Solved: Targeting Two Different User Groups with Google App Campaigns

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on promoting your new app, especially with the challenge of needing two different user types to make it work. It's a really common hurdle for marketplace-style businesses, whether it's an app or a website, you need to figure out how to bring both sides of the equation onto the platform.

Your two distinct user types...

You've nailed the core problem right away – you need designers *and* businesses. They have completely different needs, motivations, and use cases for the app once they're in. A designer wants to find work, build a profile, maybe showcase their portfolio. A business wants to find a designer, post a project, manage proposals. Trying to lump these two groups together from a marketing perspective, especially with automated campaign types like Google App campaigns, is definitely where you can run into trouble and just get random downloads that don't do what you need.

Setting up the campaigns...

Google App campaigns are a bit different beast compared to something like Google Search or Meta Ads. They are designed to be highly automated, pushing downloads and then trying to drive *in-app actions*. The system learns from what users do after they install. It doesn't really have manual targeting for "graphic designers in London" or "small businesses looking for logos" in the same granular way other platforms might. Instead, it uses machine learning based on your assets (creatives, text, videos), your bidding strategy, and crucially, the *in-app conversion events* you tell it to optimise for, to find users who are likely to perform those specific actions.

So, the idea that it might "magically figure out" both groups with one campaign is unlikely to work well. The system needs a clear signal of what success looks like. If you tell it to optimise for "install" or a generic "signup," it will just find lots of cheap installs or basic signups, without caring if they are designers or businesses, or if they actually do the high-value actions you need later.

Defining the right conversion events...

This is really where the magic happens for getting the *right kind* of user, not just any download. You need to work with your developers to set up tracking for the specific, valuable actions each user type takes *after* they install and signup. For the designer side, this might be something like 'Profile Complete', 'Portfolio Uploaded', 'Applied for Project'. For the business side, it would be things like 'Project Posted', 'Proposal Accepted', 'Payment Made'.

These are the "conversion events" you will tell Google App campaigns to optimise towards. By focusing the campaign on these specific, valuable in-app actions, you are training the machine learning algorithm to find users who are most likely to perform *those* actions, rather than just downloading the app or signing up.

For example, one campaign we ran focused specifically on getting trials for a B2B SaaS. We set the in-app conversion event to 'Trial Started'. The campaign's goal was clear, and Google's system got really good at finding users who would start a trial. This is the same principle you need to apply here – define what a successful user looks like for each side of your marketplace *within* the app.

Structuring your campaigns...

Given the huge difference between your two user types and what you need them to do, running a single Google App campaign is almost certainly the wrong approach. It would be trying to optimise for two conflicting or at least very different goals simultaneously, and the system just wouldn't know which type of user to prioritise or which action is more valuable.

What makes far more sense, based on how App campaigns work and my experience with platforms needing distinct user bases, is to set up two entirely separate Google App campaigns. You've already hit on this as a possibility, and I'd strongly beleive this is the path you need to take.

Here's how I'd structure it:

• -> Campaign 1: Focusing on Designers
• -> Objective: Drive 'Designer Profile Complete' (or your chosen key action for designers).
• -> Creatives: These need to be laser-focused on graphic designers. Show off the benefits for them: finding freelance gigs easily, building their portfolio, getting paid. Use language and visuals that resonate with teh designer community. Think about what makes your platform better for *them* than just searching on Upwork or Fiverr.
• -> Bidding: You'd likely bid towards your target cost per 'Designer Profile Complete'.

and

• -> Campaign 2: Focusing on Businesses
• -> Objective: Drive 'Business Project Posted' (or your chosen key action for businesses).
• -> Creatives: These need to speak directly to small business owners or marketing managers who need design work done. Highlight the benefits for them: finding vetted designers, getting logos or websites done quickly, managing projects simply. Use language and visuals that appeal to a business mindset – efficiency, quality, results, perhaps cost-effectiveness compared to agencies.
• -> Bidding: You'd likely bid towards your target cost per 'Business Project Posted'.

By splitting it like this, you give Google's algorithm a clear, singular goal for each campaign. It can then use the creative assets specific to each campaign to find the right audience who is most likely to perform that specific, high-value in-app conversion event. Your worry about getting random downloads that don't do the thing inside the app? This separate campaign structure directly addresses that, by telling Google to optimise *past* the download to the actual desired action.

