an app:

• App Store Optimization (ASO) — A good app store page can help generate organic installs by increasing an app’s visibility in the store while also improving conversions. There are many ASO best practices, but one of the best methods is through tagging as accurately as possible.
• Word-of-Mouth — What this entails can vary from app-to-app, but in-app sharing options and articles about featuring your app in various media outlets can help to get people interested and drive downloads.
• Localizing an App — This entails launching in another territory and can help boost installs. If an advertiser does their homework and hits the right market, it’s possible to tap into significant user-demand to help generate installs.