Genius Scan · B2C · document scanning app
Tune App Store name and ratings but skip paying for search ads
Top five for 'scanning'; can't pass rivals who buy Apple ads
Mixedaso
What they did
Worked through Appfigures-style ASO checklist: app naming and a strong ratings-per-download ratio. Does not buy Apple Search Ads; concluded the apps ranking above them mostly buy App Store ads, boosting download velocity, which drives search rank.
What happened
Ranks in the top five search results for 'scanning' but cannot outrank competitors whose paid installs increase download velocity.
- Stage
- Scale (mature)
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Bootstrapping a Subscription App to 5M MAU and 2X+ Revenue Growth — Bruno Virlet, Genius Scan“we have tried, I've tried to improve like ASO on the App Store, and we are fairly, I mean, well ranked. So if you look for scanning, you will find us in the five results.”
“we have like a very good number of ratings per downloads, everything Appfigures, you know, recommend you do well. And, and there is one thing, is like the download velocity.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Genius Scan: Launch free for a few days, then switch to a $0.99 paid appDownloads fell from thousands a day to 1-2; switched back to free
- Genius Scan: Keep the app free with ads; sell a one-time upgrade that removes themStarted making real money from ads; founder gives no figures
- Genius Scan: Start charging monthly for cloud backup while keeping the one-time upgradeNo customer backlash; users understood storage costs recur
- Genius Scan: Let people who paid once keep their features when you switch to subscriptions
- Genius Scan: Drop the $0.99-a-month plan and sell only the $3 oneStill ~100 purchases a day, now all on the pricier plan
- Genius Scan: Show only the yearly plan on the paywall; tuck monthly one step deeperNearly everyone switched to yearly; no numbers
- Genius Scan: Keep the button for your top paid feature on screen, not in a menuHiding it cut paywall views ~10-20% for months; putting it back restored them
- Genius Scan: Test the words and icon on the in-app banner that opens your paywallOne wording converted 2x the old one; a deliberate A/B test confirmed it
- Genius Scan: Remove outside ads from the free app, even though they paid wellFounder believes happy free users drive recommendations; no numbers
- Genius Scan: Skip the paywall at signup; show it only when someone taps a paid featureFree users convert over time and recommend the app; no numbers
- Genius Scan: Answer every support email yourselves and build what people ask for repeatedlyFounders say it gives the best pulse on problems; no numbers
- Genius Scan: Beat the phone's built-in scanner with better scans and auto-export to DropboxGrowth never stalled when Apple added native scanning
- The Grizzly Labs: Hire only when founders are overloaded, and pick people who work independently10 people, little management needed and low turnover
- RevenueCat: Ask users how they heard about you, with a free-text boxRevealed ChatGPT and Claude were sending people; read daily
- RevenueCat: Check 5-10 key numbers every morning, with 30- and 90-day averages30-day above 90-day means healthy; no outcome reported