For performance marketers, this creates a difficult balancing act. You’re under pressure to scale. You’re expected to hit aggressive growth goals. But you’re also navigating stricter compliance requirements and justifying spend across your media channels. In this environment, the “fastest” scaling campaign isn’t always the safest – or most sustainable.

As retention challenges deepen and LTV becomes harder to protect, traditional install-led strategies are being re-evaluated. The question is no longer just – how to acquire users – it’s how to acquire the right users. So, is Cost Per Install (CPI) alone the right performance model for scaling finance apps? Or does Cost Per Engagement (CPE) offer a more durable outcome-based path forward? Maybe campaigns built for each – best of both worlds?

CPI Campaigns: Why “Cheap” Installs are Getting Expensive

CPI has long been the go-to model for top-of-funnel growth. It’s straightforward, measurable, and optimized for quick volume.

But beneath the surface, the math is getting harder to justify.

For the finance industry, only about 4.6% of new users continue engaging within the app 30 days after they install. That means if you’re driving traffic to UA campaigns purely looking to scale installs, you’re effectively paying for the 95% of users who churn within the first month. What looks inexpensive at the install level becomes costly at the revenue level.

This doesn’t mean CPI is obsolete. It’s still vital for growth. The trick is being more strategic about how that model is built. By adding a CPE layer, you’re double-filtering your traffic to ensure installs translate into qualified outcomes. You get the volume you need to scale, but with the added peace of mind that you’re only paying for the most high-intent users.

CPI still has its place, especially in regions and industries where costs have softened. But even a well-optimized CPI strategy relies heavily on assumptions about user quality, and assumptions are expensive.

CPE Campaigns: Prioritizing Intent in a Compliance-Heavy Environment

As Perform^[cb]’s Chief Revenue Officer, Lee Aho, noted in an interview with Business of Apps, the era of optimizing for installs alone is effectively over. Sustainable growth depends on down-funnel signals that reflect real user intent. By shifting the performance model from installs to meaningful actions, such as account registration, a first transaction, or a deposit, marketers ensure they’re investing in long-term value.

Because finance apps often require multi-step onboarding processes, CPE naturally filters out users who are unwilling or unable to complete those steps. That kind of filtering is a lifesaver when you consider that global day-one retention for finance apps has dropped to roughly 12.5%. You can’t afford to waste your budget on low-intent installs.

CPI vs. CPE: A Strategic Comparison

Rather than asking which performance model is “better,” you should ask yourself how each model is designed to optimize your UA campaigns.

CPI Strengths

• Faster volume generation
• Lower upfront cost
• Effective for awareness and early funnel testing

CPE Strengths

• Higher-intent users → Stronger retention and LTV signals
• Better alignment with regulated conversion points
• Greater resilience against fraud and incentive abuse

The Tradeoff

• CPI optimizes for speed
• CPE optimizes for sustainability

The most effective strategy is often a hybrid approach. Use CPI for early funnel testing and awareness, then transition to CPE to secure long-term, sustainable growth.

Scaling Finance Apps Requires an Outcome-Based UA Partner

In 2026, scaling a finance app isn’t about buying the most installs. It’s about acquiring the most eligible users. The industry is shifting toward models that reward outcomes. Marketers who fail to adopt this sustainability-first mindset risk paying for short-term growth.

Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine drives performance-based user acquisition for hundreds of finance apps, providing visibility into high-intent audiences, placements, and partners. By layering new performance channels alongside what you’re already running, you’re not disrupting what works – you’re adding a proven path to incremental scale that you haven’t tapped into yet. It’s scaling without the growing pains.

Learn how Perform^[cb] can help you scale your finance app and validate a new growth channel.

The post CPI vs. CPE: Which Performance Model Is More Effective for Scaling Finance Apps? appeared first on Perform[cb].

Today, the company announced the launch of its Partner Development Team (PDT), the newest addition to the Outcome Engine. This dedicated team is focused on supporting partner growth through deeper collaboration, smarter optimization, and expanded access to outcome-driven opportunities.

Partner Development Team (PDT)

The Partner Development Team was formed to give partners a clearer, more intentional path to scale within Perform^[cb]’s ecosystem. Rather than simply onboarding new relationships, PDT is designed to actively support partners as they grow. From identifying the right offers and channels, to helping partners expand into mobile, new geographies, and emerging verticals where demand is increasing.

The team will also focus on reactivating and strengthening high-performing relationships by bringing new opportunities, incentives, and optimization insights to partners who are ready to scale quality traffic – all while maintaining the performance standards and transparency that define the Outcome Engine.

Leading the Partner Development Team is McClain Sherman, who has been promoted to Vice President of Partner Development.

McClain joined Perform^[cb] in August 2015 and brings more than a decade of experience building performance-driven partnerships. Throughout her tenure, she has consistently been a top performer, known for fostering long-term relationships, identifying growth opportunities early, and helping partners adapt as channels and marketer demand evolve. In her new role, McClain will lead the Partner Development Team and oversee partner prospecting, re-engagement, and expansion efforts globally.

“Partners succeed when they have consistency, transparency, and a team that understands how they actually grow,” said McClain Sherman, Vice President of Partner Development. “This team allows us to work more closely with partners, whether that’s helping them access differentiated offers, scale campaigns with confidence, or take advantage of optimization and payout opportunities they may not be seeing elsewhere.”

Joining McClain on the Partner Development Team is Ashley Ray, who joined Perform^[cb] in 2022. Previously serving as a Partner Development Executive, Ashley has helped partners unlock growth through new channel opportunities and supported the onboarding and scaling of partners across Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine. Her experience working directly with partners to identify expansion opportunities will be instrumental as PDT continues to grow.

