Rootd · panic attack relief app
Hire an outside ASO contractor to manage App Store keywords
Rankings fell from #2 to tanking; recovered only after reverting to her own keywords
Failedaso
What they did
Hired a recommended outside ASO contractor, the most she had ever invested in ASO. They started adding unrelated keywords (e.g. Bitcoin terms). Once the contract ended she reverted to the original keyword set.
What happened
Went from #2 for 'panic attacks' and #3-4 for 'anxiety' to tanking, losing downloads and revenue daily; rankings recovered after reverting to the original keywords.
- Stage
- growth
- Effort
- One contract; her largest ASO spend
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Hitting 2M Downloads Without Funding, Employees, or Learning to Code — Ania Wysocka, Rootd“And then at one point, I did work with an outside contractor for that, and it was a really bad experience. We went from like ranking number two for panic attacks, number like three or four for anxiety, to then just like tanking.”
“They had started off with Bitcoin keywords and stuff that just wasn't even related”
“And thankfully, once the contract ended, we were able to build back up by really reverting to the original.”
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 Rootd
All 25 Rootd tactics- Go after 'panic attack' first, then climb to 'anxiety relief'Now #2 for 'anxiety relief' and #1 for 'anxiety' (search score 36)
- Show the paywall during onboarding, with a close buttonRevenue doubled
- Read reviews of rival apps to find the gap, then ship a rough first versionFirst few hundred users asked her to keep going despite bugs
- Spend hours writing helpful replies on anxiety posts, with a link to the appNamed her top growth tactic; no numbers
- Cold-email journalists who write about mental health, telling your own storyFew replies, but features in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health and Time
- Make the app deliver what searchers want so reviews repeat your keywordsFounder calls it a strong App Store presence; no numbers
More from this episode
- Rootd: Target the low-volume 'panic attack' keyword instead of the crowded 'anxiety'Now #1 for 'panic attacks' and #2-3 for 'anxiety'; glowing reviews from day one
- Rootd: Run a small Apple Search Ads budget on your brand name and 'panic attack' termsFounder says it has worked; spend kept at bare minimum so far
- Rootd: Show the paywall at the start of onboarding instead of hiding itRevenue up 5x with almost no negative feedback
- Rootd: Ask new users to set a daily reminder during onboardingSetting a reminder is one of the strongest signs a user will stay
- Rootd: Send new users a daily quote by push for 7 days, then make it paidReceived very positively, per founder; no numbers
- Rootd: Launch on World Mental Health Day and pitch local journalists firstBrought the first few hundred users; later list placements fed bigger press
- Rootd: Plan a year of monthly feature stories, each with press and an App Store eventEach moves the needle a little; no single spike, bumps fade
- Rootd: Keep sending Apple feature requests; about 15 tries before the first yesFeatured, later Editor's Choice; big jumps in browse installs, especially when featured in the US
- Rootd: Hire a local ad agency to run paid ads before the paywall was fixedLost money; founder says she tried too early
- Rootd: Hit trial-conversion targets and drop required email sign-up before buying ads again
- Rootd: Ask users to share the app right after it calms a panic attackBiggest share rate after the success screen; founder calls sharing a big growth driver
- Rootd: Give the app a mascot that starts scary and gets friendlier as users improveUsers treat the mascot as a friend; no usage numbers
- Rootd: Drop email marketing and keep in touch with users by push insteadEmail cost more than it earned, so it was dropped
- Rootd: Try lower prices country by country to earn more from Android usersNo clear win; subscription uptake stays low in those markets
- Rootd: Sell premium access to health insurers and veterans groups for their members