mukeshsharma1106
Member
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how confusing it can get when choosing a pricing model for igaming ppc campaigns. It feels simple on the surface, but once you start running actual traffic, the whole thing becomes a weird mix of guesswork and small wins. I used to think you just pick whatever is cheapest and move on. Turns out, I was wrong. The way the model works in the background can change the whole performance of your campaign.
One of the things that pushed me to figure this out was how often I kept switching between CPC and CPA without really knowing why. I’d pick CPC because it looked safe and “pay only when users click” sounded reasonable. But then my click-through rate wasn’t that great. So I’d switch to CPA hoping it would fix everything. Then the CPA would fluctuate because of random behaviour changes from users, or even seasonal shifts, and I'd end up confused again. At some point I realised I wasn’t choosing a model—I was just reacting to whatever went wrong last week.
The main doubt I had was whether the pricing model actually mattered or if I was just overthinking it. A lot of people in forums say, “Just stick to one model and optimise around it,” but that didn’t feel right. Different games, different GEOs, different traffic sources—they behave nothing alike. A CPC campaign in India behaves totally differently from a CPA campaign in Canada. I felt like I was comparing apples and oranges using one fixed approach.
Eventually, I started experimenting more intentionally. Nothing too scientific, just testing things in small chunks. I’d pick one GEO and run CPC, then switch only that GEO to CPA and compare. One big thing I noticed: CPC works better when I already have a clear funnel, and I know users will click if the creative is decent. It gives me control. But if the audience is cold, CPC can drain money fast. CPM felt even trickier. Paying for impressions sounds odd at first, but I later realised CPM makes sense when you’re confident your ad will catch attention. It’s more like running a billboard. Some days it works, some days it doesn't.
CPA was the model I wanted to rely on the most, because who doesn’t want to pay only when real conversions happen? But the catch is, you need to already have enough data or else the platform optimises very poorly. With igaming traffic especially, conversions don’t roll in evenly. I’ve had days where everything looked perfect and days where nothing converted even though clicks were the same. So CPA felt comfortable but inconsistent unless I had a strong trail of past data.
One thing that really changed the way I choose models now is thinking about risk instead of cost. CPC is low risk on the conversion side because you only worry about clicks. CPM is higher risk unless you have tight targeting or strong creative. CPA shifts the risk to the platform or network, but only if they have enough data to optimise properly. This simple mental shift helped me stop mixing models randomly. Instead, I look at it like: “Where do I want the risk to sit today?”
Another helpful thing was comparing the same offer across two models at the same time. For example, I ran CPC on mobile traffic and CPA on desktop for the same GEO. What surprised me was that desktop CPA worked much better because users took more time to explore, while mobile users clicked a lot but didn’t always convert. This helped me realise that pricing models aren’t about which model is “best,” but which model matches the behaviour of the traffic you’re buying.
After a lot of trial and error, what helped the most was reading through real examples and discussions rather than generic guides. One of the resources that broke things down in a simple, relatable way was this one I came across while trying to choose the best PPC pricing model. It didn’t magically solve everything, but it gave me a better frame of reference for understanding why some models behave the way they do.
I won’t pretend there’s one perfect model for igaming ppc. For me, the sweet spot is starting with CPC to test interest, then switching to CPA once I know the funnel works, and using CPM only when I’m running very strong creative or going after very specific audiences. But that’s just what works right now. Anyone else might have a totally different experience depending on the kind of offer they’re promoting.
The main thing is to test slowly instead of flipping models every time something goes wrong. A small tweak usually teaches more than a complete restart. And honestly, half the learning comes from comparing your past experiments with new ones. It’s never one-size-fits-all, especially in igaming.
If anyone else has had similar headaches picking models or switching between CPC and CPA too often, I’d be curious to hear what finally clicked for you.
One of the things that pushed me to figure this out was how often I kept switching between CPC and CPA without really knowing why. I’d pick CPC because it looked safe and “pay only when users click” sounded reasonable. But then my click-through rate wasn’t that great. So I’d switch to CPA hoping it would fix everything. Then the CPA would fluctuate because of random behaviour changes from users, or even seasonal shifts, and I'd end up confused again. At some point I realised I wasn’t choosing a model—I was just reacting to whatever went wrong last week.
The main doubt I had was whether the pricing model actually mattered or if I was just overthinking it. A lot of people in forums say, “Just stick to one model and optimise around it,” but that didn’t feel right. Different games, different GEOs, different traffic sources—they behave nothing alike. A CPC campaign in India behaves totally differently from a CPA campaign in Canada. I felt like I was comparing apples and oranges using one fixed approach.
Eventually, I started experimenting more intentionally. Nothing too scientific, just testing things in small chunks. I’d pick one GEO and run CPC, then switch only that GEO to CPA and compare. One big thing I noticed: CPC works better when I already have a clear funnel, and I know users will click if the creative is decent. It gives me control. But if the audience is cold, CPC can drain money fast. CPM felt even trickier. Paying for impressions sounds odd at first, but I later realised CPM makes sense when you’re confident your ad will catch attention. It’s more like running a billboard. Some days it works, some days it doesn't.
CPA was the model I wanted to rely on the most, because who doesn’t want to pay only when real conversions happen? But the catch is, you need to already have enough data or else the platform optimises very poorly. With igaming traffic especially, conversions don’t roll in evenly. I’ve had days where everything looked perfect and days where nothing converted even though clicks were the same. So CPA felt comfortable but inconsistent unless I had a strong trail of past data.
One thing that really changed the way I choose models now is thinking about risk instead of cost. CPC is low risk on the conversion side because you only worry about clicks. CPM is higher risk unless you have tight targeting or strong creative. CPA shifts the risk to the platform or network, but only if they have enough data to optimise properly. This simple mental shift helped me stop mixing models randomly. Instead, I look at it like: “Where do I want the risk to sit today?”
Another helpful thing was comparing the same offer across two models at the same time. For example, I ran CPC on mobile traffic and CPA on desktop for the same GEO. What surprised me was that desktop CPA worked much better because users took more time to explore, while mobile users clicked a lot but didn’t always convert. This helped me realise that pricing models aren’t about which model is “best,” but which model matches the behaviour of the traffic you’re buying.
After a lot of trial and error, what helped the most was reading through real examples and discussions rather than generic guides. One of the resources that broke things down in a simple, relatable way was this one I came across while trying to choose the best PPC pricing model. It didn’t magically solve everything, but it gave me a better frame of reference for understanding why some models behave the way they do.
I won’t pretend there’s one perfect model for igaming ppc. For me, the sweet spot is starting with CPC to test interest, then switching to CPA once I know the funnel works, and using CPM only when I’m running very strong creative or going after very specific audiences. But that’s just what works right now. Anyone else might have a totally different experience depending on the kind of offer they’re promoting.
The main thing is to test slowly instead of flipping models every time something goes wrong. A small tweak usually teaches more than a complete restart. And honestly, half the learning comes from comparing your past experiments with new ones. It’s never one-size-fits-all, especially in igaming.
If anyone else has had similar headaches picking models or switching between CPC and CPA too often, I’d be curious to hear what finally clicked for you.