The Partner Development Team operates under the leadership of Brad Dobbins, Chief Operating Officer, and builds on proven frameworks established through Perform^[cb]’s focused development teams.

“The goal of this team is simple: make it easier for partners to grow with us,” said Brad Dobbins, COO. “By investing in partner support, smarter optimization, and long-term relationships, we’re creating an environment where partners can scale confidently, knowing they’re working with stable demand, transparent technology, and a team that’s here for the long run.”

Built to Support Partner Success at Scale

Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine was built to reward quality, consistency, and long-term performance, and the Partner Development Team reinforces that foundation. Partners benefit from reliable, on-time payments through integrated systems, access to exclusive and differentiated brand campaigns, and advanced technology designed to surface growth opportunities in real-time.

Through tools like PerformBoost AI, partners gain insights into campaigns they may not yet be running, opportunities for payout increases and incentives, and optimization paths tied directly to performance. Combined with flexible API integrations and transparent data-sharing options, partners retain control while improving traffic quality, marketer trust, and long-term earning potential.

With more than 20 years in performance marketing and a perfect payment record, Perform^[cb] continues to invest in the infrastructure, technology, and teams that help partners grow sustainably.

A Long-Term Partner, Not Just a Network

The launch of the Partner Development Team reflects Perform^[cb]’s ongoing commitment to building an ecosystem rooted in trust, accountability, and shared success. For partners, it signals a deeper level of support, clearer access to opportunity, and a team dedicated to helping you scale in an outcome-driven environment.

Partners interested in joining or expanding within Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine can connect directly with the Partner Development Team to explore available opportunities or apply to join here.

The post Perform[cb] Launches Partner Development Team to Invest in Partner Growth, Stability, and Scale appeared first on Perform[cb].

But between the CFPB enforcing new data rights rules and over 15 U.S. states enacting privacy laws similar to GDPR/CCPA, the regulatory landscape is tightening, and personal finance brands are feeling the effects. Simultaneously, Meta and Google are cracking down on targeting categories related to credit and financial distress.

By testing on the right outcome-based channels, you don’t have to rely on third-party data or worry about privacy hurdles to acquire high-quality users.

Why Compliance Actually Improves User Quality

Many marketers view privacy regulations as a hindrance, but they are actually a massive advantage for lead quality. Compliance naturally shifts the focus away from invasive personal data and toward performance.

When you embrace strict privacy and disclosure requirements, such as upfront fees and realistic timelines, you automatically filter out low-intent users. While hidden terms might generate quick volume, these leads rarely enroll. Conversely, when a user clearly understands the offer before they click or install, the ad copy itself acts as a pre-qualifier and improves down-funnel conversion.

Transparency filters out the noise early, saving you time, energy, and budget.

Finding Audiences Without Relying on Tracking

With third-party cookies crumbling, retargeting debt-distressed consumers on major platforms can flag privacy violations. Google Ads explicitly prohibits personalized advertising based on financial distress, and Meta has removed detailed targeting for sensitive financial topics.

To keep the funnel full without crossing any lines, the solution is a combination of contextual intelligence and native advertising. Together, they place your message in environments outside of the walled gardens where intent is naturally strong.

Contextual Intelligence

Instead of chasing the individual, focus on the content they’re actively consuming. Contextual targeting allows you to place ads on channels where financial conversations and research are already happening, such as personal finance blogs, budgeting guides, debt-management articles, and “how to improve your credit score” videos.

Native Advertising

Debt is a sensitive topic. Consumers respond better when ads match the tone, look, and feel of the surrounding content. Native placements feel less intrusive and establish trust, generating 25% higher engagement than banner ads for financial marketers.

Contextual intelligence finds the right moment, native placements deliver the right message, and an outcome-based model ensures you’re only paying when those users actually convert. This combination lets you reach motivated users, improve engagement quality, and drive more efficient conversions.

Mastering the Value Exchange with Zero-Party Data

You can still get compliant data – you just have to ask for it rather than taking it. Zero-party data is information a user voluntarily shares with you – on purpose, in context, and with clear consent. In a high-scrutiny vertical like personal finance, that’s the gold.

The best vehicle for collecting this data is interactive content, such as “When will I be debt-free?” calculators and “Do you qualify for debt consolidation?” quizzes. Additionally, the “Give to Get” model, where users willingly provide sensitive data (income, debt load, credit tier) if they get immediate value in return, such as a customized plan, a score, or a PDF guide.

Why this wins on every front:

• Trustworthy Compliance: 100% opt-in, transparent, and fully compliant. Users willingly provide their information, creating a clean, regulation-friendly data set for ongoing optimization.
• Higher Lead Quality: Interactive tools create 40% higher lead quality because a user who takes two minutes to fill out a calculator is infinitely more valuable than a user who accidentally clicks a banner.
• Accelerated Pipeline: Interactive tools pre-qualify users before they even hit your CRM. This leads to higher conversion rates, easier down-funnel optimization, and significantly stronger LTV.
• Outcome-Based Efficiency: An outcome-based model ensures brands only pay for the qualified users who actually engage with the tool, reducing waste and increasing ROI.
• Smoother Optimization: When your top-of-funnel traffic is already highly qualified, optimizing toward deeper actions – applications, approvals, funded accounts – becomes dramatically easier and more efficient.

Quality Over Quantity: Optimizing for Down-Funnel Events

To protect performance, you must shift focus from volume to qualified, verifiable outcomes, diversifying beyond the cost-per-lead (CPL) model.

While CPL has a place in the media mix, relying on it solely means paying for form fills regardless of quality. Instead, consider testing cost-per-engagement (CPE) models that pay for actions proving real intent, such as a connected bank account, a completed credit consultation, or an uploaded verification document.

