How Do I Choose Between ASO and Paid Ads First?

Fashion apps have a particularly tricky time with this question. I worked on a project for a sustainable clothing marketplace that had a tight launch budget and needed downloads fast—the founders were convinced paid ads were the only way to hit their targets. But here's what actually happened: they spent £8,000 on Instagram and Facebook ads in their first month, got about 2,000 downloads, and within three weeks most of those users had vanished. The app wasn't showing up in any organic searches for "sustainable fashion" or "ethical clothing" because they'd rushed past the ASO work. They'd basically rented those users rather than building something that would keep bringing people in. Its a common mistake, and an expensive one.

The question of whether to focus on ASO or paid ads first isn't really about which one is "better"—both have their place. What matters is understanding what each one does, how quickly you need results, and what your app is actually trying to achieve. I've seen brilliant apps fail because they picked the wrong strategy at the wrong time, and I've seen mediocre apps succeed because they got the sequencing right.

The truth is, most apps will eventually need both ASO and paid advertising to build sustainable growth, but the order in which you tackle them can make or break your launch budget.

After building apps across healthcare, fintech, education and retail, I can tell you there's no one-size-fits-all answer here. A banking app faces completely different challenges than a fitness tracker or a recipe collection app. Your budget matters. Your timeline matters. Your competition matters. Even the season you're launching in can affect which approach makes more sense... and nobody really talks about that side of things. So lets break down exactly how to make this decision for your specific situation, using real examples from projects that worked (and a few that didnt).

Understanding What ASO and Paid Ads Actually Do

ASO—App Store Optimisation—is basically about making your app easier to find when people search for it in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Its like SEO for websites but with its own quirks. You're optimising your app title, description, keywords, screenshots and reviews to rank higher in search results. When someone types "fitness tracker" or "budget planner" into the app store search bar, you want your app showing up on that first page, ideally in the top three positions.

Paid ads work differently; they put your app directly in front of people whether they're actively searching for it or not. You can run Apple Search Ads (which appear at the top of App Store search results), Google App Campaigns (which show across Google's network), or social media ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. With paid ads you're essentially buying visibility and downloads, paying anywhere from £2 to £15 per install depending on your target market and competition level.

The Key Differences That Matter

ASO takes time to build momentum—sometimes weeks or months before you see meaningful results—but once your app ranks well, those organic downloads keep coming without paying for each install. I've worked on health apps that took three months to crack the top ten in their category, but then maintained steady organic downloads for years after. Paid ads give you immediate results but stop the moment you stop spending money. Turn off the campaign and your download rate drops back to baseline pretty much overnight.

Here's what most people miss: these two approaches don't just differ in cost and timing—they attract different types of users. Organic downloads from ASO tend to have better retention rates because users actively searched for something your app provides. They had intent. Paid ad users might be more impulsive, which can mean lower long-term retention unless your onboarding experience is absolutely spot on.

What Each Strategy Actually Requires

• ASO needs great app metadata, compelling screenshots, strong reviews and ongoing monitoring of keyword rankings—but no advertising spend
• Paid ads require budget (obviously), creative assets for campaigns, landing page optimisation and constant performance tracking to avoid wasting money
• ASO improvements are permanent until you change something; paid ad performance can fluctuate daily based on competition and auction dynamics
• Both strategies need quality apps underneath them—if your app crashes or disappoints users, neither approach will save you

The reality is that most successful apps eventually use both strategies, but the question of which to tackle first depends on your specific situation. Your budget constraints, timeline expectations and app category all play a role in making that decision sensibly. Understanding what makes some apps easier to build than others can help you realistically assess how complex your app development timeline will be, which directly impacts your marketing strategy timing.

When Your Budget is Tight

Right, let me be straight with you—if you've got less than £2,000 to spend on getting your app noticed, paid ads probably aren't your best friend. I've watched too many startups burn through their entire marketing budget in a fortnight on Facebook or Google ads, only to see those downloads completely dry up the moment the money runs out. It's a bit gutting really, because once that budget's gone, you're left with nothing to show for it except maybe a handful of users who've already forgotten they installed your app.

