Boosting Dating App Growth with UGC Creatives and Google Ads

Market Challenges and Key Objectives

The dating app market in 2024 remains one of the most competitive:

• High advertising costs (CPI) due to overheated ad auctions in the US and Europe.
• Attribution difficulties following Apple’s ATT implementation and the growth of web channels.
• Constantly emerging new apps trying to capture the audience through aggressive marketing.

Our objective: to develop a strategy allowing the dating app (let’s call it Be-salt) to increase the number of installs and registrations without disproportionately increasing advertising costs. At the same time, it was crucial to acquire higher-quality users interested in dating and willing to convert into paying subscribers.

Our Approach: UGC Creatives and Google Ads

We focused on UGC content (User Generated Content) — authentic visuals and emotional storylines involving “real” people. Why is this so important for dating?

1. Trust effect: The audience sees not a “commercial,” but real people’s stories that elicit empathy or curiosity.
2. High CTR: On average, UGC videos get 20–40% more clicks than traditional, scripted ads.
3. Easy to scale: Through Google Ads, we can quickly refine and launch new versions of UGC videos, getting immediate feedback on performance.

How We Tested and What We Measured: Methodology

To avoid guessing, we employed a step-by-step A/B testing scheme supported by an MMP platform (Mobile Measurement Partner).

1. Geo-targeting: We selected key markets (US, Europe, Asia) and broke down the audience by gender and age groups.
2. A/B tests: We changed one creative element (music, text, intro screen) and measured CTR, CPI, and Retention D7.
3. Analytics: Every week we gathered data from Google Ads and the MMP, evaluating which creatives achieved higher engagement and subscription conversion.

This approach enabled us to quickly identify the winners and reallocate budgets in real time.

Four UGC Creatives: Concepts and Results

Below are four creatives we launched sequentially. Each was adapted to multiple formats (Stories, Feed, short videos) and tested based on the methodology described above.

Creative #1: Business Style and Active Lifestyle

• Plot: A single man in a business suit walks through a scenic park, and in the next shot, he’s already in a swimming pool, emphasizing his athletic side. The change of setting highlights his confidence and versatility.
• Message: “Here you’ll find successful, interesting people who lead active lifestyles.”
• Testing Nuances:some text
  • We compared an energetic music track vs. a more romantic soundtrack.
  • For the US audience, CTR proved higher with the energetic version, while European viewers responded better to calmer music.
• Results:some text
  • CTR (US): +28% compared to the baseline
  • CPI (US): 15% lower compared to previous non-UGC ads

Creative #2: Demonstration of Diverse Interests

• Plot: Romantic music plays in the background as we see an active man enjoying the seashore, cooking gourmet meals in the kitchen, and skiing.
• Message: “This app brings together people with a wide range of interests — from culinary pursuits to extreme sports.”
• Testing Nuances:some text
  • For the Asian audience, we added subtitles and slightly adjusted the editing pace.
  • A more dynamic version yielded better results in Japan and Korea.
• Results:some text
  • CTR (Japan, Korea): +35% compared to control ads
  • Retention D7: up by 4 percentage points — users who came from this video stayed longer in the app

Creative #3: Dynamic Female Lifestyle

• Plot: A single girl goes for a run in the morning, strolls around the city in the afternoon, and heads to a party in the evening. Short clips and text overlays highlight that she’s looking for new acquaintances and exciting experiences.
• Message: “This app offers variety: fitness enthusiasts, extroverts who love parties, and calm romantics alike.”
• Testing Nuances:some text
  • We compared text overlays: “Find your other half” vs. “Find people like you.”
  • In the US and Canada, emphasizing common interests (“people like you”) worked better, while in Europe a more classic romantic tone resonated.
• Results:some text
  • CPI: dropped by 12% when shown to the female audience (18–34) in Europe
  • Conversion to paid subscription: +10% (women were more likely to get VIP access after seeing “inspiring” examples in the app)

Creative #4: App Interface Demonstration

• Plot: An attractive girl browses and swipes men’s profiles, liking photos and starting a chat.
• Message: “The process of meeting someone is simple and engaging; you just need to take the first step.”
• Testing Nuances:some text
  • We used actual screencasts of the interface to showcase clarity and simplicity.
  • For a younger audience (18–25), we added a highlight: “Fast interactions — just a few clicks and you’re chatting!”
• Results:some text
  • CTR: highest in the series (up to 4.5% in the US market)
  • Retention D7: +6 percentage points compared to the older version of the ad that didn’t show the interface

Overall Results

By the end of the campaign, average CTR increased from about 2.8% to 4.0–4.5%, with each new UGC creative delivering at least a 20–30% boost over traditional, staged ads.

At the same time, Cost Per Install (CPI) dropped by roughly 10–15%: in the US from $1.70 to $1.45 and in Europe from $1.20 to $1.00. Meanwhile, Retention D7 rose by about 5 percentage points, indicating higher-quality engagement from users acquired via UGC content.

Conclusions and Next Steps

1. UGC creatives are a key growth driver: Emotional involvement drives up CTR and attracts “higher-quality” users.
2. Successful A/B testing: An iterative approach and detailed metric analysis allowed us to quickly reallocate budgets to the best-performing formats.
3. Scaling in Google Ads: Google’s algorithms can rapidly find the right audience, but success depends on creatives that capture attention from the first seconds.
4. Product effect: By showcasing the real interface (Creative #4), users understood how the app works and stayed longer.

Final Outcome

Over the three-month period, we achieved:

• +35% installs at the same budget level
• 10–15% lower CPI
• +5 percentage points in Retention D7
• 10–12% increase in subscription conversions on average

Our experience shows that focusing on emotions, varied visuals, and genuine scenarios in dating app ads can deliver multiple returns. If you want to similarly boost your advertising campaigns, get in touch with us. We’ll help you find the UGC concepts and promotion channels that make your app stand out and succeed, even in the most competitive segments.