For finance app marketers, achieving high ROI on ads requires more than just tracking installs and clicks. Users demand seamless and secure experiences, so focusing on the right metrics is essential. But beyond identifying these metrics, having the tools to measure, optimize, and act on them makes all the difference.
The shift to smarter metrics: why traditional KPIs fall short
Finance apps often deal with users managing sensitive tasks like investments, payments, or budgeting. The user journey isn’t linear — it spans multiple devices, channels, and touchpoints. Traditional metrics such as cost per install (CPI) or click-through rate (CTR) might tell part of the story, but they fail to capture the nuances of user engagement, retention, and lifetime value (LTV).
According to Branch research, cross-platform users deliver 2.5x higher LTV compared to single-platform users. This highlights the need to track metrics that encompass the entire user journey and inform more personalized ad targeting strategies.
Key metrics every finance app should track
1. Cross-device attribution metrics: follow the complete journey
Most users interact with your app across multiple devices before completing high-value actions like account sign-ups or transactions. Without accurate cross-device attribution, you risk misallocating budget and missing out on insights into what truly drives conversions.
Why track it
Users may start their journey on one device (e.g., their phone) and complete it on another (e.g., their laptop). Accurate attribution ensures that all touchpoints are considered when measuring campaign effectiveness.
How to use this metric
Use cross-device tracking to link user activity on desktop, mobile, and other platforms, ensuring you’re capturing full conversion funnels and optimizing campaigns accordingly.
2. Down-funnel conversion metrics: see beyond the install
Finance apps often focus on metrics like cost per install (CPI), but the real value lies deeper in the funnel — actions such as linking bank accounts, setting up auto-payments, or investing funds.
Why track it
Install data alone doesn’t paint the full picture of user success. Down-funnel conversion metrics provide a deeper understanding of user engagement and app performance, showing where users drop off in the funnel and highlighting areas for optimization.
How to use this metric
Monitor conversion rates for specific in-app events. By tracking down-funnel conversion, you can identify friction points in the user journey and optimize areas like onboarding, feature discovery, or payment flow.
For example, users who consistently abandon the sign-up process signal an issue that needs immediate attention — whether it’s an overly complex form or slow load times.
3. Dynamic linking insights: drive more personalized journeys
Users engaging with finance apps expect precision. Deferred deep linking ensures users land on the exact content they expect, even if they install the app first.
Why track it
This metric enhances user experience by providing personalized journeys that increase engagement. This is crucial for tailoring the user experience and ensuring users are directed to the most relevant features, leading to higher conversions.
How to use this metric
Use deep linking to take people right to what they want in your app. This makes things easier and keeps them interested. So, if someone clicks a link about a cashback deal but doesn’t have the app, deep linking makes sure they see the deal right after they install the app, not just the home screen.
4. Retention rate: measure long-term success
Retention is the lifeblood of finance apps. A high retention rate indicates that users find value in your app, while a low rate signals the need for improved features, onboarding, or engagement strategies.
Why track it
An app that fails to retain users suggests a disconnect between your offering and user expectations. Understanding retention by different segments allows you to target high-value users and optimize engagement.
How to use this metric
Track retention across 1-day, 7-day, and 30-day windows to identify trends and pinpoint features that drive user loyalty.
5. Install-to-action ratio: go beyond installs
An install means little if users don’t engage with your app’s core features, like linking a bank account, completing a transaction, or setting up recurring payments.
Why track it
This metric tells you whether users are truly interacting with your app. A high ratio indicates an effective onboarding process and relevant content that encourages users to take action right after installation.
How to use this metric
Use this ratio to evaluate the quality of users driven by different campaigns, not just their quantity.
6. Churn rate: identify points of drop-off
Churn rate, or the percentage of users who stop engaging with your app, provides valuable insights into potential issues with your user experience, app performance, or messaging.
Why track it
Tracking churn is crucial for identifying problem areas within the app experience, such as poor user interface or lack of relevant features. Reducing churn improves long-term profitability by increasing user retention.
How to use this metric
Analyze churn by acquisition source to identify and address areas where user drop-offs are most significant.
7. Top-performing channels: maximize ROI by knowing what works
Understanding which marketing channels deliver the highest ROI is crucial for finance apps operating with tight margins. Identifying top-performing channels allows you to allocate resources to the platforms that drive the most value.
Why track it
Knowing where your high-value users come from helps you focus marketing spend on channels with the highest conversion rates, improving ROI and reducing waste.
How to use this metric
Track channel performance using metrics like customer acquisition cost (CAC), retention rate, and install-to-action ratio.
How Branch helps track and optimize these metrics
1. Cross-device attribution: capture the full user journey
Branch’s cross-device attribution seamlessly tracks user behavior across web, app, and offline channels. Imagine a user clicks an ad on their desktop, registers on mobile, and completes a stock purchase on their tablet. With Branch, you see the full picture, enabling better budget allocation and creative optimization.