ASO is different. When you invest time (or money) into improving your app store listing—better screenshots, a clearer description, keyword research that actually makes sense—that work keeps generating downloads for months, sometimes years. I worked with a meditation app that had basically no marketing budget; we spent about three weeks getting their ASO sorted properly and they went from 50 downloads a month to nearly 800. Six months later? Still getting those downloads without spending another penny. For startups working with limited resources, consider budget-friendly user research methods to validate your ASO approach before committing fully.

Here's what you should focus on when money's tight:

• Write a description that actually explains what your app does in the first two sentences
• Get your screenshots professionally designed—users decide in about 3 seconds if they'll download
• Research 5-10 keywords your target users actually search for (not what you think they search for)
• Encourage your early users to leave reviews; even 15-20 genuine reviews makes a massive difference
• Update your app regularly so the store algorithms see you're actively maintaining it

Sure, ASO takes longer to show results than paid ads do. But when you're working with limited funds, you need something thats going to keep working after you've finished the initial effort. Paid ads stop the second your wallet does.

If you've got £500-1000 to spare, consider hiring a freelance ASO specialist for a one-off audit and implementation rather than spending it on ads that'll disappear in days.

The Timeline Problem Nobody Talks About

Here's what catches most app founders off guard—ASO takes months to show results while paid ads can start driving downloads tomorrow. I've seen this timing mismatch derail countless launch strategies, and its one of those things people just don't talk about enough when planning their marketing budget.

When we launched a health tracking app for a client a few years back, they wanted 10,000 users within three months. The problem? They'd allocated their entire budget to ASO work—keyword optimisation, metadata updates, getting reviews sorted. All good stuff, but completely wrong for their timeline. ASO typically needs 3-6 months before you see meaningful organic traffic, and that's if everything goes well. We had to have a difficult conversation about redirecting 70% of that budget to paid acquisition just to hit their deadline. Understanding how waiting times affect whether people keep your app becomes crucial when you're balancing quick wins through paid ads with the longer-term user experience that drives organic growth.

The reverse situation happened with an e-commerce app where the founder burned through £15,000 on Facebook ads in the first month because they needed "quick wins" to show investors. Sure, they got downloads... but their cost per install was £8.50 and most users churned within a week. If they'd spent two months building proper ASO foundations first, those paid campaigns would've been amplified by organic discovery, bringing their blended acquisition cost down significantly.

So here's the reality—if you need results in under 60 days, you're going to need paid ads regardless of your long-term strategy. If you can afford to play the long game and your app has good retention mechanics, ASO builds a foundation that keeps delivering without ongoing spend. The smartest approach? Start ASO immediately but don't expect it to carry your launch; layer in paid campaigns when you actually need the volume, not just because you're impatient.

What Your App Type Says About Your Strategy

The type of app you're building actually tells you quite a lot about whether ASO or paid ads should take priority. I've built apps across pretty much every category and the patterns are really clear once you know what to look for.

Utility apps—things like calculators, PDF readers, task managers—they live and die by ASO. People search for these solutions directly. When I built a mileage tracker for a client in the fleet management space, we spent three months getting the ASO right before touching paid ads; it made sense because users were literally typing "mileage tracker" into the App Store. The search intent was crystal clear and the conversion rate on organic installs was about 40% higher than paid traffic. Picking the right app store category becomes essential for these utility apps as it directly impacts your discoverability in search results.

Social apps and games? Different story entirely. Nobody wakes up searching for your specific social network or puzzle game because they dont know it exists yet. You need to interrupt people, show them what makes your app special, and convince them to try something new. Paid ads come first here, no question about it.

E-commerce and marketplace apps sit somewhere in the middle—it depends if you're a known brand or not. I worked with a fashion marketplace that had zero brand recognition and we burned through their budget on paid ads for six months before getting traction. Meanwhile, a different retail client with an established high street presence saw immediate results from ASO because people were already searching their brand name.

