In-app conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is all about guiding users towards meaningful actions within your app, ultimately improving engagement, retention, and revenue. In today’s competitive app market, acquiring users is only half the battle; the real challenge lies in keeping them engaged and nudging them towards conversions that drive business growth. Whether it’s completing registration, sharing a referral code, making an in-app purchase, or subscribing to the premium version of your app, CRO ensures that every step of the user journey is optimised for seamless interactions.
With mobile users becoming increasingly selective about the apps they engage with, optimising app conversion rates is no longer optional, it’s essential. A well-optimised app funnel not only enhances user experience but also builds long-term value, ensuring that acquired users transition smoothly from discovery to engagement, and eventually, to monetisation. By leveraging data-driven insights, strategic A/B testing, and a frictionless user experience, you can create a high-performing app ecosystem where users are more likely to take valuable actions.
How to optimise your in-app conversion rate
1. Map the user journey
The foundation of CRO is understanding the user experience. Identify key touchpoints and pinpoint the ‘A-ha Moment’ – the point where users recognise your app’s value.
Pro Tip: Don’t focus solely on the paid user journey. A user’s perception of your app begins the moment they download it. Optimising the free user experience can reduce churn and improve retention. decreasing user churn.
2. Fix the bugs and friction points
During your user journey research, you might have stumbled upon some low-hanging fruit: a screen that doesn’t load properly or a checkout process that won’t complete when accessed a certain way. 88% of people report they’d stop using an app because of bugs, so there’s no need to A/B test whether fixing these things will increase your app conversion rate: They will. Fix them. All of them.
3. Use data to determine what you’re going to improve
Make sure you implement a robust analytics tool such as Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Google Analytics for Mobile (free) that can provide you with clear data on key metrics. Integrating an analytics tool is essential for your app’s success. Typically, the metrics you should be looking at to get a better overview of the gaps in your CRO are:
- Daily Active User (DAU) or Monthly Active User (MAU)
- D1 retention, D7 retention, D30 retention
- Stickiness
- Average User Lifetime Value
- Conversion rate from free trial to subscription
- Average Revenue Per User
These not only act as a guide for what needs improving, but they’re also numbers that you can measure over time to assess whether your optimisations are working. It’s this data-driven approach that will mean that whatever you decide to dedicate resources to will be worth the investment.
4. Define and analyse your app conversion rate funnel
By now, you should be able to identify the funnel you’re wishing to improve, plotting the events that someone is taken through in pursuit of your ultimate goal. Write down the steps someone takes towards the conversion you’re tracking.
Let’s take a language app wanting to move users from a free trial to a paid subscription as an example. The events in the funnel might be:
- Opening the app
- Signing up
- Onboarding
- Choosing a language to learn
- Using the in-app test to determine their current proficiency level
- Playing a language game
- Using the in-app CTA screen to find out more about a paid subscription
- Subscribing
Tracking these events via your product analytics tool will allow you to build a funnel and see where your users are dropping off. It should then be relatively easy to see where you’ll get the most value for your efforts. Are users completing the onboarding journey? Are users responding to the positioning of your subscription CTA screen? Wherever you see a lot of drop-offs is an area worth focusing on.
5. Research competitor strategies
Innovation is great, but there’s often no need to reinvent the wheel. Your competitors probably have a similar funnel, and it’s wise to check out what they’re doing and how you might adapt that for your offering.
In the case of a dating app, you can see that Tinder and Bumble employ slightly different strategies, with the former focusing on gamified swiping while the latter encourages meaningful connections by letting women make the first move. While you’re unlikely to know the success rates of either app, it does provide insight into some possible tests that might be worth running.
Expand your research to include other apps from outside your vertical that are popular with your target demographic. You can even look at popular eCommerce sites, which is where the idea of customer retention optimisation originated from. When it comes to CRO, there are lessons to be learned everywhere.