2. Down-funnel conversion metrics: track and optimize critical actions
Branch’s down-funnel conversion tracking captures critical downstream events. For example, if a user installs your app but never completes onboarding, Branch can highlight the exact drop-off points. This insight allows you to refine campaigns and ensure ads are driving not just installs but also high-value actions.
3. Customized linking insights: personalize the user journey
Branch’s linking enables you to create personalized ad journeys with contextual deep links that improve user engagement. For example, an ad promoting a credit score tool can take users directly to their score dashboard after installation, minimizing friction, and encouraging long-term retention. This seamless transition helps create a more engaging and intuitive user journey, ultimately driving better results for app marketers.
4. Retention rate: understand and improve user loyalty
Branch’s retention analytics help you track cohorts over time, revealing which campaigns or features contribute most to user stickiness. For instance, you can compare users acquired through social media ads versus referral programs to see which channel delivers more loyal customers.
5. Install-to-action ratio: from install to conversion
Branch’s deep-funnel conversion tracking provides granular insights into how many users complete key actions post-install. Use this data to identify friction points and refine your campaigns to attract high-value users.
6. Churn rate: analyze and reduce user attrition
Branch’s user journey analytics allow you to map out the complete user experience, pinpointing where churn occurs. For example, if many users drop off during the onboarding process, you can test different flows or improve messaging at critical steps.
7. Top-performing channels: maximize marketing spend
Branch’s attribution and channel analytics provide a unified view of performance across all platforms — organic, paid, and referral. You can quickly determine which channels drive the most installs, highest retention, and best conversion rates.
How Branch’s data-driven tools empower finance app marketers
Finance marketers require more than just metrics — they need actionable insights and innovative tools that drive measurable outcomes. Branch delivers this by combining advanced attribution solutions with features designed to enhance user acquisition, retention, and engagement.
Unique solutions from Branch that go beyond tracking
While understanding metrics is vital, Branch goes a step further by providing unique tools that enable finance app marketers to act decisively on data. Here’s how Branch solutions drive measurable outcomes.
Customizable smart banners for desktop-to-app conversions
Problem: Finance apps often lose potential users who start their journey on a desktop but fail to transition to mobile.
Solution: Branch’s Journeys smart banners transform desktop traffic into a high-performing acquisition channel. These banners dynamically adjust to user behavior and include features like QR codes for seamless app downloads.
Why it works:
- Personalized CTAs drive up to 3x higher conversion rates.
- QR codes embedded with deep links ensure users are taken directly to the relevant content in your app.
- Cross-device attribution tracks these users’ entire journey, providing insights for further optimization.
Privacy-safe optimization
Problem: Privacy regulations like iOS App Tracking Transparency (ATT) limit granular tracking, making it harder to optimize ads.
Solution: Branch’s Predictive Aggregated Measurement leverages anonymized data models to predict user behavior and optimize campaigns without compromising privacy.
Why it works:
- Provides actionable insights despite signal loss from privacy changes.
- Enables finance apps to maintain performance on privacy-centric platforms like iOS.
Cohort-based A/B testing for tailored campaigns
Problem: Not all users engage with your app the same way. Ads that perform well for budget-conscious users might fall flat for premium investors.
Solution: Branch’s cohort-based A/B testing allows you to segment users by demographics, acquisition source, or behavior and test different creatives, messaging, and landing pages.
Why it works:
- Identifies top-performing creatives for each audience segment.
- Optimizes LTV by aligning campaigns with user preferences.
Finance marketers need more than just metrics — they need actionable insights that lead to results. With tools like smart banners, mobile measurement partner (MMP) integrations, and cross-channel attribution, Branch equips marketers to uncover what’s driving performance and what’s not.
For example:
- Payoneer boosted their mobile app usage after using Branch’s Journey smart banners. They saw a 13% jump in app users and got 204,000 installs through Journeys. This shows how Payoneer used Branch’s solutions get more users to their app more often.
- Tunaiku, a leading lending app, achieved impressive growth by leveraging Branch’s attribution tools, resulting in a 23% increase in app downloads and an 11% boost in new users. This success story showcases how effective attribution strategies can drive both user acquisition and engagement.
- DANA Indonesia kept users coming back by using Branch’s deep linking. It sent them straight to their favorite payment options, which helped users realize value in the app in the first week.
By delivering data-driven insights and solutions, Branch ensures finance app marketers can confidently optimize their spend for maximum ROI.
Moving forward: transform your ROI strategy
Optimizing ROI for finance app ads is no longer about tracking surface-level metrics. By focusing on deeper insights like cross-device attribution, deep funnel conversions, and predictive measurement, you can ensure every ad dollar works harder.
Branch not only provides the tools to track these advanced metrics but also equips you with solutions to act on them effectively. From personalized user journeys to privacy-safe measurement, Branch empowers finance marketers to achieve measurable growth.
Request a demo today to see how Branch can revolutionize your ad tracking and ROI optimization.