ELSA app icon

ELSA

English learners speak confidently.
ELSA increases subscribers.

ELSA ad on the App Store

The artificial intelligence technology used in the ELSA language learning app makes it possible for more people to learn English around the world. With Apple Search Ads, ELSA increased brand awareness and scaled subscriber growth globally. 

The Results

26% more iOS downloads after a quarter of running Apple Search Ads.
30% increase in new subscribers globally year over year.
40% increase in annual subscriptions in the U.S.

The Challenge

To boost subscription revenue, the team at ELSA needed to increase app visibility around the world with diverse audiences interested in learning English. They wanted to expand to countries and regions and quickly understand the nuances of each new market before investing significant time and budget. Maximizing user acquisition while ensuring cost-efficiency was critical to their success globally.

Apple Search Ads helped us reach highly engaged customers at scale and increased our global subscription base by 30 percent.

The Solution

Gain new market insights and improve local relevancy.

With Apple Search Ads, the ELSA team started with a discovery campaign to find new, relevant keywords while expanding reach to broader audiences. Search Match helped them quickly mine for high-performing search terms while determining which markets to prioritize. The team then split campaigns by country or region, placing high-performing keywords into exact match and continuing to run discovery campaigns.

 

“Search Match is a low-cost way to quickly expand keyword coverage in new markets as well as stay on top of trends across top countries and regions,” says ELSA Growth Director Jose Lis. “Apple Search Ads connects us with customers showing high intent and delivers high cost-efficiency as well as long-term value.”

Adjust bidding to stay competitive.

To optimize performance and overall subscription growth, the ELSA team closely monitored metrics like conversion rates, impression share, and long-term value. Based on these Apple Search Ads campaign insights, they adjusted bids on the top keywords, including brand keywords, to stay competitive. In key markets, budgets were higher than in newer markets where the team was still learning about overall search volume and customer behavior.

 

To reach the broadest audience possible, the team at ELSA focused acquisition campaigns on all users and did not include any audience refinements. During seasonal surges in search volumes, they also adjusted keyword sets and bids to capture increased demand. “Apple Search Ads has been our most reliable source of traffic as we continue to expand globally,” says Lis.

Company Snapshot

  • ELSA Corp.
  • Education category
  • Launched in 2015
  • Based in San Francisco, USA
Apple Search Ads Advanced

Start your
first
campaign.

Apple Search Ads Advanced gives you easy and flexible
campaign management
options and a variety of ad placements
designed to drive visibility and
downloads of your app. Try it for
free with a 100 USD credit.*