Your app category isn't just a label in the App Store, its a roadmap for where to focus your marketing spend first

Fintech apps present an interesting challenge because the barrier to entry is so high—people need to trust you with their money. We typically see better results starting with paid ads to build brand awareness through content and testimonials before pushing hard on ASO. The initial cost per install might be £8-12 but the lifetime value justifies it. Building a fintech app that banks and regulators will trust requires establishing credibility first, which often makes paid content marketing more effective than hoping for organic discovery.

Starting With ASO Makes Sense When

Right, so you've got an app that people are actually searching for—or at least they're searching for the problem your app solves. That's when ASO becomes your best friend really. I've worked on health tracking apps, personal finance tools, and productivity apps where we knew people were already typing things like "calorie counter" or "expense tracker" into the App Store. In these cases, starting with ASO was a no-brainer because the search demand already existed; we just needed to position the app correctly to capture it.

ASO makes the most sense when you're working with a limited budget too. One of my fintech clients had about £3,000 to spend, and I told them straight up that paid ads would burn through that in a week with nothing sustainable to show for it. We focused entirely on optimising their app store presence instead—rewrote the title and subtitle to include high-volume keywords, tested different icon designs, and crafted screenshots that actually showed the value proposition clearly. Within three months they were getting 200-300 organic downloads per week without spending another penny on acquisition. Studying app store reviews became a crucial part of understanding what language and features resonated most with our target users, which informed our ASO copy and visual strategy.

Here's when I typically recommend starting with ASO first:

• Your app solves a clear, searchable problem that people actively look for solutions to
• You've got time to build momentum slowly (ASO usually takes 2-4 months to show real results)
• Your budget is under £5,000 for the first few months
• You're in a category with decent search volume but not completely dominated by massive brands
• Your app has strong core functionality that will convert searchers into users without needing extensive explanation

The thing about ASO is its cumulative. Every download improves your ranking slightly, every positive review strengthens your position, and once you've got momentum its largely self-sustaining. But—and this is important—it only works if people are actually searching for what you offer.

When Paid Ads Should Come First

Right, so there are situations where you absolutely need to skip the slow ASO build and go straight to paid ads. I've seen this work brilliantly for certain types of apps, and honestly, its often the smarter choice despite what the 'organic growth' crowd will tell you.

The first scenario is when you're launching a seasonal app or one tied to a specific event. I worked with a fitness app client who wanted to launch in early January—they needed users immediately to capitalise on New Year's resolution traffic. Waiting three months for ASO to gain traction would have meant missing their entire peak season. We ran Facebook and Instagram ads targeting people searching for fitness content, and the app went from zero to 50,000 installs in six weeks. Sometimes you simply dont have the luxury of time.

Paid ads also make sense when you're in a hyper-competitive category where organic visibility is nearly impossible without an existing user base. Finance apps, dating apps, and productivity tools fall into this trap—the top spots are dominated by established players with millions of reviews. You could have perfect ASO and still languish on page 15 of search results. Paid acquisition gives you a way to build that initial user base and review count, which then feeds back into your ASO performance. Understanding what makes some apps beat their rivals every time can help you identify competitive advantages that make paid advertising more effective.

Here's when I tell clients to prioritise paid ads from day one:

• You've got venture funding and aggressive growth targets you need to hit quickly
• Your app has strong unit economics and you know exactly what a user is worth to you
• You're testing product-market fit and need rapid user feedback before committing to ASO work
• Your category is saturated and organic discovery is basically non-existent without thousands of existing users
• You're targeting a very specific niche audience that's hard to reach through general app store searches

The key thing people miss is that paid ads give you control and predictability. With ASO, you're at the mercy of algorithm changes and competitor movements. With paid ads, you can scale spend up or down based on performance, test different audiences in days rather than months, and get immediate data on what messaging resonates with users. Sure, it costs more upfront, but if you've done your homework on lifetime value, the math works out. If you're targeting business users specifically, check out how B2B apps should position differently than consumer apps to ensure your messaging aligns with enterprise decision-making processes.

