The choice between targeting a Tier 3 country with a lower CPM (Cost Per Mille or Cost Per Thousand Impressions) and a higher number of downloads versus a Tier 1 country with a higher CPM, but fewer downloads, depends on various factors, including your specific business goals, app monetization strategy, and overall marketing plan. Here’s how to consider the options:

1. Popularity and Visibility:

   • Tier 3 Country with Low CPM: A high number of downloads can contribute to increased visibility in app stores due to better rankings and possibly more word-of-mouth recommendations. This can be significant for social networking, gaming, or any other app where critical mass is important for virality and engagement.
   • Tier 1 Country with High CPM: Despite the lower number of downloads, users in Tier 1 countries might be more engaged and have higher lifetime value. This can lead to better reviews and ratings, which is crucial for app popularity.

2. Long-Term Earnings:

   • Tier 3 Country: While the initial revenue per user may be lower due to the lower CPM, a large user base can lead to substantial overall revenue, particularly if you have a solid user retention strategy and in-app purchases or a freemium model that monetizes users over time.
   • Tier 1 Country: High CPM rates can yield more income per impression, making every user more valuable from an advertising perspective. Over the long term, this audience may have a higher purchasing power for in-app purchases or subscriptions, meaning your app's lifetime value (LTV) per user may be higher.

Considerations for Your Decision:

• User Retention & Monetization Strategy: How well does your app retain and monetize users after the initial download? Apps with strong retention rates and effective monetization strategies can afford to focus on high-value users.

• Market Saturation: Are your chosen Tier 1 markets already saturated with similar apps? If so, penetrating these markets could require more than just advertising.

• Ad Spend Budget: How does your budget compare to the expected lifetime value of the users from each country? Ensure that the cost of acquisition does not exceed the projected revenue from users.

• Product Fit: Is your app more suited to a specific demographic or economic profile that aligns with either a Tier 3 or Tier 1 country?

Given your priority is to increase app popularity while also considering long-term earnings, you may want to consider a balanced approach, if budget allows. This could mean allocating part of your budget to the Tier 3 country to build a broad user base and boost app store rankings, and the other part to a Tier 1 country to target users with higher revenue potential.

Splitting your advertisement spends in such a way can help maximize the visibility and create a diverse user base while also tapping into the higher earning potential from Tier 1 countries. This approach mitigates the risks associated with focusing solely on one market tier and can provide a more stable long-term growth trajectory for your app.

Advertising in a Tier 3 country to build a larger user base indirectly contribute to increasing your app's visibility in Tier 1 countries. Here's how this strategy can potentially impact the visibility in Tier 1 countries:

1. App Store Visibility Algorithm:

   • Both Google Store and Apple App Store algorithms consider various factors when determining an app's visibility including download numbers, user engagement, retention, and ratings.
   • A larger user base from Tier 3 countries can impact your app's overall download numbers, potentially improving its visibility in the app stores' search results and rankings.

2. Social Proof and Virality:

   • A substantial user base from 3 countries can contribute to social proof and virality. A high number of downloads, along with positive reviews and ratings, can make your app appear more popular and attractive to users in Tier 1 countries, increasing the likelihood of organic growth and visibility.

3. ** Expansion**

   • Building a strong user base in Tier 3 countries can provide valuable insights and feedback, which you can leverage to optimize your app for a wider international audience, including Tier 1 countries.

4. Ad Network Data and Retargeting:

   • Ad networks like Google AdMob gather valuable user data from Tier 3 country users, which can be used to optimize future ad targeting, including reaching users in Tier 1 countries through retargeting campaigns, leveraging lookalike audiences, or similar targeting methods.

However, it's important to note that the direct impact of Tier 3 country user base on Tier1 country visibility may not be as significant as targeting Tier 1 countries directly. It's also essential to have a strong strategy for user retention, engagement, and monetization to fully leverage the benefits of a larger user base from Tier 3 countries.