By layering performance models, you improve traffic quality, optimize spend across multiple touchpoints, and gain clearer insights into which channels deliver the most qualified users.

How the Outcome Engine Powers Privacy-Safe, High-Intent Growth

In personal finance, brand safety and compliance aren’t optional – they’re essential. Perform^[cb] delivers unmatched protection through 24/7 compliance monitoring, always-on fraud prevention, and rigorous partner audits, ensuring every conversion meets the strictest industry standards.

One top personal finance app credited the Outcome Engine’s disciplined compliance approach, clear communication, and high-quality traffic for a dramatic transformation in performance. By activating new channels while safeguarding campaign integrity, the brand achieved a remarkable 1,214% surge in conversions.

At the core of this success is the Outcome Engine’s ability to identify and target users based on their likelihood to convert within specific placements. By ingesting and applying down-funnel metrics, the Outcome Engine builds a uniquely tailored campaign structure for you. This ensures ongoing optimization toward the channels that generate the most qualified events and align directly with each brand’s primary KPIs.

Turn Regulatory Hurdles into Competitive Gaps

Privacy regulations are scaring your competitors away from testing new channels. This creates a massive opportunity for brands willing to adapt.

Ready to scale your personal finance campaigns without the compliance headaches? Learn how Perform^[cb] ‘s Outcome Engine can help you build an outcome-based model and expand into new channels while maximizing what’s already working.

The post A Personal Finance Marketer’s Guide to Outcome-Based Growth appeared first on Perform[cb].

In fact, health and fitness app installs rise by 34–36% in January compared to the annual average. However, this surge also brings heightened competition. Many app marketers chase quick wins and short-term volume, overlooking the importance of pre-season preparation and sustainable strategy.

The key to winning this window lies in foresight – strategically diversifying across new and existing performance channels, leveraging data intelligently, and aligning campaigns for momentum that lasts well beyond Q1.

Diversifying Performance Channels for Quality Growth

Engagement doesn’t happen overnight. To truly capitalize on the January rush, your app must be discoverable and credible before the influx of motivated users arrives. By building a strong brand foundation across multiple performance channels in Q4, lifestyle apps can ensure they’re top-of-mind when intent peaks.

Keyword Conquesting: Unlock Top App Store Rankings

Keyword conquesting is a channel designed to elevate your app’s visibility for high-value, intent-driven search terms that attract your most engaged and profitable users. When executed well, it allows you to capture audiences actively searching for competitor apps or related categories. By uncovering long-tail opportunities and identifying areas where competitors fall short, you can position your app as the superior choice.

To maximize results, invest in keyword-targeted ads, feature placements like “Top Apps” lists, and keep your listing polished with high ratings and engaging, trending visuals. Apps ranked #1 in the App Store receive 78% of downloads from keyword searches and enjoy 950% more organic installs than those in the #10 spot.

Creative testing also plays a major role, especially for lifestyle apps. Experiment with messaging that highlights your app’s unique features, emotional appeal, or transformative outcomes. Refine visuals (icons, screenshots, video previews) before expanding onto new channels, as optimized assets can increase conversion rates by up to 20%.

Leverage Card Commerce for Zero-Friction Visibility

Visibility doesn’t stop at the App Store. Card commerce is a privacy-safe, frictionless way to reach high-intent users, becoming one of the most effective growth levers in a cookieless world.

With card commerce and card-linked offers, users receive rewards automatically after verified purchases – no promo codes, redirects, or tracking pixels required. This closed-loop system is powered by first-party transaction data, enabling marketers to reach real spenders with guaranteed attribution.

Through Perform^[cb]’s partnerships with Chase, Amex, and PNC, marketers can scale card commerce programs effortlessly, from rebate structure design to partner sourcing and reporting. This channel not only boosts incremental revenue but also strengthens brand trust and visibility across an omnichannel footprint.

Contextual Discovery That Sticks

Lifestyle apps thrive where inspiration lives – within content, community, and context. By showing up where users are already exploring new ideas, brands can acquire “stickier,” more loyal customers.

Social: Tap into aspirational and communal behaviors by testing on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube. Native placements help establish trust and relatability, which is especially effective for lifestyle apps.

In-App: Connect with users while they’re exploring new options in the digital environments they already know and enjoy. This includes interstitials between in-app actions, “Suggested for You” panels, or Google Discover feeds, all benefiting from built-in trust and convenience.

Content & Contextual: Integrate your brand “naturally” within discovery content – sponsored newsletters, editorial partnerships, or co-branded lifestyle articles (“Apps to Simplify Your Routine”) – to turn inspiration into action.

By combining these strategies and diversifying across various performance channels, lifestyle apps can create a layered approach to growth – one that is incremental rather than relying solely on one or two traffic sources.

Building a Cross-Channel Strategy That Works for Your App

We’ve established the placements and channels that increase app presence and reach; now, the focus shifts to understanding which pricing models can help you scale.

Standard CPA/CPC models often limit scale or quality, and marketers need reliable avenues for intent-based installs. The most successful outcome-driven models are lower risk because you only pay for qualified engagement and completed actions.

Maximizing Cost-Per-Engagement (CPE) Model

The CPE model is perfect for lifestyle apps, where the real value lies in user habit formation (logging a workout, completing a daily journal). This model allows marketers to pay only for users who demonstrate commitment, significantly mitigating risk.

Scaling with Reward Traffic

Reward traffic, when implemented correctly, is a powerful performance model to incentivize high-value actions rather than just the install, such as an initial subscription or completing a tutorial. The key is using granular data to push placements only to users who show a high correlation with LTV. Reward can also be used to incentivize users for ranking and/or leaving a review on the app, which helps with organic discoverability.

