Performance marketing for apps and startups Performance Marketing
Organic first, paid when it pays. Ads that land on pages built to convert.
A monthly engagement for startups that are ready to buy growth, and want it to pay back. We set the strategy across Meta, Google, LinkedIn and, for apps, Apple Search Ads and Google App Campaigns, rebuild tracking and attribution so every conversion is counted, match each campaign to a landing page that converts, and manage the accounts week by week. You own the ad accounts and pay the platforms directly. We report on signups, pipeline and revenue, not clicks.
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
- Google Search
- Performance Max
- YouTube
- LinkedIn Ads
- Apple Search Ads
- Google App Campaigns
- GA4 and MMPs
What we hear before we start.
We spend on ads every month and cannot say which campaign brings customers.
Our ads all point to the homepage.
The agency reports clicks and impressions. We need signups.
What is performance marketing?
Performance marketing is paid advertising managed against measurable business outcomes such as signups, installs, leads or revenue, rather than reach. It covers channel strategy, campaign setup, creative testing, landing pages and conversion tracking, with budget moved toward what pays back.
Why it matters now.
Paid ads are the fastest lever a startup has, and the easiest to waste. Without clean tracking and a landing page that matches the ad, the platforms optimise for cheap clicks and the budget disappears into traffic that never converts.
We work organic first, paid when it pays. That means paid campaigns run on top of pages, listings and messages already proven to convert, so each dollar buys more than it would on a cold start.
The work, piece by piece.
Channel strategy
Which channels fit your buyer and stage: Meta for consumer demand, Google for intent, LinkedIn for B2B roles and companies.
App install campaigns
Apple Search Ads and Google App Campaigns run from the same keyword data as your ASO, with your brand terms protected.
Tracking and attribution
Pixels, Conversions API, GA4, offline conversions and, for apps, AppsFlyer, Adjust or Firebase, set up and checked so the platforms optimise for real outcomes.
Campaign build
Account structure, audiences, bidding and budgets built for learning first, then scale.
Matched landing pages
Each campaign sent to a page that answers the ad, not the homepage. Built and tested with our CRO team.
Spend you can see
A weekly report on spend, cost per result and payback. Budget moves to what works, with your approval.
What the engagement includes.
- Paid channel strategy and test plan
- Tracking and attribution audit and fixes (pixel, CAPI, GA4, MMP, offline)
- Campaign setup and ongoing management on Meta, Google and LinkedIn
- Apple Search Ads and Google App Campaigns for apps, on your ASO keywords
- Landing pages matched to campaigns
- Weekly spend and results report, monthly review
- Admin access to your ad accounts, or permission to set them up in your name
- Access to analytics and your CRM or signup data
- A monthly test budget, paid to the platforms directly
Don’t have everything to hand? Share what you can; we’ll guide you on the rest when we kick off.
We work alongside you month to month, with meetings as you and we agree, for as long as it adds value. Scope and fees are agreed with you before we start.
How the engagement runs.
Audit
Your accounts, tracking and live ads, plus what competitors run in the public ad libraries.
Fix tracking
Conversion events cleaned up before more money goes in. No scaling on numbers we cannot trust.
Test
A capped test budget across the channels that fit, with landing pages matched to each campaign.
Scale
Spend moves to the campaigns that pay back. Weekly report, monthly strategy review.
See what we’d fix before you commit.
Signs it’s time:
- The same ads running unchanged for 60+ days in the public ad libraries
- Ads pointing to a generic homepage instead of a matched landing page
- A competitor bids on your brand name in App Store search
The teardown covers:
- Your live ads in the Meta, Google and LinkedIn ad libraries: how long they have run and where they land
- What your competitors are running and how it differs
- Gaps in your conversion tracking that make the platforms optimise for the wrong thing
Check it yourself, free.
GA4 AI traffic regex generator
Track ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot visits in GA4. Generates the regex, channel group steps, a Looker Studio formula and a GTM variable.
ASO Score checker
Score your Google Play or App Store listing out of 100 and get a ranked "fix first" list. App Store apps auto-fill from a link.
Zero-click impact calculator
Paste your Search Console export to estimate clicks lost to AI Overviews and the upside of being cited. Pick the study you trust. Runs in your browser.
Performance marketing FAQ.
Do you run paid ads?
Yes. We manage Meta, Google and LinkedIn ads, Apple Search Ads and Google App Campaigns, with TikTok, Reddit and X added when a client’s buyers are there. We still work organic first: paid campaigns run on top of pages and listings that already convert.
Who owns the ad accounts and pays for the ads?
You do. Accounts are set up in your name and you pay the platforms directly. We charge a management fee for the work, never a markup on spend, and you keep the accounts and all the data if we stop working together.
What budget do we need?
There is no fixed minimum, but the test budget has to be large enough for the platforms to learn. We agree a capped test budget with you, read the results, and only recommend scaling campaigns that pay back.
How do you report?
Weekly, in plain numbers: spend, results, cost per result and, where your data allows, revenue or pipeline from each campaign. Once a month we review strategy and decide together where the next budget goes.
Do you run Apple Search Ads for apps?
Yes. App store search ads run from the same keyword research as your ASO: we protect your brand terms first, test category keywords with a capped budget, and feed the search terms that convert back into your store listing.
Can you track which campaigns bring customers?
That is the first thing we fix. We set up GA4, conversion APIs, offline conversions and, for apps, a mobile measurement partner, and group AI assistant traffic into its own channel so nothing is counted twice or missed.
Can you run ads for B2B companies?
Yes. For B2B we usually pair LinkedIn Ads for reach into the right roles with Google Search for buyers already looking, and connect both to your CRM so pipeline, not just leads, is measured.
Go deeper.
The growth channel that compounds, the one that just burns.
Paid acquisition stops the moment you stop paying. Organic compounds. Here is the sequence we install so every paid dollar later works harder.
GA4's AI Assistant channel: what it tracks and what it misses.
Since May 2026, GA4 sorts AI referrals into their own channel automatically. It is a big improvement. It is also incomplete, not retroactive, and blind to most app traffic.
How to increase app downloads in the Play Store, organically.
The ten levers we pull, in the order we pull them. They took one portfolio past 700,000 installs with zero ad spend, and they cost time, not media budget.
Works well alongside.
Ad creative and video
Fresh ads every month, tested against the ones already winning.
Creator partnerships
The right creators, a clear brief, and results you can actually track.
Full Growth Engagement
Any three or more services, plus strategy, run as one plan by one team.
Ready when you are.
Tell us about your product and what you want from Performance Marketing. A founder replies within one business day.