Zynga growth playbook

For every live title: restore a page with its own self-referencing canonical, App Store and Google Play buttons (smart links that open the right store per device, with campaign tags), current art, the latest event and support links. Fix the three named titles and Match Factory first, then work down the menu. Retired titles get an honest archive page instead of a redirect (see idea 4).

Branded searches convert at the highest rate of any traffic; a working page with store buttons turns them into installs the ASO team can measure.

[ ] Self-referencing canonical
[ ] App Store and Google Play buttons (smart link)
[ ] Campaign tags for organic attribution
[ ] Current key art and trailer
[ ] Latest event
[ ] Player support link
[ ] In the game sitemap

• Studios run their own game sites

  Link to them from the zynga.com page instead of redirecting home.

• Stale art

  Pull assets from the current store listing.

• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source
• HiringPaid growth: an Associate Director UA (London) for Gram Games and Merge Dragons! who will "Lead measurement frameworks (MMM, incrementality studies, pLTV)"; a UA Manager (Barcelona) for "Two Dots, Dragon City & Monster Legends" running "structured tests (creatives, audiences, channels) to improve CPI, ROAS, and IPM"; and a User Acquisition Manager (Bengaluru, posted September 16, 2026) on "Paid Social Channels, Ad Networks, and DSPs".Source
• Your websitezynga.com homepage: menu of games, company, news, advertisers, blog, careers and player support; featured games include Merge Dragons!, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and CSR 2; no newsletter or player sign-up; Instagram, X and a YouTube channel (@zynganetwork, about 130,000 subscribers).Source

Add device-aware store buttons with campaign parameters to every live page, matched to the store's Custom Product Page for that audience where one exists.

Every visitor becomes a measurable install path for the ASO team.

• Wrong store per region

  Use smart links with country routing.

• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• HiringASO Specialist (Barcelona, posted October 13, 2026): optimizes and tests store visuals, "Manage the creation and measurement of Custom Product Pages for both the iOS and Android stores" and "Coordinate the promotion of in-game events and features within app store environments".Source

Publish pages for every title in the job-post boilerplate and the press kit, with store buttons and links to the studio site.

Candidates, journalists and advertisers check the company site first.

• Studio branding

  Link out to the studio site.

• Your websitezynga.com has no page for Color Block Jam or Top Eleven (both return 404); the game sitemap lists 77 URLs, many last updated in April 2024, and omits Merge Dragons, Match Factory and Words With Friends. Three game pages declare canonicals on a non-production host instead of www.zynga.com.Source
• HiringAdvertising business: a Lead, Ad Revenue & Analytics to "maximize revenue across Zynga's advertising inventory" and a Manager, Programmatic Sales to grow "Programmatic Direct Revenue" with agency holding companies, trading desks and retail media partners. Every post says Zynga's games "have been downloaded over 6 billion times" in "175+ countries" and names latest hits including "Match Factory" and "Color Block Jam".Source

Remove retired titles from the menu, give each a short archive page ("this game has closed") with two similar live games and support links, and use permanent redirects only where a game moved.

Lost players find a new game instead of leaving, and the menu shows what is live.

• Support questions

  Link player support on each page.

• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• Your websitezynga.com has no page for Color Block Jam or Top Eleven (both return 404); the game sitemap lists 77 URLs, many last updated in April 2024, and omits Merge Dragons, Match Factory and Words With Friends. Three game pages declare canonicals on a non-production host instead of www.zynga.com.Source

Set canonicals to www.zynga.com everywhere, add a check to the publishing workflow, and regenerate the sitemap with live pages only.

Search engines index the right pages and stop wasting crawl on redirects.

• Other templates affected

  Scan all pages.

• Your websitezynga.com has no page for Color Block Jam or Top Eleven (both return 404); the game sitemap lists 77 URLs, many last updated in April 2024, and omits Merge Dragons, Match Factory and Words With Friends. Three game pages declare canonicals on a non-production host instead of www.zynga.com.Source
• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source

Compress and resize the banner, defer below-the-fold images, and add an H1 that states what Zynga makes.

