SSubida Skills

Esc to close · results from all notes, skills and people

Mobile apps›App Store Optimization

How much to rely on ASO, and how it fits with Apple Ads and Meta

Steve P. Young's view (2026) that ASO is a slice of the acquisition pie, not the whole — when it can carry an app, why to pair it with Apple Ads first, and how it validates a funnel before Meta.

Updated 2026-10-23·4 sources·asoapple-adschannel-strategyuser-acquisition

How much to rely on ASO, and how it fits with Apple Ads and Meta

TL;DR

  • ASO is getting much harder with vibe-coded app floods; treat it as “a slice of the pie, not your entire pie”.12
  • ASO works best on top of an existing channel (Meta, TikTok, organic social): download volume lifts organic ranks.23
  • Relying only on ASO? Also run ads — Steve starts with Apple Ads under ~$10K MRR because it’s cheaper and only needs keywords.2
  • ASO/Apple Ads are pull channels (high intent) — Steve uses them to validate the funnel cheaply before scaling with push channels like Meta.4
  • Skip that step where search doesn’t exist (e.g. a new social network) — go straight to Meta.5
  • Typical pure-organic ceiling in his examples: $2–3K/month (long-tail) up to six figures/year; seven figures usually needs paid.67

Details

Why search converts. People searching “soundscapes” or “green noise” already want the thing; ranking #1–3 for such terms drives sales, which is why Steve calls ASO free, organic and “one of the best sources of traffic to get sales”.8 Top-3 results take ~90% of clicks.9

Brand vs generic. Clients making six figures to ~$500K mostly from App Store search also had branded search demand, not just generic keywords.6

One or two channels are enough. Steve has seen apps reach up to $5M MRR on one or two channels; find “channel–market fit” early and focus.10

Funnel validation order (Oct 2026): ASO + Apple Ads → confirm trial→paid and revenue → then Meta, expecting Meta users to convert worse (push vs pull). For Meta he wants at least $3 LTV per install.45

Disagreements / caveats

  • Steve sells ASO and Apple Ads services; his preference for starting there is also his business.
  • Thresholds ($10K MRR, $3 LTV) are personal rules of thumb.

See also

Footnotes

  1. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 00:00 — Steve P. Young ↩

  2. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 12:40 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 01:33 — Steve P. Young ↩

  4. Before You Spend $1 on Meta Ads, Watch This @ 05:48 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  5. Before You Spend $1 on Meta Ads, Watch This @ 06:37 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  6. App Store Optimization: The Proven ASO Framework for 2026 @ 11:22 — Steve P. Young ↩ ↩2

  7. App Ideas That People Are Already Searching For (Steal This Strategy) @ 16:56 — Steve P. Young ↩

  8. App Ideas That People Are Already Searching For (Steal This Strategy) @ 04:24 — Steve P. Young ↩

  9. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 04:34 — Steve P. Young ↩

  10. Copy Our $85,000/Month Apple Ads Strategy @ 01:09 — Steve P. Young ↩