Most VPN apps don't have a visibility problem because the store listing is weak. They have one because the category is brutally crowded, and the handful of brand names users already trust eat up most of the top search results. Ranking for "vpn" by itself is close to meaningless for a mid-sized app, what moves installs is showing up exactly when someone searches for a specific competitor or a specific need. This case study walks through how that played out for a real VPN app, across five countries and ten keyword targets.
Why VPN Rankings Are Unusually Hard to Move
The VPN category has three things working against new entrants at once: heavy paid-UA spend from the big names, a wave of near-identical "free VPN" clones, and users who already have a brand in mind before they open the store. Generic terms are saturated. The more realistic opportunity is intercepting searches for other VPN brands, people who already know they want a VPN and are typing a specific name, which means the intent is high and the competition for that exact phrase is often lower than it looks.
The Strategy: Target the Searches Competitors Already Trained Users to Make
Instead of chasing broad terms like "vpn" or "proxy," the campaign focused on keywords built around names users already search for, plato vpn, panda vpn, vpn proton, protonvpn, plus the category-defining phrase vpn proxy master. Someone typing a competitor's name into the store is not browsing; they're ready to install something in the next few minutes. Capturing even a fraction of that traffic is worth more than a high rank on a vague, low-intent term.
Identified five markets and ten brand/category terms where the app had an existing but weak foothold (ranks #67–#103).
Ran phased install campaigns per keyword, scaling volume only after the app store algorithm showed a positive response.
Tapered volume once a keyword hit its target rank and tracked it through the post-campaign stabilization window.
Market-by-Market Results
Here's where each targeted keyword started and where it landed. The gap between the two bars is the real story, most of these terms were sitting past the point where almost no one scrolls.
Three Keywords Worth a Closer Look
A few results stand out enough to break down individually, because they show how differently the same campaign type can play out depending on the market and the starting position.
The Australian market responded fastest and furthest, both "plato vpn" and "vpn proxy master" went from effectively invisible (past rank 95) to position #2 in the same window. The UAE result on "protonvpn" is the most interesting one strategically: it's a direct competitor-brand term, started from the best position of the three (#67), and still landed at #2, meaning the app is now showing up for people actively searching for one of the biggest names in the category.
What the Algorithm Told Us Along the Way
A few patterns repeated across almost every keyword in this campaign:
- Lower starting ranks needed more sustained volume. The #103 and #98 starting points (both in Australia) took noticeably longer to move than the #67–#78 group, even though they ended up in a similar final position.
- Turkey moved the slowest of the five markets. Both Turkish keywords landed a few positions lower than their counterparts elsewhere (#4 and #6 rather than #2–#3), suggesting more entrenched local competition on those specific terms.
- Rankings held after volume was reduced. Once a keyword reached its target zone, cutting back install volume didn't send it back up the chart, a sign the gains were sticking rather than being purely campaign-dependent.
Full Results
| Keyword | Country | Initial | Final | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| plato vpn | Australia | 103 | 2 | +101 |
| vpn proxy master | Australia | 98 | 2 | +96 |
| plato vpn | United States | 94 | 3 | +91 |
| panda vpn | Australia | 85 | 3 | +82 |
| vpn proton | Turkey | 82 | 4 | +78 |
| vpn proxy master | Indonesia | 83 | 5 | +78 |
| vpn proxy master | United States | 76 | 2 | +74 |
| panda vpn | United States | 78 | 5 | +73 |
| vpn proxy master | Turkey | 78 | 6 | +72 |
| protonvpn | United Arab Emirates | 67 | 2 | +65 |
Takeaways for Other VPN Apps
None of these keywords were vanity terms. Every one of them represents someone actively searching for a VPN, often by a specific brand name, at the exact moment they're ready to install. That's the core lesson here: in a category this competitive, the fastest path to real installs isn't ranking #1 for "vpn," it's showing up reliably wherever your actual audience is already looking.
Thinking about running a similar keyword ranking campaign for your own app? Check out our services to see which keyword and ranking strategies fit your app store category and goals.