Kontagent AnalyticsJeff Tseng – jeff@kontagent.comMetrics for Social Gaming - 10.26.09

KontagentMultiple F500 & Top-10 App/Devs Customers!Hundreds of applicationsTracking millions of DAUsTracking > 50 millionMAUsWorking closely with many devs

How Are We Different Than GA?Deep viral tracking informationTracking of individual viral channelsViral K-factor trackingUser-centric modelTrack user IDs and NOT cookiesMore accurate measurementsUser behaviors at a UID levelActions on individual user basis

Metrics Are a MUST for Social GamesDecide what apps to focus onAids in making business decisionsUnderstand how your app actually worksTakes guesswork out of your design decisionsMultiply the end results of your productMetrics are part of the PROCESS

Social Gaming Metrics are DifferentVs. Web MetricsSocial metricsPersistent user IDUser app modelVs. Gaming MetricsSocial metricsReal-time user dataMonetization metrics

Data-driven Design

What Makes a Good Social Gaming Metric?Simple – understandableActionable – results in direct actionAccessible – easy to measureHigh-leverage – big resultsMonetizable – increases revenueRelative measurementsRatios/conversions are usefulTrending – 7 day works well

The Social App User FunnelAcquisitionActivationEngagementRetentionRevenue

Top 10 Social Gaming Metrics(in order of use flow)

#1 Entry Event DistributionMeasures - First action the user takes in a sessionMetrics - Distribution of entry events (which events lead to the highest time on site – hard to do but useful)Action - Test to see what entry events are the most effective at bringing users back

#2 Outbound Messages/UserMeasures – Outbound viralityLinearity - Non-linear results(1/1-x)Metrics - Posts/user (broadcast messaging), Sent messages/user (direct messagingAction - A/B test flow and content/copy

#3 Viral Message CTR/ConversionMeasures – Messaging click-through rates and install conversionLinearity - Non-linear (1/1-x)Metrics - Click-through rates (direct messaging channels), post-to-click ratios (broadcast channels), conversion to install Action - A/B test content/copy

#3 Viral Message CTR/ConversionApplication A - A/B Tests (50K+ MAU)Application B - A/B Tests (700K+ MAU)Kontagent App - A/B Tests (50K+ MAU)

#4 Virality (K-factor)Measures – Organic growthLinearity - Non-linear (1/1-k)Metrics - k-factor (average branching factor) for 1, 3, 7 and all daysAction - Decide to focus on virality engagement, retention or monetization.

#5 EngagementMeasures - How engaged is a user spending in the applicationMetrics - Time on site is a good universal metricNeed to be careful since time on site can be tricky, best to normalize to something that is equal for all users, i.e. page views. Actions – Add more to do in the game. Cohort test to see if that improves the time on site. Funnel testing to see if users are getting stuck somewhere.

#6 Exit Event DistribtionMeasures - The last thing the user does before he/she leaves the sessionMetrics - Exit event distributionActions - Funnel testing to get the user to move on after the steps where they leave the session. Add additional game play so there is more to do. Improve the user experience of the last event!

#7 Retention – Revisit RateMeasures – Do users come back? How sticky is the game?Linearity – Non-liner (1/1-x)Metrics – Daily and weekly revisit rate by daily and weekly cohort.Actions – Social engagement (optimize messaging channels), add in timer based events, add events that occur when the user is not there. High virality with low retention means low long-term growth.

#8 Lifetime Network ValueDescription - Value of a User including viral effects (LifeTime Network Value)Metrics - Actually very hard to calculate accurately, but here’s a first-order approximation:Actions - Calculate the LTNV for your application. If: economical to buy traffic.

# 9 Conversion to Paying UsersMeasures – How many of your users are willing to payMetrics - % of your users that are paying users Actions - Funnel testing to increase pay conversion funnel. Increase the monetization touch points. Increase currency demand by creating scarcity and creating desirable goods for your demographic.

#10 Average Revenue Per Paying UserMeasures – How much paying users are spending (don’t focus on CPM model, it’s not monetizing well)Metrics – Average Revenue Per Paying User per MonthActions - Add more points of monetization, generate demand and scarcity. “The game is just the engine to acquire users, the money is made from the creative goods.”-Greg Thomson (Creator of YoVille and Fishworld)

Metrics ToolsIn-house Tools – Easy to start, very hard and expensive to maintainGoogle Analytics - FREE, so use itKontagent – Social analytics

Final Words - It’s About Balance!BalanceData Driven Designand Creativity

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