A subscription app · B2C · host's own app
Run Apple Ads in every country except the US to find where buyers are
Found the Netherlands: same keyword popularity as the US, difficulty 17 vs ~60
Workedapple-search-adsmarket-selectionlocalization
What they did
Created an Apple Ads max-conversion campaign targeting all countries except the US, with a few top-of-funnel keywords and a $2 target cost per install. Checked impression share by country and which countries produced paying users (India: impressions, no purchases; Netherlands, Canada, UK: impressions and sales). Cross-checked with Mo's Astro-based Claude skill listing keyword volume by country: Netherlands had the same popularity (~55) as the US but difficulty ~17 vs 60-something. Then stop the worldwide campaign and create a Netherlands-only campaign with more budget.
What happened
Netherlands identified as the top market for the niche; sales seen there; Steve says the approach has worked 'time and time again'.
- Stage
- live app
“I ran a max conversion campaign outside of the US. So I said, "All countries except the US," for my app, and I did a max conversion”
“I saw impressions in India, nobody bought, but I saw impressions in the Netherlands”
“Then what I would do is then stop that campaign, found Netherlands, then I would create a Netherlands-specific campaign, so that I can give it more budget”
Related topics
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