Gaming UA spend dropped 7% last year.

Gaming UA spend dropped 7% last year.

Everyone panicked.

But here’s what they missed:

It wasn’t a failure. It was evolution.

The CPI model has a dirty secret. It rewards networks for delivering installs at ANY quality level.

More users doesn’t mean more money.

Let me show you the math:

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐀: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐏𝐈 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩
– 10,000 installs at $2 CPI
– Total spend: $20,000
– Conversion rate: 2%
– Paying users: 200

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐁: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲
– 3,000 installs optimizing for purchase events
– Cost per install: $8
– Total spend: $24,000
– Conversion rate: 15%
– Paying users: 450

Game B spent $4,000 MORE.

But got 2.25x more paying customers.

That’s the difference between chasing 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 and 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 revenue.

CPI incentivizes volume.
CPA incentivizes value.

Cutting the fat. Focusing on quality. Paying more per user to get users who actually pay.

Stop celebrating install counts.

Start celebrating revenue per dollar spent.

Your CEO will thank you.