Your App's Most Valuable Growth Tool Is the One You’re Ignoring

More installs, zero cost. That’s the pitch. And it’s not just a slogan, it’s an overlooked strategy sitting inside your ad stack right now.

If your app portfolio has more than one title, and you’re seeing unfilled ad impressions, you’re already sitting on a valuable user base. Unfilled impressions are ad requests that return no ads, meaning no revenue is generated and the opportunity to monetize that user interaction is lost.

The reasons vary: high CPM floors, ad blocking, technical issues, frequency capping, or latency, but the result is the same: wasted space.

Instead of letting that inventory go to waste, or worse, filling it with low-quality ads that increase fatigue, you can use it to promote your own apps. This is cross-promotion, and it’s a way to turn your existing users into a reliable, zero-cost acquisition engine.

When to Use It

Cross-promotion shines in three key moments:

• New Game or App Launches: Got a new title in soft launch or early global rollout? Use your existing apps as a cost-free channel to drive installs and gather early data before scaling paid UA.

• App Revivals: Give older apps a second wind by directing fresh traffic from your current user base.

• Churn Defense: Keep users in your ecosystem by showing them another one of your apps before they leave for someone else’s.

  
  

You can target users who are nearing the end of their lifecycle in one app, especially those who aren’t monetizing much but are still engaged. Moving them to another title, maybe one with a stronger ad monetization setup, can increase the value you get from them.

If a user used to spend but hasn’t in a while, cross-promoting something fresh may re-engage them before they fully churn. These users have a history of converting

- you’re giving them another chance to do it again, in a new context.

Who to Avoid

• New Users: They’re still in onboarding. Showing cross-promo too early can hurt retention.

• High-Value Spenders: Don’t disrupt their flow; moving them too early may reduce LTV.

• Hardcore Loyalists: These users are deeply invested and unlikely to convert elsewhere.

  
  

Formats That Work

All major formats can work for cross-promotion, including banners, interstitials, and rewarded ads. But it’s critical to respect the user experience:

• Use frequency capping

• Keep creatives short

• Rotate often to avoid fatigue

• Test everything

  
  

CTR can range from 0.5% to 5%, depending on format and execution.

The Cherry on Top

Cross-promotion isn’t just a growth lever - it can improve your overall monetization stack.

By filling free space, you create a more competitive environment in your mediation. House ads can push external demand sources to bid more aggressively. We’ve seen measurable CPM uplifts, including:

• +10% in Dating apps

• +8% in Utility apps

• +6–8% in Word, Puzzle, Idle, and Arcade categories

The key is to find the sweet spot where house ads force up bids without killing fill - maximising your effective CPM and total revenue.

Get your creatives ready. Set it up in GAM. Go live in your mediation. And stop leaving value on the table.

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Ezgi Doğan is a Product/Game Monetization Consultant. This article is based on her presentation “More Installs, Zero Cost” from Gamesforum Hamburg.