6. Develop and prioritise hypotheses
Now comes the brainstorming phase. No idea is too small – consider changes to UX, messaging, or pricing structures.
If drop-offs occur after a proficiency test or subscription screen, potential solutions might include:
- Adjusting the speed or engagement level of the test
- Modifying the placement of CTAs
- Offering alternative pricing models
To prioritise effectively, use the ICE framework (Impact, Confidence, and Ease). Assign a score (1-10) for each idea and focus on high-impact, easily implemented changes first.
7. Prioritise your tests
Every test should have a clear hypothesis, execution plan, and target audience. For example, if testing new pricing models:
- Will you offer a discount to new users?
- Will you compare monthly vs. annual subscription uptake?
- What segment of users will be tested?
Ensure a large enough sample size – A/B tests should ideally involve at least 1,000 users per group for statistically significant results.
8. Execute experiments efficiently
While developers handle implementation, third-party testing tools (e.g., Optimizely, Firebase A/B Testing) can help run experiments without extensive coding. These tools empower marketers to iterate faster and avoid overburdening development teams.
If you are set on running an A/B test (which we recommend if you have a big enough user base) you can leverage segmentation. You can get as granular as New Users or Users Referred via Facebook campaigns. But first, it is important to ensure that you have enough users to use as a test group and as a control group. Anything less than 1000 people in a group won’t net you the kind of statistically significant results you need. In the case of user groups, the more people in the testing group the quicker you’ll see useful results.
9. Measure and iterate
By now, you’re probably champing at the bit to actually get on with some testing. It’ll be up to your developers to implement the code, but if you’re pressed for time, dev capacity, or have other resource limitations, you might want to explore other options.
There are plenty of third-party tools that allow you to create product tests without the need for excessive coding implementation. Giving more power to the marketer, they allow you to implement tests such as changing CTA buttons, fine-tuning content, or even making changes in your app flow. They’re particularly useful for running tests at scale. Wrong hypotheses happen all the time so very often you need to go back to the previous version of the app, which can be a frustrating experience for an overworked developer. Utilising these tools will mitigate the strain on your resources.
10. Keep Improving
You now need to analyse the effect your test has had on your essential KPIs. Whatever analytics tool you set up initially will provide you with the data you need.
If it hasn’t changed or it’s got worse, you’ve still conducted a really valuable experiment because you know you need to focus your efforts elsewhere.
If it’s improved, you’re not done, you’re merely on the right track. In the case of a pricing experiment, what happens if you reduce your price still further? 1,000 people paying £5 is worth more than 500 people paying £7, after all.
By iterating based on your data-driven results, you’ll be able to find the optimal level of anything you’re testing to maximise your return on investment and improve app conversion rate.
Bonus Tip
AI is revolutionising CRO by providing predictive analytics, chatbots, and personalised recommendations. These tools optimise user experiences by anticipating needs, and serve relevant content and offers at the right time. AI-driven A/B testing also accelerates the decision-making process by identifying winning variants more efficiently than traditional methods.
One of the most powerful applications of AI in CRO is real-time personalisation. AI can analyse user behaviour and preferences to deliver highly targeted content, such as dynamically adjusting pricing models or recommending features based on engagement patterns. For example, a fitness app might use AI to suggest a customised workout plan based on a user’s past activity levels, leading to increased engagement and higher retention rates.
Chatbots and AI-powered virtual assistants are also playing a crucial role in CRO. By providing instant support, guiding users through onboarding, or answering common questions, AI-driven assistants reduce friction in the user journey.
Next steps to in-app conversion rate optimisation
CRO isn’t a one-time fix – it’s an ongoing process of testing, refining, and improving. By continuously optimising your in-app experiences and leveraging data-driven insights, you can drive higher app conversion rate and long-term revenue growth.
Even small improvements can make a big impact in a competitive app market. Want to take your CRO strategy to the next level? Get in touch with our team to explore how we can help you maximise your app’s conversion potential.
