3 Monetization Metrics to Track Every Single Day

This post originally appeared on Playbook, Chartboost's blog dedicated to the business of mobile gaming.

Most devs have metrics coming out of their ears, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to decide which statistics to pay attention to — and why. Last month at GDC, I shared three specific metrics you should keep constant tabs on so you can strategically use player data to monetize your game.

Here are the all-important metrics and a breakdown of why they matter:

Engagement

What it is: Engagement measures the intensity of a player’s interaction with your game.

How it’s measured: Through daily active users (DAU) and monthly active users (MAU), average session counts, average session duration and daily unique events.

Digging deeper: You should always track DAU and MAU, but be sure to drill down further by the different player segments you’ve identified. Games that are built to bring players back multiple times a day should also measure average session counts (Total number of sessions/Total number of users). Remember, too, to follow session count over time to see what happens when new features are released. And average session duration (total playtime/total # of sessions) helps you see how much time your highest value players spend in your game.

Retention

What it means: Retention metrics show how much of your audience is staying with the game over time.

How it’s measured: Start with daily retention — Day 1 and Day 7 are common benchmarks for many games, but this can vary depending on genre. Look at these metrics across different cohorts of players, depending on when they start your game, what new features you add, and other events.

Digging deeper: Other key retention metrics include new installs, which shows the rate at which players are discovering your game, and virality, which shows how existing users are helping engage new ones.

Revenue

What it means: Revenue measures how much money is flowing into your game.

How it’s measured: The daily revenue of your game is a good basic figure, but it doesn’t tell you whether you have one user or a million. Instead, look at Average Revenue Per Player (ARPU) and Average Revenue Per Paying Player (ARPPU) to get the entire story.

Digging deeper: Be sure to track conversion percentages (or the percentage of players who pay any amount). Study overall conversion rates as well as changes in conversion percentages over time. Knowing how quickly users typically convert in your game, and studying that specific point in time, lets you adjust game design and unique events to boost conversion.

Of course, pulling numbers is only half the battle. Always ask yourself the question, “what am I trying to do with my game?” And don’t just look at metrics at face value — remember that they should be used strategically to measure how well you’re achieving the overall goal of your game.