Microsoft Ads success story · AI productivity software company (maker of Grammarly)

How the company behind Grammarly earned roughly 778% return on ad spend with Microsoft Store ads.

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Superhuman put its Grammarly desktop app in front of Windows users at the moment they were searching the Microsoft Store for writing tools, then tracked what those new users did after installing. The result: over 140,000 downloads, a cost per new user under $5, and paying users who stuck around.

Business: Superhuman
Market: Microsoft Store on Windows (country not stated)
Goal: More app installs from people who keep using the app

Man in a blue sweater typing on a laptop at a cafe table with a cup of coffee and a croissant

The results.

Cost per new user fell from the mid-teens to under $5. Microsoft does not state the comparison period, and gives no baseline for the 778% return on ad spend or the 15.7% install rate.

778%return on ad spend (roughly)
Under $5cost per new user, down from the mid-teens
15.7%of ad clicks became downloads (over 140,000)

Installs, new active users, subscriptions, purchases and modeled lifetime value were tracked with Microsoft Universal Event Tracking (UET). Microsoft does not state the campaign dates or the market.

The challenge.

Superhuman is the AI productivity company behind Grammarly, the writing assistant. A tool like this only pays off when people use it every day, so a download on its own is worth very little. The team wanted new installs from people who were already looking for help with their writing, not from anyone who might tap an ad.

It also needed to see past the download. Which new users kept writing with the app, which ones upgraded, and which ad channel brought in the people worth the most over time? Counting installs alone could not answer that, and without the answer there was no way to know where the next dollar should go.

Microsoft Advertising example of ads shown in the Microsoft Store on a games console, a phone and a Windows PC

What they did.

Microsoft Store ads in search results · Featured spot on the Microsoft Store home page · Install campaigns inside Windows · Universal Event Tracking for what happens after the install

Ads where people shop for apps: Grammarly appeared in the Microsoft Store on Windows, both in search results and in a featured spot on the Store home page, while people were searching for and comparing writing tools.
From ad to download in one step: Install campaigns ran through Microsoft Store ads, using native ad placements that blend into the Store, so a person could go from seeing the app to installing it without leaving Windows.
Tracking past the install: Universal Event Tracking, Microsoft’s conversion tracking, was built into the app. It showed new active users, subscriptions, purchases and modeled lifetime value, not only downloads.
Paid and free placements together: Paid ads worked alongside Grammarly’s regular presence in the Store, so the app showed up in more than one place for people searching with clear intent.
Judged on value, not volume: The campaigns were measured on what new users were worth to the business over time, which made it possible to compare the Store fairly with every other channel in the mix.

Why it worked.

Our read on the decisions behind the numbers, and what any business can take from them.

Intent was already there: Someone searching the Store for a writing tool has already decided they need one. About 15.7% of clicks turned into downloads because the ad answered a question the person was asking.
Fewer steps, fewer drop-offs: Every extra page between an ad and a download loses people. Installing straight from the Store kept the path short.
Desktop users stick around: People who installed Grammarly on their desktop from the Store kept using it longer and were worth more than people who used it only in a browser, because the app shows up in more places across Windows.
The right number to optimize: Measuring subscriptions and lifetime value, not downloads, showed the Store was one of the strongest channels in the mix. That is the number that tells a software company where to spend.

How we would run this play for your business.

You do not need a national budget to use the same ideas. This is how Overtop Media Digital Marketing puts them to work in our microsoft ads management.

Reach buyers while they compare: We put your software, app or online service in front of people searching for what you sell on Bing, in Windows and across Microsoft’s network, at the moment they are choosing.
Track sign-ups to revenue: We connect your trials, sign-ups and paid plans to the ads that produced them, so you see what a new customer is really worth, not just how many you got.
Spend on customers who stay: Our Microsoft Ads management teaches the system which sign-ups turn into paying, long-term customers, so your budget goes after more of those and less on free users who leave.
Cover every search: Your buyers search on Google too. Our Google Ads management runs the same value-based approach there, so you can compare channels on revenue and move money to what works.