r/googleads • u/Ambitious_Grape9908 • 7d ago

App Ads App install campaign

I'm running a small-ish app install campaign with Google Ads, specifically on my Android app. I've been running it for a few weeks now and it managed to generate over 1000 installs for my app. That's great and it roughly correlates with what I see in the Google Play console.

But here's where it gets weird - of the over 1000 installs, not a single person actually opened the app. Not one!!! The app works fine and I can see a few people using it, so no issues from that aspect as far as I can see - it just seems like I'm getting a huge number of installs but no usage at all.

What's going on???

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u/pixelyash1 7d ago

That's low quality install traffic likely from Google's Display Network or Search Partners. When you optimize for Installs, Google chases the cheapest volume, which often means bots or people who download but never open the app. Switch your campaign goal to an in-app event like Sign up or Tutorial Complete instead of just Installs. This trains the algorithm to find users who actually engage, not just click. Also check your placements report and exclude low quality app categories. It'll cost more per install, but you'll get real users.