Organic install

How it works

The MMP does not detect that a person arrived on their own. It checks each new install against the touchpoints it has on record. A match makes the install non-organic and assigns it to a channel. No match makes it organic. The label describes the state of the MMP's records and says nothing certain about the person's reasons.

Links you create for unpaid placements change the picture. An install from a tracked link in your newsletter or on your website has a source, so it leaves the organic row even though no ad was bought.

When it matters

Organic volume is the baseline you measure paid campaigns against. Three uses are common.

• Blended cost. Total spend divided by all installs, organic included, shows what growth costs overall.
• Quality comparison. Organic users often behave differently from paid users, so their retention and revenue give you a reference point.
• Setup health. A sudden rise in organic installs on the day a campaign starts often means paid clicks are going unrecorded.

How it relates to attribution

Because organic is a remainder, every attribution setting moves it. A shorter lookback window sends more installs to organic. Counting ad views sends fewer. The guide on telling organic installs from paid ones lists the cases where the label is wrong in each direction and shows how to test your own split.