Faster, clearer pages help slower phones and search understanding.

• Design changes

  Keep the look, change the files.

• Google PageSpeedwww.zynga.com: real Chrome visitors pass Core Web Vitals (LCP 2.4 s, INP 121 ms, CLS 0.01); the mobile lab score is 34 with LCP 13.1 s on the banner image, render-blocking requests and about 4 MB of image savings. The homepage has no H1.Source
• Your websitezynga.com homepage: menu of games, company, news, advertisers, blog, careers and player support; featured games include Merge Dragons!, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and CSR 2; no newsletter or player sign-up; Instagram, X and a YouTube channel (@zynganetwork, about 130,000 subscribers).Source

Map the top five ad themes per title to a matching Custom Product Page, link campaigns to them, and compare conversion with the default page.

Matched store pages lift install rate on paid traffic without extra spend.

• Too many pages to maintain

  Cap at five per title.

• HiringASO Specialist (Barcelona, posted October 13, 2026): optimizes and tests store visuals, "Manage the creation and measurement of Custom Product Pages for both the iOS and Android stores" and "Coordinate the promotion of in-game events and features within app store environments".Source
• HiringPaid growth: an Associate Director UA (London) for Gram Games and Merge Dragons! who will "Lead measurement frameworks (MMM, incrementality studies, pLTV)"; a UA Manager (Barcelona) for "Two Dots, Dragon City & Monster Legends" running "structured tests (creatives, audiences, channels) to improve CPI, ROAS, and IPM"; and a User Acquisition Manager (Bengaluru, posted September 16, 2026) on "Paid Social Channels, Ad Networks, and DSPs".Source

Run a shared calendar of icon, screenshot and video tests with one results library, and reuse winning patterns across similar genres.

Lessons travel across titles, raising conversion faster.

• Seasonal noise

  Compare within the same period.

• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source
• HiringASO Specialist (Barcelona, posted October 13, 2026): optimizes and tests store visuals, "Manage the creation and measurement of Custom Product Pages for both the iOS and Android stores" and "Coordinate the promotion of in-game events and features within app store environments".Source

Keep a 90-day calendar of events and updates per title, pitch each store early with assets, and track featuring won and installs gained.

Featuring brings large organic install spikes at no media cost.

• Platform priorities change

  Pitch several events per quarter.

• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source
• HiringASO Specialist (Barcelona, posted October 13, 2026): optimizes and tests store visuals, "Manage the creation and measurement of Custom Product Pages for both the iOS and Android stores" and "Coordinate the promotion of in-game events and features within app store environments".Source

Run geo or time holdouts to measure the organic lift from paid, and use one blended target for both teams.

Budget follows true incremental installs, and the teams stop competing for credit.

• Holdouts cost installs

  Keep them short and small.

• HiringPaid growth: an Associate Director UA (London) for Gram Games and Merge Dragons! who will "Lead measurement frameworks (MMM, incrementality studies, pLTV)"; a UA Manager (Barcelona) for "Two Dots, Dragon City & Monster Legends" running "structured tests (creatives, audiences, channels) to improve CPI, ROAS, and IPM"; and a User Acquisition Manager (Bengaluru, posted September 16, 2026) on "Paid Social Channels, Ad Networks, and DSPs".Source
• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source
• HiringAnalytics and research: a Senior Marketing Data Analyst (Barcelona, posted August 28, 2026) for "Socialpoint's and Zynga's dynamic marketing teams", building "data pipelines that integrate third-party sources" and prototyping "AI-driven automation"; a Consumer Insights Manager embedded with studio teams, with expertise "in building and maintaining research panels" valued.Source

Build reactivation messages by genre (what is new since you left), and for long-lapsed players suggest a similar title in the portfolio, with frequency caps and clear opt-outs.

Keeping players within the portfolio costs less than acquiring new ones.

• Message fatigue

  Strict caps.

