Most early-stage apps hesitate to invest in paid user acquisition (UA). The fear is always the same: “What if we burn money and get nothing back?”
Golden Surveys started in exactly that position: no history, no benchmarks, no creatives, no tracking. Within a few months, they were running campaigns across multiple markets with a reliable ROI model. Here’s how we built a UA engine from zero.
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TL;DR
- Built UA from zero with tracking + creatives.
- Tested 30+ geos → focused on Korea, Brazil, Saudi Arabia.
- Banners worked on Google; UGC + AI avatars on TikTok.
- Scaled only when ROI Day-1 → ROI Day-30 benchmarks aligned.
The Challenge: Zero Foundation, Zero Learnings
When we first started, nothing was in place:
- No attribution or event mapping.
- No creative infrastructure for multiple languages.
- No channel history to guide decisions.
- Limited budgets, meaning every test mattered.
As Tuğçe from REPLUG’s Paid UA team explained:
“The hardest part was deciding where to invest. With no baseline, you’re testing dozens of countries without knowing which will stick. Some markets even had legal or advertising restrictions. It took two to three months of testing before we found the star countries and channels.”
The Strategy: Building Step by Step
1. Setting the Foundation
We built the UA stack from the ground up: tracking, attribution, event mapping, and segmentation. Without this, scaling would have been guesswork.
2. Testing Geos Broadly
We launched campaigns across 30+ countries to collect data. After months of testing, markets like Brazil, Korea, and Saudi Arabia emerged as strong performers.
“We knew not every market would work, but patience paid off. Korea, for example, kept performing well even during summer when we expected a drop.”
Wondering if your app is ready for paid UA? Book a call with REPLUG’s team to get your roadmap.
3. Creative Localization
To connect with real users, we localized creatives in 10+ languages and designed payout visuals in local currencies. We rolled out more than 50 variations: banners, UGC, AI avatars.
Channel learnings stood out:
- Google → banners consistently outperformed UGC.
- TikTok → UGC and AI avatars outperformed static creatives, especially in Poland and Korea.
“I didn’t expect banners to beat UGC on Google. On TikTok, it was the opposite. UGCs and even AI avatars were the clear winners.”
4. Scaling with ROI Discipline
Instead of chasing installs, we scaled only when ROI signals were strong enough. We compared Day-1 ROI benchmarks to projected Day-30 outcomes.
“If Tier-2 markets reached 30% ROI on Day-1, we knew they would cross 100% by Day-30. That gave us the confidence to scale.”
Read our success stories to understand our 360-degree approach to app growth better.
Results: A Scalable UA Engine
From a zero baseline, Golden Surveys built a profitable UA program across multiple regions. Early ROI signals turned into long-term growth, with each platform adding value:
- Google Ads → consistent scale with positive ROI.
- Moloco → incremental reach in Latin America.
- TikTok → strong performance when creatives were localized.
And most importantly:
“The client trusted the process and now has a long-term UA roadmap. What started as hesitation turned into confidence in sustainable growth.”
Key Insights for App Teams
- Patience is part of the process. One week of testing is never enough; it takes at least one to two months of data to identify patterns.
- Localization wins trust. Ads in local language and currency outperform generic creatives.
- Channel formats matter. What fails on Google can thrive on TikTok.
- Scaling requires discipline. Don’t increase spend until ROI signals show real potential.
FAQ
How long should early-stage apps test before scaling paid UA?
At least one to two months. Anything shorter doesn’t give enough data for reliable ROI benchmarks.
What if budgets are small?
You don’t need huge budgets, but you do need enough for statistical relevance. On iOS, SKAN requires a higher volume than Android.
What’s the biggest myth about paid UA in emerging markets?
That it’s “too expensive” to even try, with structured testing and localized creatives, it can be profitable.
Final Thought
Many app teams delay paid UA because of fear.
This case proves that you can build a scalable, ROI-positive program from scratch; if you trust the process, test systematically, and scale with discipline.
👉 Wondering if your app is ready for paid UA? Let REPLUG’s team guide your roadmap.
