CASE: ZoogVPN: +153% downloads and +84,000 monthly app installs

Niche: VPN app (B2C) Stores: App Store + Google Play Period: 5 months of work Agency: UPCORN AGENCY

Results

Over 5 months of work, downloads grew from 54,500 (September-December 2025) to 138,000 (December 2025 – March 2026). That’s +153% organic growth, driven primarily by App Store Search.

The growth was achieved without aggressive performance spend: the main driver was systematic ASO across both stores at once, with continuous expansion into new markets.

The challenge

ZoogVPN is a classic B2C product in the highly competitive VPN niche, where store search visibility directly determines download volume. The task: grow organic installs through the App Store and Google Play while scaling the brand’s presence into new locales.

What we did: 5 months, step by step

Month 1 – Foundation

We started with a full competitor analysis and research into users’ search intent. We collected keywords for 6 locales at once across both stores (App Store and Google Play) and prepared metadata for each. In parallel: we wrote the brief for the copy and new locales, built a 3-month In-App Events content plan, and prepared a designer brief for A/B testing screenshots. We kicked off link work (crowd marketing and publications on relevant blogs) and submitted the first App Store featuring request.

Month 2 – Expansion and first traffic

We expanded coverage by 3 more locales: keywords, metadata, and copy for the App Store and Google Play. We published the first In-App Events. We connected incentivized traffic buying for priority keywords. We continued link building and featuring submissions, and prepared the first keyword-movement report.

Month 3 – Visual optimization and CPP

We continued entering new markets: 3 more locales with keywords, metadata, and translated copy. We published localized screenshots and localized their captions for every locale already in work. We created 2 Custom Product Page (CPP) variants for the App Store. We continued In-App Events, link building, and incentivized traffic.

Month 4 – Testing on English-speaking markets

We ran a metadata test on 4 English-speaking locales. We added 3 more new locales with the standard scope of work: keywords, metadata, copy. We refreshed the In-App Events calendar for the next 3 months. In parallel, link building, incentivized traffic, featuring, and the monthly report continued.

Month 5 – Scaling and iPad

We kept adding new markets: keywords, metadata, copy, and translations for 3 locales. We published a new wave of localized screenshots. We prepared a CPP brief for iPad. We continued the standard cycle: In-App Events, link building, featuring, report.

Growth tools

• Metadata and keywords – monthly work on copy and semantics for every new locale across both stores.
• In-App Events – regular App Store events boost feed visibility and bring in additional audience.
• Link building – ongoing link acquisition through crowd marketing and publications on relevant blogs.
• Incentivized traffic – targeted buying on priority keywords to accelerate ranking.
• CPP and screenshots – A/B tests, Custom Product Pages, and localized visuals for different markets.
• Featuring – monthly submissions for editorial promotion in the App Store.

Conclusion

The VPN niche doesn’t forgive chaotic ASO. The +153% growth over 5 months came not from one “magic” move but from a systematic cycle – semantics, metadata, visuals, events, and links – repeated every month and scaled into new locales. It’s the consistency and market coverage, not one-off spikes, that deliver stable organic growth.

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