TLDR;
- Searching for a "Google App Ads expert in Cambridge" is a good start, but the best talent for app marketing is rarely local. Focus on UK market expertise, not proximity.
- Before you spend a single pound on ads, you MUST understand your numbers. Your app's Lifetime Value (LTV) determines how much you can afford to pay for a user. Use the interactive LTV calculator in this guide to figure this out.
- Don't get fooled by flashy promises. A genuine expert will audit your current setup, ask tough questions about your business model, and show you case studies relevant to the UK app market, not just generic success stories.
- The most common point of failure isn't the ads, it's the offer. A "download now" button isn't enough. You need a compelling reason for someone to give up their screen space, often starting with a free trial or valuable in-app feature.
- This guide includes a visual flowchart for your hiring process, a breakdown of typical UK app install costs, and a list of vetting questions to ask any potential agency or consultant.
So, you're based in Cambridge and need a specialist for your Google App campaign. It's a smart move. The "Silicon Fen" is brilliant for tech innovation, but marketing that tech, especially a mobile app, is a completely different ball game. Most founders I speak to in your position make a critical mistake right at the start: they overvalue locality and undervalue specific, niche expertise.
Tbh, whether your expert is in Cambridge, London, or Manchester is pretty irrelevant. What matters is if they have proven, recent experience in scaling apps within the UK market using Google's platform. The dynamics of the UK App Store, user acquisition costs here, and the type of creative that resonates with a British audience are far more important than being able to meet for a coffee at the Eagle. You're not hiring a local solicitor; you're hiring a specialist who operates in a digital-first world. Their post code doesn't matter, their track record does.
Before we even get into the weeds of finding that person, we need to address the single biggest reason most app campaigns fail. It has nothing to do with keywords or ad creative. It's the maths.
What's a new user actually worth to you?
Most founders can't answer this question. They're obsessed with getting the Cost Per Install (CPI) as low as possible, without knowing what they can actually afford to spend. This is backwards. You need to work out the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your average user first. Only then can you set a realistic Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) target. Get this right, and you can scale aggressively. Get it wrong, and you'll burn through your funding in months.
Let's run the numbers. The formula is simpler than you'd think:
LTV = (Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate
I've seen so many startups around the Cambridge Science Park with genius products fail because they never did this basic calculation. They celebrated a £1.50 CPI without realising their LTV was only £1.20. It's a slow-motion car crash. Let's make sure that's not you.
Now you have a number. A real, tangible target. If your max affordable CPA is £7.78, you know that any expert who can consistently deliver installs for under that price is making you money. This single piece of data changes your entire approach from hoping for cheap clicks to strategically investing in growth. It's the difference between gambling and running a business. This is the first thing any competant expert will ask you about. If they don't, it's a massive red flag.
How do you actually find and vet the right expert?
Right, so you know your numbers. Now you can start the search. Forget endless Google searches for "best app agency Cambridge". It's a waste of time. You need a process. A framework for making a decision that isn't based on a slick sales pitch.
I'd suggest a simple four-stage process: Shortlist, Vet, Test, and Hire. It forces you to be systematic and avoid emotional decisions.
The Shortlisting Stage
This is where you do your initial digging. You're looking for evidence of genuine expertise. Here's what to look for:
- App-Specific Case Studies: Don't be fobbed off with an eCommerce case study if you're an app. The mechanics are completely different. I'd want to see examples like a campaign we ran for a sports event app where we drove over 45,000 signups at under £2 per signup. That's a relevant result. They should be able to talk about the platforms they used (Google App Campaigns, Apple Search Ads, Meta Ads) and the specific results.
- Results in Pounds (£): If they're showing you case studies with results only in dollars, it suggests their primary experience might be in the US market. The UK is a different beast, with different costs and user behaviours. You want someone who understands this.
- No Vague Promises: If a potential partner promises to "get you to #1 in the App Store" or guarantees a specific number of downloads, run. No one can promise that. Tbh in paid advertising, you can't really promise anything. An expert talks in terms of strategy, testing, and optimising towards a target CPA based on your LTV.
The Vetting Stage: The Consultation Call
This is the most important part of the entire process. It's where you seperate the talkers from the doers. Any decent consultant or agency will offer a free initial consultation or strategy session. This isn't a sales call; it's a chance for them to prove their value. We offer a free account review where we actually look at what a prospect is doing and give them actionable advice. That's the bar.
You need to go into this call prepared. For anyone serious about this, our guide on vetting agencies offers a deep dive, but here are the non-negotiable questions you must ask:
- "Based on my app and goals, what would your initial 90-day strategy look like?" (Listen for words like 'audit', 'creative testing', 'audience segmentation', 'scaling').
- "What are the 3 biggest risks or challenges you see with my app's user acquisition?" (A good expert will spot problems immediately. A salesperson will just tell you everything looks great).
- "Can you show me a case study of an app you've worked with in the UK that faced a similar challenge to us?" (Specificity is key. Force them to be relevant).
