What is an Organic Install?

An install is organic if it is not attributed to a third-party source. Thus, organic installs are also called unattributed installs. Organic users find the app after proactively performing one of three actions:

• Browsing the stores’ homepages, categories, features, and stories.
• Checking the stores’ top charts.
• Using the search function and clicking one of the search results.

The opposite is a non-organic user who finds the app by interacting with a paid ad. Besides paid user acquisition campaigns, some free channels are third-party sources as well. These include, for instance, social media, newsletters, and similar free channels. So people who find an app via these channels are non-organic users too.

From the perspective of attribution tracking, users are organic if they do not click a tracking link before installing the app.

Why Organic Traffic is Important

In contrast to paid traffic, organic installs are free. So they do not create costs at the point of download.

But organic users are also more valuable than non-organic users. On average, they use an app more often. But they also spend more money on in-app purchases and are less likely to uninstall the app.

Finally, high volumes of organic traffic can bring the app into highly visible placements. For instance, it has the chance to make it into the top charts. Also, apps that generate many organic downloads are more likely to attract the attention of the stores’ editorial teams. And this attention might result in a feature that drives incredibly high volumes of additional organic traffic.

How to Increase the Number of Organic Installs

There is only one way to create a constant stream of organic users: App Store Optimization (ASO). When done right, ASO results in more visibility for an app in search results. But it also improves the conversion rate that impacts all visitors of the product page. So App Store Optimization benefits every app owner. And it should be a central element in every app marketing strategy.