How Google Ads Optimization Revived a Stagnant Security App

The Ads Data and the Revenue Data Disagreed

The app had been stuck for months. Ad spend continued. Clicks and installs rose. Almost none of it became paid. Revenue was flat, and the dashboards could not say why.

The problem was not traffic. The numbers did not agree. Google Ads showed people engaging. RevenueCat showed trials that were not becoming paid users. Spikes like that had brought billing errors, trial abuse, and people leaving. Nobody could spend more on numbers that contradicted each other.

Google Ads, Firebase, and RevenueCat were not reading the same events. The ads then chased installs, clicks, and trial starts, because that is what they could see. Revenue never entered the bid. The client asked us to find why paid conversions were broken, fix the data, and build a system that could grow revenue.

Two dashboards that disagree is a common position to be in, and it is worth checking before you touch a bid. If your ad platform and your billing platform report different truths, every optimization you make after that is a guess.

Fixing the Signals Came Before Spending More

Strataigize built a data-first, revenue-aligned Google Ads strategy and repaired the signals before scaling any spend.

1. Resolving data inconsistencies across platforms

Google Ads had been bidding on purchase values it could not trust, so it chased volume. We checked how Firebase, Google Ads, and RevenueCat named the same events. The old purchase values were unreliable. We switched the bid from In-App Actions Value (Purchases) to In-App Actions (Purchases). Purchases became the only event the bid could chase. Every other event stayed visible, and the bid ignored it. Google Ads could then relearn who is likely to buy.

2. Funnel clarity without algorithm pollution

We added funnel events for visibility only and left bidding out of it, so we could watch the whole funnel without bending it.

3. Revenue-driven geographic optimization

Using RevenueCat’s trial-to-paid and conversion-to-paying views, we identified which markets actually generated revenue rather than volume. We concentrated on high-quality markets (United States, Canada, Nigeria), removed high-install and no-paid markets (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), and added high-intent expansion markets (United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Singapore). Install volume went down on purpose. Revenue per install went up.

4. Intent-based messaging and audience strategy

We rewrote the ads so cheap signups dropped out before the install. The app was described as a paid security product. Anything that implied it was free came out. We added audiences from the words people searched, and we used fewer broad in-market groups, which had been feeding trial abuse. The aim was better trials. Fewer of them was an acceptable price.

Turning ads away from cheap signups feels backwards on the day you do it. It is the same instinct that stops most accounts from ever fixing this.

5. App store optimization (ASO) pulled its weight too

While paid traffic quality improved, organic performance surged. The terms it climbed for were virtual private network (VPN) searches, the ones people use when they want their connection hidden.

First Paid Conversions After Months of Zero

The first table is the app overall, every channel included, over the January 13 to February 4, 2026 window shown in the screenshot; the second is the Google Ads funnel alone over the 10-day read noted in its header. The windows differ, so read them separately and do not divide one by the other.

Google Ads funnel performance:

After months of zero conversions, subscriptions finally began moving. Thirteen purchases is a small number. Coming off zero, it is the only number that mattered.

“We were driving installs but couldn’t turn them into revenue. We were able to uncover major data inconsistencies between Google Ads and RevenueCat, fixed tracking, and rebuilt campaigns around real buyer intent. Within days, we finally started seeing subscription movement again. This is the most aligned our paid strategy has ever been with revenue.”

Abbey Dela Cruz, Strategic Director, Strataigize

Check Your Data Before You Blame the Ads

Open your billing platform and your ad platform side by side. See whether they agree on last month. This app went from months at zero paid subscriptions to 13 purchases after those numbers were made to agree.

If installs are rising and revenue is flat, check that alignment before you rewrite an ad. Our Google Ads and measurement overview explains how we connect the campaign and reporting tools used in this work.