- "How do you approach creative? Do you produce it, or do we? What formats do you find work best for Google App Campaigns right now?" (Creative is half the battle. They need a strong opinion on this).
- "What is your reporting process? How often will we speak, and what metrics will you be focusing on?" (Look for a focus on business metrics like CPA and ROAS, not just vanity metrics like impressions).
Their answers will tell you everything you need to know. Are they strategic? Do they understand your business model? Or are they just reciting a script? Tbh if someone asks us for client references after we've shown them detailed case studies and given them a free audit, it's a bit of a red flag for us. It signals a lack of trust that will probably continue. The expertise should shine through in the conversation itself.
So, what should this actually cost in the UK?
This is the million-dollar—or rather, million-pound—question. The answer is: it depends. It depends on your niche (a fintech app will be more expensive than a simple game), your target audience, and the competitiveness of your keywords.
However, based on our experience running campaigns in the UK, we can give you some realistic ballpark figures. For a B2C app, a good Cost Per Install (CPI) can range from £1.50 to £4.00. For a B2B or high-value subscription app, you might be looking at a Cost Per Trial (CPT) or Cost Per Registration of £5 to £20+. I remember one B2B SaaS client where we got their CPL down to $22 on LinkedIn, but Google Ads for a similar audience might be even more. Another software campaign on Meta saw trials at around $7 (~£5.80). These aren't guesses; they are figures from real campaigns.
The key takeaway here is not the exact number, but the scale. If an agency quotes you a £0.50 CPI for your new UK investment app, they're either inexperienced or not being honest. Knowing these rough benchmarks helps you have a more informed conversation. It also reinforces why knowing your LTV is so important. Paying £15 for a trial might seem expensive, but if that user's LTV is £500, it's a fantastically profitable investment. Many founders get stuck here, unable to scale their Google Ads spend because they are scared of a high, but perfectly profitable, CPA.
What does a winning strategy look like?
A good expert won't just turn on a campaign and hope for the best. They'll build a structured system designed for testing and scaling. For a Google App Campaign, this usually involves a few core components:
- Asset Groups: This is where you test your creative. A good setup will have multiple asset groups, each testing a different angle or 'hook'. For example, one might focus on a specific feature, another on a user testimonial (UGC video), and a third on a pain point your app solves. They'll mix video, images, and HTML5 assets.
- Audience Signals: While Google's algorithm does a lot of the heavy lifting, you need to give it the right starting signals. This means telling it about your existing users (by uploading customer lists), people who have visited your website, or people with specific interests related to your app. For a B2B app, this might involve targeting people interested in competitor software. We've written a detailed guide for founders on how to approach Google Ads for B2B SaaS which covers this in more detail.
- Bidding Strategy: Initially, they might start with a 'Maximise conversions' (tCPI) bid to gather data, focusing on driving installs. But as soon as there is enough data on in-app actions (like trial starts, subscriptions, or purchases), they should be pushing to switch to a 'Maximise conversion value' (tROAS) strategy. This tells Google to find users who will not just install, but actually spend money. This is a critical step for profitable scaling.
It's a methodical process of continuous improvement. The goal in the first month is not to hit a homerun, but to build the machine and find out what works. By month three, you should have winning creatives and audiences that can be scaled up.
This is the main advice I have for you:
| Action Step | Why It's Important | Your First Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Calculate Your LTV | This is the foundation of your entire paid acquisition strategy. It tells you what you can afford to spend to acquire a user profitably. Without this, you're flying blind. | Use the interactive calculator in this guide with your own ARPU, margin, and churn numbers. Get a realistic max CPA target. |
| 2. Redefine Your Search | The best talent isn't nessesarily local. You need specific expertise in the UK app market and Google App Campaigns, not someone who's just down the road in Cambridge. | Change your search from "expert in Cambridge" to "UK Google App Campaign specialist". Look for UK-based case studies and results in £. |
| 3. Prepare for Vetting Calls | The consultation call is your chance to seperate experts from salespeople. You need to lead the conversation and ask probing, strategic questions. | Write down the 5 key questions from this guide. Go into every call with a clear agenda to assess their strategic thinking, not their sales pitch. |
| 4. Review Your Offer | Even the best ads can't fix a weak offer. Your app store page and the initial in-app experience must be compelling enough to justify an install and encourage action. | Critically review your app's value proposition. Is the benefit clear in the first 5 seconds? Is there a low-friction way for a new user to experience value (e.g., free trial)? |
Ultimately, hiring an expert is an investment. Doing the homework upfront—understanding your metrics, knowing what to look for, and asking the right questions—is the surest way to make that investment pay off. It’s more work than just picking the first agency that shows up for a local search, but it’s the difference between potentially wasting thousands on ineffective campaigns and building a predictable, scalable engine for your app's growth.
Getting this right, especially in a competitive market like the UK, often requires specialist knowledge. If you've been through this guide and feel you'd benefit from an expert eye on your strategy or a second opinion on your current campaigns, consider booking a free, no-obligation strategy session. We can walk through your numbers, audit your existing setup, and give you a clear, actionable plan for growth.
