Momego · B2C · live bus and train times app
Test different screenshots in each country instead of just translating the text
Found local winners (widgets in Italy, reviews in the Netherlands); most tests failed
Workedlocalizationasoexperimentation
What they did
Through 2025, replaced ~25 near-identical translated screenshot sets with per-country versions: study each storefront's popular apps (via Switchr), copy elements, run each A/B test for 2 weeks to a month. Findings: Italy - widgets and live activities as the first screenshot; Netherlands - laurel wreath and testimonial; Germany - bigger text, shorter message; Japan - dense, information-packed screenshots with little white space.
What happened
Several per-country winners after dozens of experiments, most of which failed; no conversion numbers.
- Effort
- Dozens of experiments over ~1 year
“But with the Italian, I found through A/B testing that they love widgets, and they love live activities.”
“I found that the laurel wreath and the and the the testimonial, that really resonated with Dutch users.”
“over the course of maybe the last year, I've run dozens of experiments, and most of them failed, right?”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from Momego
All 23 Momego tactics- When people close the paywall, give them a free week of Pro, then count downFree-user conversion 0.4% -> 4.5%
- Give away bus schedules on a free website that leads to the appLots of traffic, some flowing on to the app; no numbers here
- Answer city-by-city questions in the App Store description so chatbots can quote it
More from this episode
- Momego: Bid on city keywords like 'Chicago bus times' that big rivals ignoreFounder says it found profitable keywords; took a few months of testing
- Momego: Change only the first screenshot to name the city for each ad groupFounder says it raises tap-through and lowers cost per install; no numbers
- Momego: Switch your App Store country, then mine top charts and autocomplete for keywordsFounder says it gives a full keyword list per country and city; no numbers
- Momego: Keep only ad keywords that return $1.20 per $1 within 3 monthsShows taps, trials and paid users per keyword without an MMP
- Momego: Add city-by-city Q&As to your App Store description so chatbots quote it
- Momego: Publish free live bus times on a fast website that advertises the app~1,200 ChatGPT lookups and 70-75 app downloads a day
- Momego: Lower prices outside the US, UK and Canada to match local buying powerTrial conversions +17% and revenue +23% in a 3-month 50/50 test
- Momego: Show $25 instead of $24.99 on the paywallAdds a few points of conversion, founder says; only works for two-digit prices
- Momego: Keep onboarding short and show benefits, not features or app screensWon after ~30 A/B tests; long question-heavy onboarding made people quit
- Momego: Replace the monthly plan with a weekly plan sold as 'pay as you go'Trial start rate almost doubled in an A/B test; revenue up significantly
- Momego: Give 7 free premium days to people who close the paywallPaid conversion after closing the paywall rose from 0.4% to 4.5%
- Momego: Add a permanent button with short videos showing how to add the widgetFounder says it makes a big difference; no numbers
- Momego: Let riders share a live trip link that opens on the web without the appFounder says people love it; no numbers
- Momego: When someone cancels, send reminders 5 and 2 days before access endsFounder says reminders win some back; no numbers
- Momego: Ask for a rating the first time a user sees their bus movingHis most reliable method; keeps ratings coming in
- Momego: Put extra US keywords in the Mexican Spanish or Vietnamese title and subtitleFounder says US rankings for those keywords rise; no numbers
- Momego: Use a bright color for the icon and screenshots so they stand outFounder says it stops people scrolling; no numbers
- Momego: Switch from in-app ads to subscriptionsGrowth really took off; ad income had fallen after pandemic CPMs crashed
- Momego: Run a free-download promo and ask for ratings after users finish a taskFounder tried it and believes it still works; no numbers
- Rank #1 for dozens of tiny keywords almost nobody searches#1 for 90 popularity-5 keywords; $3-5K a month
- Run Apple Search Ads for a paid-upfront appScaled from about $1K to $10K a month, the host says