Spaap Update: How We Maintained Revenue Despite Rebranding And Changing Our Domain
This is a follow up story for Monapp Calabs ltd. If you're interested in reading how they got started, published almost 3 years ago, check it out here.
Hello again! Remind us who you are and what business you started.
I am Andrei Ciuca, the developer of the phone tracking app Spapp Monitoring. My only product is the tracking app for Android. The software was developed about 10 years ago.
My customers are parents who want to track what their children are doing on their phones or employers that want to see how their employees use their time during their work hours.
Regarding how much money the project generates, things have mostly stayed the same from last time. Since last year, some new features have been added to the app. These new features had a small impact on the revenue. Some new features were call recording for Facebook, Viber, Telegram, Snapchat, and other social media apps. A remote file manager was also added to Spapp Monitoring.
Tell us about what you’ve been up to. Has the business been growing?
A big challenge for us was that we had to rebrand the tracking app.
Things were not so great since the pandemic. I do not see a full recovery after that. However, we are working continuously to gain new clients and to maintain the existing ones.
This is a product that takes a lot of work to expand. I also tried tracking for iOS, but it needed to be more reliable. Since the tracking app is just for Android, I believe the expansion of iOS devices can also impact sales.
In 2022 I also added recurring payments from Paypal, which boosted the total revenue. Overall I do not see much difference.
I believe you will get a substantial organic traffic boost with a Wikipedia page, and I am trying to look into that. The problem is that Wikipedia has very strict rules and high notability. I think that having a Wikipedia page for a small company can be a game-changer.
Monapp Calabs Limited is a small company. We did not hire someone in the last year. I am looking at creating a tracking app that I can publish also on Google Play. The new tracking app will be a parental control app.
What have been your biggest challenges in the last year?
A big challenge for us was that we had to rebrand the tracking app. Although this has been done sometime before, the effect of the rebranding was still active in 2022.
Some clients probably have yet to find our website. We had to change also the domain name. For about two years, the old domain name was redirected to the new domain name - https://www.spappmonitoring.com. Now the old domain name redirects to another tracking app.
I tried to contact blogs or app stores to update my new URL, but this was not changed in most cases. Google has a tool for a domain move, but this is risky. Even if all of the domain’s strength is transferred to the new domain, you will still lose some referral traffic.
What have been your biggest lessons learned in the last year?
Focus on the things that you are good at. We all have different skills.
When you start a new project, always check the trademark database. Even if you are not from the US, you still have to check the trademarks in the US. Even if you use generic words (common words for SEO), you still have to check for a possible trademark infringement.
This can cause considerable problems in the long run, even if you never intended to take advantage of a strong brand. When selling software online, you can be liable in some countries like the US, even if you do not live there.
In some countries, registering trademarks that describe the app or your project is possible. The more time passes, the more difficult it will be to rebrand - changing your app and domain names. It is much easier to look into this when you start your project.
It is possible that in the beginning, you just start a small project and you mostly focused on adding functionality and traffic, but changing the app name or the domain name may have some massive effects on the revenue in the long run.
Since you are just starting your project and assuming you have a small budget, it would be difficult to get legal advice in many cases. The good part is that you can search for trademarks without contacting a lawyer.
What’s in the plans for the upcoming year, and the next 5 years?
The best thing I can do is publish a tracking app on Google Play. I am working on this and think it can be done this year. I know what changes I must make, probably the most important is making all the payments with Google Play. This will also take a 30% fee, but it is an excellent price for Google Play visibility.
In the next 5 years, I want to see how the app on Google Play will be received, and then I will see what new features I can add and what product I should focus on. Also, I’ll continue the work on the app to offer the highest quality it is possible for our clients. We are working to maintain and increase the app’s visibility too.
What’s the best thing you read in the last year?
I like to read books about investing. I liked reading “The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness” by Morgan Housel. I think that most people never focus on subjects like investing or money management; they generally have to suffer because of this.
It is also a subject that gets little attention in school. I come from Eastern Europe, and investing is never discussed. It makes sense to do something with your money that will generate more money in the long term.
Advice for other entrepreneurs who might be struggling to grow their business?
If you are just starting, like, for example, you just finished college, you could try to get a job or two in the first few years. As a programmer, you will have a lot to learn and a strong foundation if you try to start your own thing.
Focus on the things that you are good at. We all have different skills.
Be prepared to face a lot of obstacles.
Where can we go to learn more?
If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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