Focus on Leading Indicators of LTV

To scale sustainably, lifestyle marketers must optimize toward early signals of life-time value (LTV). Key indicators include velocity (how quickly a user completes their first key action), engagement depth (time spent and variety of features used), and post-install events (subscriptions, purchases, or streak activity that correlate with retention).

Building Your Competitive Edge: The Outcome Engine

As lifestyle app marketers prepare for the post-holiday intent spike, early optimization is essential. Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine enables marketers to test new channels alongside existing campaigns, focusing spend on outcome-based metrics like cost-per-engagement and milestone events to expand reach without risk.

The Outcome Engine directly integrates seamlessly with all major mobile measurement partners (MMPs) and tracking platforms, leveraging historical data for smarter targeting and attribution. This transparency allows marketers to connect post-install behaviors back to their sources, making it easy to double down on high-performing traffic in real time.

The result? Efficient scaling ahead of peak season, smarter spend allocation, and measurable ROI across every performance channel during this critical growth window into the new year.

Resolution-Ready Strategy: Plan Now, Win Later

Timing is everything. Lifestyle app marketers who diversify early and optimize before the rush consistently see stronger Q1 retention and higher lifetime value. The Outcome Engine currently drives 750,000+ monthly installs and leads for lifestyle apps and is uniquely positioned to help you capture the upcoming New Year resolution surge.

As the calendar resets, users are ready to invest in better versions of themselves. Is your app ready to meet them where they are? Discover how Perform^[cb]’s Outcome Engine can guarantee outcomes for your lifestyle app.

The post How Lifestyle App Marketers Can Maximize Growth Ahead of New Year Intent appeared first on Perform[cb].

The Shift We’re All Facing

• Organic traffic is collapsing. Answers now live in the AI results.
• Paid costs are rising. SEM is up 6–10% just to keep pace.
• Your funnel is fragmenting. CTRs are down as much as 30%.
• But you’re being asked to deliver the same (or bigger) results, even though the rules have changed.

Why This Hurts

• Your SEO crawl-to-click ratio has jumped from 6:1 to 18:1 – organic visibility is nearly gone.
• The predictable search funnel you once counted on is disappearing.
• Traffic and clicks — the signals you’ve always optimized against — no longer map to revenue.

And yet, your growth goals don’t pause. You still need users, sales, subscriptions, lifetime value.

Your Choice

You could scramble to retool content for AEO or AISEO and hope it’s enough. 

Or you could stop chasing disappearing clicks and step beyond the search bar.

The Outcome Engine: Battle AI disruption with the AI that puts outcomes, not traffic, at the center of your growth.

Here’s what it means for you:

• No rip-and-replace: The Outcome Engine works alongside your existing channels.
• Smarter spend: AI continuously reallocates budget across 26+ channels to find what is working right now.
• Performance-based outcomes: Purchases, subscriptions, funded accounts and LTV — not vanity metrics.
• Always in sync: Campaign models retrain every 2 hours.
• Diverse acquisition: Reach high-intent users across display, native, CTV, in-app, card commerce, and email – with a focus on channels you’re not already in.
• Protected growth: Fraud and compliance tools ensure every click is clean.

Why It Matters for You

While others scramble to patch together strategies for AI search and SEO, you can leap ahead with growth that’s immune to the drop-off and disruption.

When old, reliable channels fail, the Outcome Engine is the AI that will reignite your growth. Reach out to learn how.

The post Turn AI Disruption into ROI with the Outcome Engine appeared first on Perform[cb].

It’s time to reconsider your approach.

Add, Don’t Replace: Expand Your Reach with Outcome-Driven Channels

Instead of solely paying for installs, you can shift some budget towards new performance channels risk-free, only targeting high-intent users in real-time. This approach lets you test new traffic sources to see which ones bring in the best users and simultaneously optimize your campaigns as a result. Once you know what’s working, you can focus your budget on those top channels and only pay for valuable actions.

This “add, don’t replace” method lets you keep what’s working while opening a new test lane for high-intent users. By adding new performance-based channels, you can discover previously untapped growth opportunities and ensure ad spend is aligned with business goals. Marketers are increasingly turning to this strategy, with partner counts per app climbing 17% across all e-commerce categories between 2023 and 2025.

Consider testing these trending user acquisition channels:

Connected TV (CTV)

CTV on a performance model allows you to reach entire households on the biggest screen in the home, while directly tying ad views back to app sessions and purchases. A recent global survey found that 40% of users have downloaded a mobile app after seeing a CTV ad, and campaigns have been shown to lift purchase intent by 43%. This makes CTV a powerful option for seasonal pushes or for extending your reach beyond crowded digital channels – especially for shopping apps where efficiency matters most.

Card-Linked Offers (CLO)

CLO campaigns are digital rebates attached directly to customers’ payment cards, rewarding users only after a verified purchase. Because audiences are built from first-party transaction data rather than third-party cookies, CLO offers a highly reliable and privacy-safe way to scale. Perform^[cb] has helped marketers scale CLO with partners like Chase, Amex, and PNC, managing everything from rebate structures and partner sourcing to spend and reporting. As the industry moves further into a cookieless future, CLO stands out as one of the most future-proof acquisition channels available.

Pay for What Matters

Cost-per-Engagement (CPE) models let you pay only for meaningful in-app events like an add-to-cart, registration, or a first purchase. This reduces the waste associated with install-only campaigns and layers onto your current mix to improve efficiency rather than cannibalize what’s already working. 

Taking it one step further, you should also consider reward-based incentives that accelerate the first value action (first purchase, first scan) without undercutting your margins. Take Fetch, for example – by focusing on “first scan” engagements and implementing custom CPE and CPI models, they ensured every marketing dollar spent was driving real value. In just one quarter, this resulted in a 4x increase in new user acquisition.