• HiringLifecycle and community: a Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing (Toronto) who will "Design and drive nurture programs that improve customer engagement, retention, and reactivation" across genres such as Racing, Match-3 and Word, and plan "go-to-market communication plans for new product launches"; a Social Media Community Manager intern running Discord and the social calendar across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Source
• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source

Run a standing panel per genre, test ad concepts and store art before production, and share a monthly "what players want" brief with creative and UA.

Pre-tested concepts raise the share of winning creatives.

• Panel bias

  Compare to live data.

• HiringAnalytics and research: a Senior Marketing Data Analyst (Barcelona, posted August 28, 2026) for "Socialpoint's and Zynga's dynamic marketing teams", building "data pipelines that integrate third-party sources" and prototyping "AI-driven automation"; a Consumer Insights Manager embedded with studio teams, with expertise "in building and maintaining research panels" valued.Source
• HiringPaid growth: an Associate Director UA (London) for Gram Games and Merge Dragons! who will "Lead measurement frameworks (MMM, incrementality studies, pLTV)"; a UA Manager (Barcelona) for "Two Dots, Dragon City & Monster Legends" running "structured tests (creatives, audiences, channels) to improve CPI, ROAS, and IPM"; and a User Acquisition Manager (Bengaluru, posted September 16, 2026) on "Paid Social Channels, Ad Networks, and DSPs".Source

Tag every ad by hook, format and theme in one library, review cross-studio winners monthly and adapt them.

More winners per test dollar.

• Genres differ

  Adapt structure only.

• HiringPaid growth: an Associate Director UA (London) for Gram Games and Merge Dragons! who will "Lead measurement frameworks (MMM, incrementality studies, pLTV)"; a UA Manager (Barcelona) for "Two Dots, Dragon City & Monster Legends" running "structured tests (creatives, audiences, channels) to improve CPI, ROAS, and IPM"; and a User Acquisition Manager (Bengaluru, posted September 16, 2026) on "Paid Social Channels, Ad Networks, and DSPs".Source
• HiringAnalytics and research: a Senior Marketing Data Analyst (Barcelona, posted August 28, 2026) for "Socialpoint's and Zynga's dynamic marketing teams", building "data pipelines that integrate third-party sources" and prototyping "AI-driven automation"; a Consumer Insights Manager embedded with studio teams, with expertise "in building and maintaining research panels" valued.Source

Add evergreen guides and event pages for the top titles, with store buttons, written with community managers.

Guides catch high-intent searches and bring lapsed players back.

• Fan sites rank already

  Link to official community resources.

• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• HiringLifecycle and community: a Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing (Toronto) who will "Design and drive nurture programs that improve customer engagement, retention, and reactivation" across genres such as Racing, Match-3 and Word, and plan "go-to-market communication plans for new product launches"; a Social Media Community Manager intern running Discord and the social calendar across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Source

Pick the ten markets with most organic upside per title, localize screenshots and text (not just translation), and test.

Local listings convert better.

• Cost

  Start with top markets.

• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source
• HiringAdvertising business: a Lead, Ad Revenue & Analytics to "maximize revenue across Zynga's advertising inventory" and a Manager, Programmatic Sales to grow "Programmatic Direct Revenue" with agency holding companies, trading desks and retail media partners. Every post says Zynga's games "have been downloaded over 6 billion times" in "175+ countries" and names latest hits including "Match Factory" and "Color Block Jam".Source

Share one event calendar between community and lifecycle, and track how community members' retention compares.

Community members stay longer; aligned messages reinforce events.

• Privacy

  Opt-in linking only.

• HiringLifecycle and community: a Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing (Toronto) who will "Design and drive nurture programs that improve customer engagement, retention, and reactivation" across genres such as Racing, Match-3 and Word, and plan "go-to-market communication plans for new product launches"; a Social Media Community Manager intern running Discord and the social calendar across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Source

Build a hub with genre filters, a short quiz and store buttons, plus an optional email sign-up for new launches (age-gated and opt-in).

An owned discovery channel lowers acquisition cost for new titles.

• Low traffic

  Link from every game page.