Before committing serious budget to paid ads, make sure you've nailed your onboarding flow and core app experience. I've watched clients burn through £50,000+ acquiring users who churned within 48 hours because the app itself wasn't ready. Get your Day 1, Day 7, and Day 30 retention rates to acceptable levels first—otherwise you're just pouring money into a leaky bucket.

One more thing that often gets overlooked is the data advantage. Paid campaigns generate rich user behaviour data from day one—which demographics convert best, which ad creative drives higher-quality users, what messaging leads to better retention. This information is gold when you eventually circle back to optimise your ASO, because you'll know exactly what language and positioning works with your actual target audience rather than guessing based on keyword research tools.

Building a Strategy That Uses Both

Right so here's where most app developers actually end up—using ASO and paid ads together, because in practice they work better when they're supporting each other rather than competing for your attention. I've built dozens of apps where we started with one approach and gradually layered in the other, and honestly that's usually how it goes unless you've got a massive budget from day one.

The way I typically structure this is to get your ASO basics sorted first—proper keyword research, decent screenshots, a clear app description that actually tells people what your app does. This stuff costs you nothing except time, so there's no excuse not to have it done. Then once that's in place you can start running small paid campaigns to test your messaging and see which user segments convert best. What you learn from those paid campaigns? That feeds directly back into your ASO strategy. Turning user feedback into better app features becomes easier when you have both organic and paid users providing different perspectives on what works and what doesn't.

For a fitness app we worked on, we ran Facebook ads targeting three different user groups—weight loss, muscle building, and general health. The muscle building ads had the worst cost per install but the best retention rates. So we adjusted our app store screenshots to lead with strength training features, and our organic conversion rate jumped by about 23%. See how that works? The paid data informed the ASO strategy, which then reduced our reliance on paid traffic over time. We also discovered that understanding what app features make users write positive reviews helped us prioritise which functionality to highlight in both our paid campaigns and ASO materials.

A Practical Timeline for Most Apps

Here's roughly how I'd approach it for a typical app launch with a modest budget:

• Weeks 1-2: Get your ASO foundation sorted—keywords, visuals, description
• Weeks 3-4: Launch small paid test campaigns (£500-1000 budget) to gather data
• Weeks 5-8: Refine ASO based on what paid campaigns revealed about your best users
• Ongoing: Maintain both with about 70% of effort on ASO and 30% on strategic paid campaigns

The key thing is that neither strategy exists in isolation anymore. Your paid ads help you understand your users faster, which makes your ASO more targeted. Your improved ASO reduces the cost of those paid campaigns because you're converting better when people land on your app store page. Its all connected, really.

Conclusion

Look, I wish I could tell you theres a perfect formula for this—start with ASO for X months, then spend Y amount on paid ads, and boom, you've got a successful app. But after building apps in healthcare, fintech, e-commerce and everything in between, I can promise you it doesn't work that way. Every app I've worked on has needed its own approach based on what the business could afford, how quickly they needed results, and honestly, what their competition was doing.

The real answer? Most apps need both eventually. But the order matters more than people think. If you've got a tight budget and time on your side, ASO should be your starting point—get your metadata right, build some organic traction, and learn what resonates with users before you spend a penny on ads. On the other hand, if you're launching a time-sensitive app (like one of the event-based apps I built that only had a three-month window to gain users), paid ads become non-negotiable from day one. You simply cant wait for organic growth to kick in.

What I've seen work best is treating ASO as your foundation and paid ads as your accelerator. ASO gives you that baseline of organic installs that keeps coming in without constantly burning cash; paid ads let you scale up when you've proven your app works and know your retention metrics actually make sense. Start with whichever one solves your biggest problem right now—whether thats lack of visibility or lack of time—but have a plan to layer in the other as you grow. And whatever you do, make sure you're tracking everything properly so you actually know whats working... because guessing is expensive.