Refine Targeting to Lift Lifetime Value (LTV)

Only ~5% of shoppers stick around after 30 days – use real-time signals to decide who to reach, what to pay, and what to say so your ad spend works smarter, not harder.

• Tiered targeting based on intent: Prioritize your budget towards the channels that deliver high-intent users more likely to convert.
• Creative by stage: Use urgency to nudge a checkout or in-app event and loyalty-based messaging after a first purchase, subscription, or scan.
• Predictive filters: Build lookalike audiences based on high-value segments, like repeat purchasers or users with a high average order value.

Your Unfair Advantage: The Outcome Engine

The Perform^[cb] Outcome Engine works alongside your existing agencies and partners with no disruption, helping marketers attract and convert the highest-quality customers. With AI-powered targeting and predictive optimization, it uses your down-funnel quality metrics to find more high-value customers.

You can take advantage of outcome-based pricing options that let you pay only for real users and actions. In fact, one popular digital coupon app partnered with the Outcome Engine to add new performance channels that wouldn’t conflict with their existing media efforts and saw a 150% growth in one quarter as a result.

With over 25 performance-based traffic channels, built-in fraud prevention, and dynamic reporting, you can scale your growth confidently with the Outcome Engine.

Pay for Value, Not Volume

The most successful shopping apps focus on layering outcome-driven channels that pre-qualify intent and align their ad spend with meaningful actions. Stop overpaying for underperformance and start building a more profitable user base.

Ready to find high-value users and break Q4 records without disrupting your current marketing mix? Let us show you how the Outcome Engine helps you find customers who convert for the long term.

The post Stop Overpaying for Underperformance: A Growth Playbook for Shopping Apps appeared first on Perform[cb].

For many entertainment apps, the challenge isn’t getting new users. It’s the customer lifetime value (CLV). On average, only 28.4% of users remain one day after install, dropping to just 8.5% by day 30. First-month retention across entertainment apps averages only 3%. These numbers make it clear: while installs are easy to track, they rarely reflect long-term value.

To scale your acquisition efforts, it’s critical to align spend with the channels that deliver your most qualified post-install events. Users with genuine intent are far more likely to engage, subscribe, and make in-app purchases, which directly impacts revenue and long-term app health.

Leveraging High-Quality Traffic Channels to Reach The Right Users

Marketers know the risks of relying on a single source, yet it happens more often than you might expect. One channel may be thriving now, but if that channel stops performing due to market shifts, policy changes, or ad fatigue, your growth pipeline could crumble overnight.

The solution is diversification. By testing new high-quality performance channels, you reach users who are more likely to engage, convert, and stick around for the long haul.

So, what makes a channel high-quality?

Pre-Install Intent Signals

• Search queries:
  • Users are actively searching for keywords that align with your app – for sports betting apps, some common ones include “odds,” “live scores,” or “watch [title] now.”
• Referral context:
  • Traffic coming from relevant score apps, review pages, or listicles.

Early In-App Behaviors

• First session length:
  • Are users exploring the app beyond the first open? Have they made an account?
• Registration initiation/completion:
  • Are they taking steps toward becoming active users? Did they connect their bank account and place a first bet? Did they reach a certain level in a game?
• Feature exploration:
  • Are they trying key monetizable features? Did they make a First Time Deposit (FTD)

Channels That are Hot With Partners Today

While there are countless ways for entertainment apps to drive high-intent users, three channels are currently leading the way for post-install performance:

Mobile In-App

Mobile in-app campaigns remain a cornerstone for scalable CPI acquisition, offering built-in quality controls. Rewarded ads across gaming, sports, and news apps are particularly effective, as they capture users when they’re already immersed in content, giving entertainment app marketers natural, context-driven relevance at a highly receptive moment.

We’ve seen strong performance from in-app placements when campaigns run through SDK-based exchanges with advanced fraud protection and real-time event tracking. Rewarded in-app video stands out for its high opt-in rates and ability to drive qualified post-install actions, while interstitial and native placements expand reach and add efficient scale among high-intent audiences.

Video

CTV (Connected TV) offers premium placements around new content or live events. By pairing ads with mobile/video retargeting, push notifications, QR codes, or promo codes, marketers can maximize conversions. One entertainment app, for example, tested push notifications as a new traffic source through CTV campaigns and achieved a 7% install-to-free-trial rate in just one week by directly engaging high-intent users.

Cross-platform video reaches audiences across multiple video environments, promoting new releases or live events to drive awareness and action. FanDuel leveraged this approach, testing new traffic sources across video and in-app placements, and achieved a 25% install-to-registration rate, exceeding first-time deposit goals by 120%.

Mobile Web Display

Mobile web display is evolving rapidly, with listicles, native placements, and niche app integrations helping marketers reach highly targeted audiences. Testing new display partners is key to uncovering untapped segments that deliver post-install value. For instance, a sports betting marketer might experiment with a partner focused on helping athletes maximize NIL earnings, while a gaming app marketer could test partners targeting casual gamers or esports enthusiasts.

1 in 5 U.S. adults actively place online sports bets, making it more important than ever to target users showing strong intent signals, like odds checks or live-score views. Diversifying across mobile web sources ensures marketers capture not just volume, but users with the highest potential for long-term engagement.

How The Outcome Engine Maximizes Your Budgets

Perform^[cb]s Outcome Engine is designed to maximize the value of every install. It helps marketers:

• Score users in real time across channels based on pre-install intent and early in-app behavior
• Automatically shift budget toward sources delivering higher post-install conversion rates
• Ensure compliance with regulations (age gating, responsible gaming, state-specific rules)

Using this approach, a sports betting marketer uncovered previously untapped performance channels with high-value user segments, resulting in 57% of users converting to first-time deposits, with 89% of those becoming active players.