• Your websitezynga.com homepage: menu of games, company, news, advertisers, blog, careers and player support; featured games include Merge Dragons!, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and CSR 2; no newsletter or player sign-up; Instagram, X and a YouTube channel (@zynganetwork, about 130,000 subscribers).Source
• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• HiringAdvertising business: a Lead, Ad Revenue & Analytics to "maximize revenue across Zynga's advertising inventory" and a Manager, Programmatic Sales to grow "Programmatic Direct Revenue" with agency holding companies, trading desks and retail media partners. Every post says Zynga's games "have been downloaded over 6 billion times" in "175+ countries" and names latest hits including "Match Factory" and "Color Block Jam".Source

Add store pre-registration and a launch sign-up for each new title when announced, and seed it through YouTube and community channels.

Launch-day installs from pre-registration lift store rankings.

• Announcement timing

  Prepare in advance.

• Your websitezynga.com homepage: menu of games, company, news, advertisers, blog, careers and player support; featured games include Merge Dragons!, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and CSR 2; no newsletter or player sign-up; Instagram, X and a YouTube channel (@zynganetwork, about 130,000 subscribers).Source
• HiringASO & Partnerships Director (Barcelona or London, posted August 5, 2026): drives "organic growth" for "Merge Dragons, Monster Legends, Dragon City, FarmVille titles and many more", owns "the studio's app store optimization strategy end-to-end" and the relationships with "Google Play, the Apple App Store, Microsoft Store and Amazon Appstore", and defines "the yearly organic growth roadmap, including localization, seasonal, and launch strategies".Source

Publish three anonymized or named-with-consent campaign case studies (attention, reach, lift) and an advertiser page per audience segment.

Proof shortens sales cycles for programmatic direct deals.

• Advertisers decline naming

  Anonymize.

• HiringAdvertising business: a Lead, Ad Revenue & Analytics to "maximize revenue across Zynga's advertising inventory" and a Manager, Programmatic Sales to grow "Programmatic Direct Revenue" with agency holding companies, trading desks and retail media partners. Every post says Zynga's games "have been downloaded over 6 billion times" in "175+ countries" and names latest hits including "Match Factory" and "Color Block Jam".Source
• News coverageOctober 20, 2026 coverage: "Unlocking the Power of Mobile Gaming: Attention, Audiences & Impact with Zynga Ads+".Source

Publish aggregated, anonymous trends (most played words, new words) once a year for press.

Earns coverage and brings lapsed word players back.

• Privacy

  Aggregate only.

• Your websitezynga.com homepage: menu of games, company, news, advertisers, blog, careers and player support; featured games include Merge Dragons!, FarmVille, Harry Potter: Puzzles & Spells and CSR 2; no newsletter or player sign-up; Instagram, X and a YouTube channel (@zynganetwork, about 130,000 subscribers).Source
• HiringLifecycle and community: a Senior Manager, Lifecycle Marketing (Toronto) who will "Design and drive nurture programs that improve customer engagement, retention, and reactivation" across genres such as Racing, Match-3 and Word, and plan "go-to-market communication plans for new product launches"; a Social Media Community Manager intern running Discord and the social calendar across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.Source

Tag every store link from zynga.com, report installs by page monthly, and include the site in the marketing mix model.

What is measured gets funded.

• Small numbers

  Combine with branded search.

• Your websiteGame page audit of zynga.com (October 22, 2026, repeated the same day): the Games menu lists 72 games; 30 of those links redirect to the homepage, including Dragon City, Monster Legends and Two Dots; the Merge Dragons! page (the homepage's featured game) declares Match Factory's page as its canonical, and Match Factory's page declares the homepage; Words With Friends' canonical is a URL that redirects back to it. Only 11 of the 72 pages link to the App Store or Google Play; the Merge Dragons page's only store link is an old Amazon search link.Source
• HiringAnalytics and research: a Senior Marketing Data Analyst (Barcelona, posted August 28, 2026) for "Socialpoint's and Zynga's dynamic marketing teams", building "data pipelines that integrate third-party sources" and prototyping "AI-driven automation"; a Consumer Insights Manager embedded with studio teams, with expertise "in building and maintaining research panels" valued.Source