App Masters · 2026-09-19
Live App Teardowns: App Growth Optimization
Steve P. Young's live stream: audits of viewer apps (Blocker Plus, Glisten, Value Study, Conga Bongo Metronome) plus Q&A. Most content is live-audit advice (skipped). Extracted: App Masters' own tests (ASA max-conversion campaign run outside the US that surfaced the Netherlands, $5/$20/$30 utility pricing, gender-matched paywall testimonial, a hard paywall on an acquired app that drew 1-star reviews), client stories (moving 'Apple' left in the keyword field, removing a monthly anchor plan cut sales, Meta-only scaling) and a viewer's free-to-paid switch.
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Numbers mentioned
| Subject | Metric | Value | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blocker Plus | rank Google Play US search rank for its main keyword | 2 rank | “looks like you're already number two in the US for that particular term” |
| Blocker Plus | price Plan price on the paywall (3-day free trial) | USD 25.99 | “Maybe $29.99 would convert better than $25.99.” |
| App Masters Apple Ads client ($80K spend) | ad spend Apple Ads spend managed for a client, reported as ROAS-positive | USD 80K approximate | “we're spending $80,000 for a client and I can show you the ROAS positivity there” |
| App Masters client with 'wallet' in its title | rank App Store rank for 'Apple Wallet' after moving 'Apple' to the start of the keyword field | 2–3 rank approximate | “we just got to number two or three for that particular term” |
| App Masters client earning most revenue on iPad | revenue Client revenue (period not stated); said to be 200K+ but under 300K | USD 220K–250K approximate | “Look, I think it's like 220, 250.” |
| App Masters client earning most revenue on iPad | revenue Portion of the client's revenue from iPad (~200K of ~250K) | USD 200K approximate | “about 200 of it, 200 of the 250, just keep maths simple, is on iPad” |
| Value Study | count Search volume for 'value study' per Keywords Everywhere (Google) | 260 searches | “It's only 260, so it's not a huge market, Shane.” |
| Value Study | count App Store ratings count (3,000+) | 3,000 ratings approximate | “Over 3,000 ratings with 4.8 average rating, that's amazing” |
| Value Study | rating Average App Store rating | 4.8 stars | “Over 3,000 ratings with 4.8 average rating” |
| Value Study | share Share of existing (previously free) users happy to pay after the switch to paid | 90–99% estimate | “I would say 90% 99% of the existing users were more than happy to pay” |
| App Masters | price Weekly plan in the host's utility-app pricing test | USD 5/week | “So we have $5 a week, $20 a year, and $30 lifetime.” |
| App Masters | price Annual plan in the host's utility-app pricing test | USD 20/year | “So we have $5 a week, $20 a year, and $30 lifetime.” |
| App Masters | price Lifetime plan in the host's utility-app pricing test | USD 30/one-time | “So we have $5 a week, $20 a year, and $30 lifetime.” |
| App Masters | price Host's usual annual price point across his apps | USD 40/year | “Like $40 a year is usually my the price point that we have right now.” |
| personJoseph (viewer), across his own apps | price Annual price Joseph finds works well | USD 40/year | “We're finding $40 a year seems to be a good” |
| benchmarkOptimal lifetime price found by Chris (prior App Masters guest) testing lifetime plans on his apps | price | USD 29.99/one-time approximate | “Chris's strategy about the $29.99 being the optimal lifetime price for his apps” |
| App Masters client at $4M+ ARR from Meta alone | arr 4M+ ARR with Meta as the only acquisition channel | USD 4M approximate | “So one of our clients doing 4+ million ARR, just Meta.” |
| Indie developer's app at ~$1M MRR from Meta alone | mrr Scaled with Meta only | USD 1M approximate | “he's been able to scale to about a million MRR with just Meta” |
| aggregateApps the host has seen scale on one or two of five channels (ASO, Apple Ads, Google, Meta, TikTok) | arr Upper example: apps reaching $5M ARR with one or two channels | USD 5M approximate | “I've seen apps and I have the proof where they're able to hit 5 million ARR with just one, literally one or two of these channels” |
| Steve's app in a category with Netherlands search volume | cpi Target cost per install set in the worldwide (ex-US) Apple Ads max-conversion campaign | USD 2 goal | “I only gave, "Hey, I want $2 per install." I looked at the impression share” |
| marketSearch popularity (Astro) of the host's main keyword in the Netherlands, same as in the US | keyword popularity | 55 score approximate | “that same keyword has the same search score, it's like 55, in the US as it does in the Netherlands” |
| marketKeyword difficulty (Astro) of the host's main keyword in the Netherlands | keyword difficulty | 17 score approximate | “in the Netherlands, the difficulty is like a 17, according to Astro, but it's like 60-something in the US” |
| App Masters client selling a $10/year plan | share Share of buyers choosing the $10/year plan over $1.99/month (before the monthly plan was removed) | 90% approximate | “They had $1.99 per month, $10 year, and they're like, "Hey, 90% of everybody buys the year."” |
| Open Play Central | users Registered pickleball players (location spread unknown) | 3,000 users | “he has 3,000 registered pickleballers” |