Exploring New Traffic Sources Without Overextending Risk or Budget

Testing new traffic sources is crucial, but it must be done strategically to avoid wasting budget. There are different outcome-based pricing models you should consider if not already:

• CPI (Cost-Per-Install): Pay only when a user installs your app. Ideal for launching, as you can test creative and audience fit quickly.
• CPE (Cost-Per-Engagement): Pay only when a user completes a valuable post-install event (trial start, first purchase). This reduces the potential waste associated with install-only campaigns. 
• Look-Alike Modeling: Allows partners to replicate success by targeting audiences similar to your best-performing users.

A smart approach? Start with CPI to identify high-performing sources, then shift to CPE once you have clear intent signals. This balances experimentation with budget efficiency.

Ready for Performance that Pays?

High-quality traffic, targeting, and alignment to post-install events are what turn installs into loyal, paying users.

Driving an average of more than 750K monthly installs and leads for entertainment apps, the Outcome Engine demonstrates how strategic diversification, intent scoring, and post-install optimization can transform acquisition performance.

Reach out today to turn your installs into sustainable subscription growth, finding the users who truly matter and optimizing spend toward the outcomes that drive real business results.

The post How Entertainment Apps Can Drive Real Value From Every Install appeared first on Perform[cb].

What Makes a Partnership Truly Strategic

A strategic partnership means you work hand-in-hand with a team that treats your success as their own. Look for these hallmarks:

1. Alignment of Vision & Goals

A strategic partnership starts with a unified roadmap:

• Shared KPIs that matter to both sides, from revenue targets to audience-quality metrics.
• Joint planning sessions to ensure campaigns tie directly to broader business objectives, whether that’s market expansions, new product launches, or boosting customer lifetime value.

2. Mutual Accountability

Gone are the days of finger-pointing when performance dips. In a strategic alliance, both teams:

• Own the results, positive or negative, with clear roles and responsibilities.
• Conduct regular performance reviews, dissecting wins, challenges, and opportunities to pivot before underperformance becomes a trend.

3. Transparent Feedback Loops

Open, honest communication is non-negotiable:

• You should have access to real-time reporting dashboards that provide full visibility into budget utilization, channel performance, and creative testing.
• Candid optimization conversations should happen at least weekly, ensuring no data insight slips through the cracks.

4. Tailored, Data-Driven Strategy

Cookie-cutter playbooks simply don’t cut it:

• Custom channel roadmaps based on first-party and third-party data, constantly refreshed with real-time insights to reflect evolving performance trends.
• Agile execution, with continuous A/B tests and iterative learning baked into every campaign.

Introducing the Outcome Engine as a Smarter Addition

The Perform^[cb] Outcome Engine is engineered to serve as a strategic partner that fuels your growth. Rather than simply toggling a few campaigns on and off, the Outcome Engine weaves your goals into every facet of its execution. From day one, our roadmap mirrors yours: every user you acquire fuels the next optimization, and every inefficiency exposed becomes a trigger for smarter decisions in the future. Best of all, it doesn’t replace your existing media mix – it integrates seamlessly with your current channels and strategies, amplifying what’s working, while simultaneously identifying new opportunities to test.

With access to high-value placements across more than 25 performance channels and two decades of audience insights, the Outcome Engine helps you go beyond clicks to scale high-value customers. Our lookalike modeling pinpoints prospects most likely to convert, while AI-driven algorithms continually rebalance bids, shift budgets, and surface top-performing creative variants to ensure you’re front and center at the perfect moment.

With the Outcome Engine, you don’t have to choose between scale and precision. You grow faster without losing control, reaching more of the right users, not just a quick uptick in volume. Every touchpoint feeds back into machine learning models, so your campaigns only get smarter over time, turning yesterday’s wins into tomorrow’s breakthroughs.

The proof is in the numbers. Some uncommon results that are common to brands like you:

• 52.4% average ROAS growth (5x industry average)
• 39% customer acquisition growth rate (2.7x industry average)
• Up to 7x increase in conversion rate using PerformSense AI

Rethink Who You Call a ‘Partner’

You deserve a partner who treats your goals like their own, giving you confidence that your marketing efforts are in good hands. The Outcome Engine brings your brand alignment, accountability, and automation together in a single growth solution. Unlock the performance your brand is built for – reach out today to learn how you can orchestrate long-term, scalable growth with the Perform^[cb] Outcome Engine.

The post What ‘Strategic Partnership’ Really Means in Performance Marketing appeared first on Perform[cb].

It’s tempting to zero in on CPL as the key metric, but CPL alone doesn’t tell the whole story. A low CPL might look impressive on a dashboard, but if those leads don’t convert or retain, you’re simply trading visible savings for hidden costs in refunds, follow-up waste, and missed opportunities.

Instead of chasing cheaper leads, insurance marketers can lower CPL the right way – by improving targeting across channels and leveraging smarter data. When you combine precision audience segmentation, behavioral insights, and real-time optimization, you don’t just reduce spend, you increase efficiency.

Why Lower CPL Isn’t Always Better—Until It Is

Not all low-cost leads convert, and high-value leads can be challenging to scale. Chasing the lowest CPL can backfire if those bargain-basement leads never convert. A lead that costs next to nothing isn’t worth much if it abandons the quote process, fails underwriting, or drops out before renewal. Conversely, targeting only the highest-value audiences can drive your CPL to unsustainable levels and leave you without the volume you need to meet your overall revenue goals.

