Interesting Reads
Inferred Links Will Replace the Link Graph
Google’s PageRank has been based on links since the beginning. But the latest article from Rand Fishkin makes a case that the definition of ‘link’ may be headed for an evolution: links might not need to be something you can actually use to GO somewhere else.
It’s a paradigm shift in thinking, but also reasonably convincing, at least on the web. Google has been using neural net-powered synonyms in search results for years already, and we’ve all accepted that behavior without a second thought.
This is also an interesting parallel to the app ecosystem, where PageRank never worked in the first place. In both situations, the core issue is the same: how do you quantify ‘relevance’ when crawl-able content alone doesn’t provide everything you need, wrapped up in a convenient box?
Trump never followed through on a plan to ban TikTok, but India did
Remember when TikTok was on metaphorical probation in the US, but nothing ever seemed to happen in the end?
That’s because nothing ever did (and the WeChat ban didn’t stick either, for the record).
India went for it though, and this podcast takes a look at what happened next to answer the question of whether it’s a model that should be followed elsewhere.
(Written transcript version here, for those who prefer reading to listening.)
Industry Buzz
Apple issues release candidate betas for iOS 14.4
For the last few weeks, there has been a persistent rumor that the release of iOS 14.4 would finally start enforcing the AppTrackingTransparency prompt. But, when the 14.4 RC build finally dropped on Thursday morning, there were no last-minute behavior changes (yes, I’ve tested it myself).
Maybe 14.5 will be the magic number…?
Fingerprinting with iOS 14: Reality or delusion?
I’m not sure about the prediction at the end of this article about what Apple plans to do after AppTrackingTransparency is turned on (only Apple knows that answer right now), but the meta-analysis of this situation — and the recommended actions — are all top-notch.
Privacy & Security
Dating App Bumble Latest to Warn of Apple’s Privacy
We expect that app users’ opt-in rate to grant IDFA access will ultimately be approximately 0 to 20%.
Bumble sees Apple’s policy as enough of an existential risk that they’ve called it out in their IPO filing.
Personally, I’d be amazed if IDFA opt-in hits 20%. Maaaaybe Facebook’s decision to show the modal will normalize it for users, but even that seems unlikely.
App that tracks fertility misled consumers about disclosure of health data, FTC says
Without commenting on the specifics of this particular situation, one need not stretch far to imagine that this is exactly the sort of headline Apple wants to forestall by nuking IDFAs; profile-building (whether by design or by accident) becomes dramatically more difficult without a persistent, industry-wide ID.
Tips & Techniques
Practical ASO Guide: How to Optimize your App Store Product Page?
The conventional wisdom these days seems to be that the ROI of obsessing over ASO is limited (not many users actively search the store to discover new apps, simply because the experience still sucks so much).
That said, there's a minimum bar it still makes sense to clear. Even if you aren't going to spin up a big initiative around constant, iterative optimization, it’s still worth picking the low-hanging fruit you get from following best practices like these.
Data
State of Mobile 2021
You may have already seen App Annie’s new report floating around, but in case not, it’s a great source for your latest quarterly refresh of ‘this is why mobile matters to our business metrics’ numbers.
Incrementality testing 101: Marketers 2021 guide
Until fairly recently, incrementality was still being flagged a typo by my spell checker.
No longer.
As mobile marketers get increasingly inured to the challenges of post-iOS 14 life, I think we’ll start to see a lot more discussion of how to measure incrementality. Without granular campaign insights, it’ll be harder to show…but it’s also going to be one of the best alternatives if traditional attribution metrics become unavailable.
Podcast
VP of Marketing @ Junglee Games: Bharat Bhatia
Growing Despite Saturation
The days of unsaturated channels and growth hacking as we used to know it are over. Our guest today, Bharat Bhatia, dives deep into new strategies and the understanding of the product that has helped him achieve continued growth. Bharat comes from the gaming industry, an industry that he explains has one of the tightest bonds between product and marketing. He shares how he and his team approach that integration through in-app growth channels.
In addition, with today’s growth channels like Facebook and Google ads more saturated and restricted, he breaks down how he has approached growth, especially when reaching the tipping point of scaling beyond existing audiences.
Hear more about how Junglee Games grew through COVID, how he has managed to take better care of his physical health, and the most important and unexpected lesson he learned at business school, all on this episode of How I Grew This.
It’s been another week where all of the leading news headlines had very little to do with mobile. But before we get to this issue’s collection of articles, an invitation:
Please join us for the Mobile Growth Awards ceremonies next week!
You’ll get to learn about this year’s best mobile experiences, but these events will have a lot more than just acceptance speeches on a Zoom screen. Here’s a preview:
To accommodate time zones, we have separate separate sessions for North America and EMEA/APAC. Hope to see you there!
Alex Bauer