What are daily active users?
Daily active users (DAU) are the number of users who launched an app at least once in a given day.
Why daily active users (DAU) are important
As growth practitioners, the ultimate goal isn’t just app installs but app growth, usually measured in revenue. One of the key leading indicators for app revenue is the volume of DAU. Together with the average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) metric, it forms total revenue.
Not every marketing channel or user acquisition channel will lead to high-quality installs, and tracking DAU over time will show if the funnel efforts of increasing installs are translating to the same growth in DAU, which should lead to revenue growth.
Daily active users (DAU) and App Store growth
Although the volume of DAU doesn’t have a direct effect on App Store algorithms, it does have a very strong effect on brand awareness, especially if there is a referral program in place. But even if there isn’t one in place, the more people using the app or playing the game, the higher the chance they’ll share it with their friends, colleagues, and families. This can lead to growth in branded search for the app’s name in the app stores.