Insurance marketers juggle three moving parts at once:

• Fluctuating conversion rates: A campaign’s conversion performance can swing wildly based on market conditions, seasonality, or even minor creative tweaks.
• Wasted budget on low-intent leads: Pouring dollars into broad audiences often yields clicks that disappear before they become policies.
• Inefficiencies in routing or qualification: Without seamless handoffs and rapid lead scoring, even good prospects can slip through the cracks or be misqualified.

The real art is triangulating CPL, lead quality, and scale – finding that sweet spot where you generate enough volume of genuinely qualified prospects at a cost that still moves the needle on profitability.

Moving Beyond Surface Metrics with Precision Targeting

Precision targeting goes far deeper than simple demographics or generic campaign buckets. By breaking your audience into ultra-specific segments – whether it’s homeowners in high-risk ZIP codes, professionals approaching retirement, or families with growing incomes – you can ensure every message lands where it’s most relevant.

This granular segmentation feeds real-time bid and channel adjustments. Instead of spreading budget evenly across all channels, you can dynamically increase bids for underpriced, high-intent audiences on Facebook, scale back spend on underperforming Google Search keywords, or shift resources into emerging performance channels showing early promise. The result is a campaign that continually optimizes toward lower waste and higher impact.

Precision targeting also aligns each lead source with down-funnel performance. When you connect attribution data, like quote completion rates and policy bind ratios, you stop guessing which channels are driving true value. You invest where you see clear ROI, and cut spend where you don’t, all without sacrificing volume or sending CPL through the roof.

That’s exactly what the Outcome Engine delivers. Powered by built-in AI trained on 63 billion data points and advanced precision-targeting algorithms, it identifies and engages audiences most likely to convert into profitable policies. For one leading life and finance insurance brand, this meant their inbound calls were laser-aligned with their ideal customer profile, driving a 56% lift in conversion rate in just one month, all while keeping CPL steady.

Intent-Based Targeting: From Clicks to Conversions

In today’s digital landscape, intent behavior is the new demographic focus. Rather than lumping prospects into broad age or income brackets, intent-based targeting zeroes in on real-time signals, such as search queries that reveal coverage questions, time-on-site patterns that hint at genuine interest, or call triggers that indicate urgency. These behavioral breadcrumbs give insurance marketers the context they need to distinguish a casual browser from a ready-to-buy prospect.

Using intent-based targeting delivers three immediate advantages:

• Higher conversion rates by prioritizing budget on users who’ve demonstrated clear purchase intent.
• Reduced spend on unqualified leads by throttling back or excluding audiences with low engagement signals.
• Smarter campaign routing, ensuring that your hottest prospects are fast-tracked to the most effective channels or agents rather than sitting in a generic nurture stream.

The Outcome Engine turns these principles into practice. With tiered targeting driven by live behavioral feeds, it segments audiences by intent, allocating budget to the users most likely to become new customers. Paired with a database of billions of historical industry data points, marketers gain a competitive edge by spotting the patterns and trends that spark engagement. The result is a seamless, intelligent funnel that attracts the highest-quality leads and converts them at scale previously thought impossible.

Scaling Without Slipping: Real-Time Optimization in Action

As your insurance campaigns grow, small inefficiencies can multiply into major budget leaks. Every new channel, creative variation, or audience segment introduces another variable that must be constantly fine-tuned. With over 40% of ad spend wasted without real-time optimization, failing to adjust on the fly means overspending on underperformers, misrouting prime prospects, and missing peak-demand windows – any of which can send your CPL soaring.

The Outcome Engine operates as a constant optimization loop. It continuously adjusts targeting parameters in real time, boosting spend where performance is strongest and pulling back where it’s not. Immediately after each click or call, it analyzes lead-quality signals to surface the most potent combinations of audience, timing, and channel. The result is a self-optimizing funnel that holds CPL steady even as lead volume adjusts.

In practice, this means marketers can scale confidently. For one leading insurance marketplace, the Outcome Engine’s AI pinpointed the top traffic sources at peak conversion moments. Paired with a CPL-based SMS campaign and a custom landing page, real-time optimizations drove a 13% jump in conversions and delivered over 44,000 qualified leads in a single quarter.

Don’t Just Perform. Outperform.

When you combine precision targeting, real-time intent signals, and continuous optimization, every dollar works harder, your highest-intent prospects rise to the top, and your funnel scales without driving up CPL.

Delivering over 750,000 monthly leads and calls to insurance brands, Perform^[cb] helps marketers access high-intent prospects across multiple channels, driving meaningful customer engagement and sustainable growth. Discover how the Perform^[cb] Outcome Engine can help you optimize lead gen for cost-efficiency and quality at scale.

The post How Insurance Marketers Can Lower CPL Without Sacrificing Lead Quality appeared first on Perform[cb].

These high-stakes moments drive high-intent users, making every qualified lead that much more valuable. The question is: Are your lead gen campaigns built to capture them? With a few smart optimizations – or the right channels – you could turn urgency into opportunity and make every dollar work harder.

You Don’t Need to Start Over – You Just Need to Spend Smarter

You don’t need a brand-new lead gen strategy. Minor optimizations across your existing campaigns can drive major improvements in lead quality and ROI.

Before upping your spend, make sure your current channels are working for you. Here’s what to look for:

• Spikes in CPL: Notice a sudden rise in CPL from a certain channel? It could mean you’re targeting the wrong audience or reaching them at the wrong time.
• Leads are up, but conversions aren’t: More clicks and form fills don’t always mean better results. If conversions aren’t following, it’s time to assess lead quality. Are you attracting the right audience, or just increasing volume with low-intent leads?
• Local performance gaps: Is your geotargeting too broad? Narrow down your reach to high-intent areas, and optimize for the zip codes that generate the best leads.

The bottom line: Don’t just invest more – invest strategically. Get more from what’s already working, optimize what’s not, and double down on the channels that drive high-quality leads, not just clicks.