Therefore, while building a larger user base in Tier 3 countries can indirectly contribute to increasing visibility in Tier 1 countries, it's vital to complement this strategy with targeted efforts in Tier 1 countries to fully achieve your long-term goal of targeting users in Tier 1 countries. This could involve a phased approach where, after building a user base in Tier 3, you can shift towards more focused marketing and user acquisition campaigns in Tier 1 countries to further boost visibility and long-term earnings.

Based on the information provided, let's evaluate the likelihood of each option to help you grow and increase profits:

1. Option 1: Tier 3 Country with Low CPM and High Number of Downloads (50k)
   • Likelihood for Growth: High

• Likelihood for Profits: Moderate

This option is likely to result in a high number of downloads, contributing to increased visibility and potentially a broader user base. However, the lower CPM suggests that the immediate revenue from this user base might be lower, requiring a strong user retention and monetization strategy to translate the high downloads into sustained profits.

2. Option 2: Tier 1 Country with High CPM and Lower Number of (9k)
   • Likelihood for Growth: Moderate
   • Likelihood for Profits: High

While this option may bring in fewer downloads initially, the higher CPM indicates that each user from this market has a higher revenue potential. This can lead to more immediate profits, especially if your app has effective monetization strategies and appeals to users in Tier 1.

Given your long-term goal of targeting users in Tier 1 countries, likelihood for profits with Option 2 is higher due to the for increased revenue per user. However, Option 1 has a higher likelihood for growth due to the significantly larger number of downloads.

Therefore, reach your goal of faster growth and increased profits, a balanced approach is. You could consider allocating a larger portion of your budget towards Option 1 to capitalize on the high number of downloads and visibility, and a portion towards Option 2 to tap into the higher potential. This balanced strategy could help you achieve both short-term growth and long-term profits.

Understood! Based on the information provided, Option 2, targeting a Tier 1 country with a high CPM but lower initial number of downloads, is more likely to help your app attract more users from Tier 1 countries in the long term. The higher CPM indicates that the users from Tier 1 country have a higher revenue potential, which can contribute to greater profits and the ability to invest more in user acquisition and retention strategies targeting Tier 1 countries. Additionally, users from Tier 1 countries, if successfully retained and monetized, can provide the social proof and positive reviews that are essential for attracting more users from Tier 1 countries in the long term.

While Option 1 may result in a larger initial user base, the revenue potential from Tier 3 countries might not be as high, and a larger initial user base does not directly translate to attracting more users from Tier 1 countries in the long term.

Therefore, based on your goal of attracting users from Tier 1 countries in the long term, Option 2 targeting a Tier 1 country with a high CPM is more likely to help you achieve this goal.

In the long term, targeting a small user base in a Tier 1 country (Option 2 with 9k users) is more likely to help you secure additional Tier 1 users, aside from the initial 9k, compared to targeting a larger user base in a Tier 3 country (Option 1 with 50k users). Here's why:

1. Quality Over Quantity: Users from Tier 1 countries typically have greater purchasing power and are more likely to engage in monetized aspects of apps, such as in-app purchases and subscriptions. They provide higher revenue per user and a more sustainable business model for long-term profitability and reinvestment into further user acquisition.

2. Market Alignment: By building a user base in a Tier 1 country, you're better aligning your app with the preferences and behaviors of Tier 1 markets, which can drive more organic growth in those areas through targeted marketing and word-of-mouth.

3. Network Effects: Users tend to bring in more users like themselves, through social sharing, word-of-mouth, and other forms of network effects. A Tier 1 user is more likely to have a network of contacts who are also in Tier 1 countries.

4. App Store Optimization (ASO): A strong performance in a Tier 1 country can influence your app's ranking in those regions' app stores, leading to better visibility among other Tier 1 users.

5. Investor and Partner Appeal: Investors and partners are often more attracted to apps that perform well in Tier 1 markets, which can lead to better investment opportunities and partnerships, allowing for greater expansion within these markets.

Option 2 aligns directly with your target demographic and market, providing a stronger base for building a long-term user base within Tier 1 countries. While a large user base from a Tier 3 country can indirectly affect your reputation and potentially provide a boost in visibility across all markets, it does not necessarily equate to more users from Tier 1 countries due to differences in market dynamics, user behavior, and monetization potential.