Responsibilities: Product | UX | UI Publically Traded Dating App

Post-IPO Revenue Lift for a Public Dating App

Background

My Role

Consulted on a 3-month push that raised ad revenue +12% for a public dating app by fixing delivery, shifting toward Vickrey auctions, and shipping new formats—while improving UX (time in app +20%, churn –10%).

The problem

How do we increase ad revenue while reducing tech debt and protecting UX?

1. Ad Placement Issues: Several ad placements weren't loading correctly due to an overlay prompting users to subscribe for an ad-free experience. This negatively impacted both user experience and revenue generation.

2. Auction Inefficiencies: The platform utilized a first-price auction system, where the winning advertiser pays their bid amount. A more efficient approach would be a second-price or Vickery auction, where the winning advertiser pays just above the second-highest bid, encouraging honest and transparent bidding.

3. Ad Server & Ad Format Optimizations: While rectifying the ad server to ensure proper ad display was a positive step towards revenue enhancement, there was also a clear customer demand for diverse ad formats. To address this, I initiated A/B testing for new formats to ensure that any changes would not detract from the user experience.

The Strategy

1. Fix fundamentals first: Instrumentation, fill diagnostics, ad-server reliability.

2. Make the auction fairer: Move toward second-price (Vickrey) mechanics.

3. Ship new formats safely: Guard-railed A/B tests with caps and viewability floors.

4. Remove blockers: Resolve overlay conflicts with the “ad-free subscribe” prompt.

5. Measure what matters: Cohort metrics; tie ad changes to engagement/retention.

What I did

1. Built an ad fill & latency health dashboard; added failure taxonomy.

2. Standardized slot rendering order; removed overlay/placement conflicts.

3. Ran auction experiments (bid shading → second-price), floor tuning, pacing.

4. Launched new formats (native, rewarded moments, conversational CTAs) with UX guardrails.

5. Implemented creative quality filters and cooldowns.

6. Led a cross-functional triage (Ads Eng, iOS/Android, Design, Data, RevOps).

‍THE RESULTS📋

So what happened?

Adoption:
‍- DAU / MAU: ⬆️ 10% due to improved UX and ad formats
- # of Signups: ⬆️ 9%
- # of Logins: ⬆️ 10%
- App Installs: ⬆️ 8%
- App Opens: ⬆️ 10% due to improved user experience
- Avg. # of Matches: ⬆️ 5% as users spend more time on the app
‍
Engagement:
- Time Spent in App: ⬆️ 20% increase due to better UX
- Frequency of User Return: ⬆️ 15%

Retention:
- Churn: ⬇️ 10% due to improved UX‍

Health:
- Latency: ⬇️ 15% as ad server issues are fixed
- Mobile Data Consumption: ⬇️ 10% with optimized ad formats

Monetization:
- Total Revenue: ⬆️12%
- Conversation Rate: ⬆️ 7%
- ARPU: ⬆️ 12%

Ads:
- CPM: ⬆️ 12%
- CTR: ⬆️ 8% with more engaging ad formats
- Ad Fill Rate: ⬆️ 30% as ad server issues are resolved
- Impressions: ⬆️ 15%
- Unique Reach: ⬆️ 10%
- Revenue Per Impression: ⬆️ 9%
- Avg. Revenue per Click: ⬆️ 8%

solution

Native app for monitoring and supervision during the date

Onboarding

After the user has seen the various uses that can benefit her in the use of our product we will ask her to identify as a woman to protect the purity of the product and to raise in her a sense of security.

Background Check

To motivate the user to use the app, we will lead her to run a background check on one of the guys she is communicating with. Checking the background can empower the value we offer - a sense of security and control - knowledge is power.

Date Entry

While entering the date data the app gathers all the information needed to provide the user with the protection she needs. The step will be broken down into several steps to reduce the effort required from the user which will also help to focus her at every step.

During the Date

During the date, the app will send alerts according to the settings we set on the "date entry".

Reporting

To collect information that will be useful to our users, at the end of each date the user will be asked to report the date. We will make sure at this point to lower her concerns by security stamp and noting the fact that the information she is providing remains confidential.