What are monthly active users (MAU)?
Monthly active users (MAU) are users that launched the app at least once over the course of a calendar month.
Why monthly active users (MAU) 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 MAU. Together with the average revenue per daily active user (ARPMAU) metric, it forms total revenue.
Not every marketing channel or user acquisition channel will lead to high-quality installs, and tracking MAU over time will show if funnel efforts of increasing installs are translating to the same growth in MAU, which should lead to revenue growth.
Monthly active users (MAU) and App Store growth?
Although the volume of MAU 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.