Top Performance Channels for High-Value Leads

Home services marketers already know which channels can drive volume, but quality is another story. If you’re looking to drive more high-intent calls and form fills, these three channels consistently deliver, especially when quality is the priority.

Search: Be There When Urgency Strikes

Search is evolving fast. With AI-generated overviews and shifting consumer behavior, showing up exactly when and where your ideal customer is ready to act has never been more critical.

• Urgency signals high intent: When someone googles “emergency HVAC repair” or “emergency plumbing services near me,” they’re not shopping around – they’re ready to book. Search ensures you’re visible at that moment.
• Tailored campaigns convert better: Search lets you customize messaging based on time of day, device, user behavior, and even local weather, so a homeowner experiencing a sudden cold spell sees your heating repair ad exactly when they need it.
• Built for local targeting: AI allows for smarter, more efficient placement-based targeting. With keyword-based targeting and geographic filters, you can serve ads only in ZIP codes that drive conversions and avoid wasting spend in low-performing areas.

Social: Meet Customers Where They Scroll

Social may not be the first place people look for home services, but it’s often where they find them. Social channels create opportunities to reach your audience in a less transactional, more engaging environment.

• Reach users in the right mindset: A homeowner scrolling through Instagram might see a video ad for a local landscaping service offering same-week appointments, making it easy for them to tap and book.
• Behavior-based targeting improves lead quality: Narrow your reach by interests, life stage, or behavior (like recent movers or new homeowners), so you’re connecting with those most likely to need your product/service.
• Low-friction CTAs drive action: Features like “Book now” or “Contact us” buttons remove extra steps, making it easier for users to convert without leaving their feed.
• Optimized for mobile interaction: Most social leads convert on mobile, making it a perfect channel for services that require quick decisions and immediate scheduling.

Programmatic: Stay Relevant Without Being Disruptive

Programmatic media delivers personalized messaging that aligns with user interests and context, offering a helpful nudge instead of a hard sell.

• Content-driven placements build trust: A homeowner researching tips to protect their home while traveling might come across a native ad for a home security system. With safety top of mind, they’re more likely to click or call for a quote without feeling interrupted.
• Precision targeting refines quality: Use behavioral and interest-based data to get in front of users already researching home services needs.
• Scalable without waste: Real-time optimizations focus spend on the placements and audiences that are driving outcomes, helping you scale while keeping quality high.

Best Practices: Turning Calls into Conversions

Generating phone calls is one thing—generating the right calls that convert into real outcomes is another. Check out some best practices to attract these high-quality call leads.

Leverage the Outcome Engine for Smarter Lead Generation

The Perform^[cb] Outcome Engine is designed to help marketers attract and convert the highest-quality leads.

• Tiered targeting based on intent: The Outcome Engine segments audiences based on real-time behavioral signals, allowing marketers to prioritize budget on users most likely to convert. One home services brand used this tiered approach to uncover new growth opportunities within their existing campaigns, increasing high-quality leads by 1,917% over four years, without spending more.
• Real-time optimization for smarter spend: Lead intent shifts quickly, especially for urgent home services. The Outcome Engine continuously adapts targeting and spend based on what’s working now, ensuring you reach users in high-intent moments.
• Expand without disruption: One of the key advantages of the Outcome Engine is its ability to identify new, high-performing lead sources without disrupting your current marketing strategy. Rather than replacing what’s already working, it pinpoints complementary channels that enhance overall lead quality and conversion rates.

Creative & Conversion Optimization

Strong creative is just as essential as smart targeting. To convert calls, you need messaging that grabs attention and sets clear expectations.

• Lead with urgency: Use action-oriented CTAs like “Need HVAC help now? Call to schedule in 5 minutes” to drive immediate response, bringing high-intent callers to the front of the line.
• Pre-qualify in the copy: Be clear about who your offer is for. By setting expectations in your copy and addressing specific pain points, you naturally weed out low-quality leads before the call even happens.
• Test creative across channels: Different channels attract different lead profiles. Testing across multiple platforms helps identify where your highest-quality leads are actually coming from.
• Measure what matters: Make sure you’re monitoring at least all of these quality metrics if you are not already – call duration, conversion rate, ROI, and caller location.

Routing, Tracking, & Compliance

Converting calls starts with getting the right person on the line and making sure every call meets brand standards. The Outcome Engine delivers 24/7 brand safety and compliance monitoring, with smart routing and detailed call tracking.

• Smarter call routing: Geo-targeting, urgency-based logic, and demographic filters ensure each call is directed to the appropriate service area, team, or partner. Whether it’s connecting to the nearest licensed contractor or matching based on specialty, routing logic is tailored to performance.
• Pinpoint what’s working with AI-powered insights: The Outcome Engine’s AI-powered call transcription and tracking technology give you granular insight into what’s working, from the ad copy that triggered the call to the conversion path that followed. With this data, you can double down on what delivers and eliminate what doesn’t.
• Filter out the noise: With built-in compliance tools, the Outcome Engine automatically filters out low-intent or non-compliant calls. In one case, an insurance marketer leveraged the Outcome Engine to drive over 14,000 paid calls with a 51% conversion rate by pre-qualifying leads and routing based on demographic data.

Maximize Lead Quality with Pay Per Call

The most successful home services marketers focus on quality over quantity, using data-backed strategies to target the right consumers at the right time. With the right call channels, smart optimizations, and partners like the Outcome Engine, your team can uncover qualified leads you may have otherwise missed, without wasted spend.

Ready to stop chasing volume and start driving real outcomes? See how the Outcome Engine can help you scale smarter with performance-based call generation.

The post Where Top Home Services Brands Find Their Best Leads appeared first on Perform[cb].