The importance of creatives...

Because Google App campaigns are so automated, your creative assets (text, images, videos) become incredibly important for signalling to the system *who* you are trying to reach and *what* action you want them to take. The system uses cues from your creatives to identify potential users. If your creatives in Campaign 1 feature designers, talk about freelance work, and show profile building, Google will understand this campaign is likely aimed at designers. Similarly, if Campaign 2's creatives show businesses posting jobs and getting quotes, Google will learn to target businesses.

You'll need a good variety of creatives for each campaign. Test different messages, different visual styles, different video lengths. What resonates with a freelance designer looking for their next gig is completely different from what resonates with a business owner trying to get a new logo designed. Don't just use generic app screenshots; create assets that highlight the unique value proposition for *each* audience.

Beyond the download: Onboarding matters...

It's critical to remember that the ad campaign's job is primarily to get the *right kind* of potential user to download and maybe signup. But getting them to complete that key in-app conversion event ('Profile Complete', 'Project Posted') is then down to the app's onboarding flow and user experience. If your onboarding for designers is confusing, or it's hard for businesses to post a project, even the perfect ad targeting won't work. People will download, maybe signup, and then drop off before doing the valuable action you're optimising for.

Make sure teh steps needed to complete those key actions are as simple and intuitive as possible. Reduce friction wherever you can. If there are multiple steps, can you guide users through them effectively? Think of it like a landing page for a website - you need clear calls to action, persuasive copy (within the app UI, maybe?), and a smooth user journey. If the app doesn't immediately provide clear value or is frustrating to use for the intended purpose, your cost per desired action will be very high, even if your cost per install is low.

What metrics to focus on...

When running these campaigns, you need to look beyond just the cost per install (CPI). While CPI gives you a basic idea of how cheaply you can get people to download, the real metric you need to optimise for is the cost per your key in-app conversion event (Cost Per Profile Complete, Cost Per Project Posted). This tells you how much it costs to get someone to actually *do* the valuable thing in your app.

You'll also want to track the conversion rate *from* install or signup *to* that key in-app action. If you have a high CPI but a very high install-to-action conversion rate, that might be better than a low CPI but almost no one actually completing the desired action. The separate campaigns will allow you to see these metrics for each audience individually.

Based on other software and B2B campaigns I've seen, the cost per these valuable actions can vary massively. We've seen B2B decision maker leads cost around $22 on LinkedIn, software trials come in at $7 on Meta, B2B software registrations at $2.38, and even medical job matching signups at £7. Your cost per 'Profile Complete' for designers and 'Project Posted' for businesses will depend on factors like your creatives, the appeal of your platform, the competitiveness of the audience on Google's network, and how good your app onboarding is. Setting a target cost per acquisition (CPA) for each type of user based on their estimated lifetime value is crucial, but you'll need to run the campaigns for a while to see what's realistic.

Actionable Plan Overview

To summarise, here’s a possible way forward:

Thinking about scaling...

Once you get these campaigns running and start seeing promising results (meaning you're acquiring designers and businesses at a cost that makes sense for your business model), scaling can present its own challenges. Like the software campaign that plateaued, there's a limited pool of the *most likely* converters on any given platform at any given time. As you increase spend, your cost per acquisition might start to creep up because you're reaching slightly less qualified audiences.

Continuous testing – of creatives, potentially different bidding strategies, maybe exploring other platforms once you've scaled significantly on Google App campaigns – will be necessary to maintain efficiency as you grow. But first, you need to get the fundamental structure and optimisation right for your dual-sided market.

Getting this right from the start is really important. Throwing money at App campaigns without clearly defining what you want them to achieve for each specific audience is indeed a quick way to blow through budget with little to show for it beyond raw install numbers. Setting up the tracking correctly, segmenting your campaigns by user type and their desired in-app action, and creating relevant creatives for each is teh path forward.

Dealing with dual-sided marketplaces adds a layer of complexity that many standard ad strategies don't account for. If you find yourselves needing more in-depth guidance or help implementing this, it's often beneficial to work with experts who have experience navigating these specific challenges. We've helped other software and marketplace businesses acquire users effectively, and happy to offer a free consultation to discuss your specific situation in more detail and see if we could help further.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh