New GEO Testing with Pop Ads: How to Launch a Campaign

Pop advertising often outperforms native formats, delivering high ROI and bringing in consistent revenue. Kadam’s experts have compiled a list of tips for advertisers looking to conduct new GEO testing with pop ads.

New GEO Testing in Pop Ads: Where to Start

Specialists at the Kadam ad network estimate that popunders generate up to 120 million clicks every day.

The format is suitable for various verticals: sweepstakes, games, finance, and dating. However, pop ads don’t always show conversion growth right away, and they perform differently in regions.

Our users have noted that expanding to new GEOs is a development opportunity. For instance, you can earn more when targeting countries with higher CPC bidding. In contrast, GEOs with high CPL rates can drain your budget if you lack a strategy and an exit plan.

Evaluating GEOs Before Launching Pop Ads

If a region is unfamiliar to you, you may not know the audience or the optimal budget. Research is crucial, so evaluate the following in advance:

Traffic volume. Go to the audience assessment section in your Kadam account to see how much pop traffic is available for the specific GEO.
Bids. Check the average CPM and CPC bids for the region. Tier 1 countries will have higher costs than Tier 3 countries.
Internet speed. For example, in African countries or parts of Latin America, you need lightweight pages because heavy ones may load poorly.

Traffic Source Requirements and Pop Traffic Quality Checks

Users see pop advertising beneath other open tabs. So, for you, it’s vital to understand where exactly they are coming from.

You must segment web traffic sources:

By site categories. Adult content sites are suitable for iGaming traffic and dating, while mainstream resources are better for software and finance.
By mobile and desktop formats. Creatives and landing pages should be adapted to smaller smartphone screens.

Budget Planning for New GEO Testing

Pop traffic quickly generates millions of cheap clicks. However, it can consume your budget just as fast. Before launching campaigns through ad networks, determine how much money you want to allocate to testing.

How to Calculate Your Initial Pop Ads Testing Budget

You can start by considering the CPA cost, the target lead price (CPL model), and the registration fee. We recommend multiplying the conversion payout by 3–5 and the number of visuals to determine the price per test. $20–50 on testing in Tier-2 countries and $100–200 on Tier-1 countries should be sufficient.

Minimum Data Volume for Informed Decisions

To evaluate the first results, the pops test should run for at least a day. You can get misleading data if you only test for a couple of hours. For more detailed analytics, run your test for 7–14 days and aim to collect at least 10,000 impressions. You should also aim for 100–200 clicks. The minimum is 50–100 per option.

Campaign Setup for New GEOs

We have already compiled a guide for advertisers who want to launch popunders. Below, you’ll find the most important facts for launching in new regions.

Offer Selection

The selection of offers should be based on themes and visuals that are already popular in the region. We do not recommend launching just a single test landing page. It’s better to go for split testing. You can create multiple campaigns at Kadam to do this.

Testing Combinations

Your combination is the landing page + the offer. Examine the performance of the various modifications. If the combination works, connect retargeting and scale lead generation.

Bid Optimization and Auto-Rules

Set the bid in your Kadam account just a bit higher than the suggested minimum for a country. If traffic is low, raise the bid by 10–20 % when you analyze it. If traffic spends your budget too fast, lower the bid.

It’s advisable to use external trackers and complex auto rules. Also, there are third-party spy tools to analyze competitor ads. This will help you identify which landings are currently ranking highly in the selected GEO.

Stop Criteria and Scaling Conditions

Metrics must be the basis for both stopping and developing a campaign. Don’t hope for sudden improvement and avoid the fear of missing out. It is better to stop than to overspend.

When to Stop Testing Based on CR and CTR

It’s typical for pop traffic to have a CTR of almost 100 % (due to automatic opening) and a modest CR (typically 3 to 8 %). For better analysis, look at eCPM. The higher it is, the more profitable the campaign.

Reasons to stop include:

Conversion rate below 0.5–1%.
Suspicion of fraud (bots, clickers).
Negative ROI.
Low eCPM or a lack of leads.

When to Move to Campaign Scaling

The signal to develop is when you have found a profitable combination, recorded a stable CR for 2–3 days, seen an influx of leads, and made a profit (an ROI above 0 %).

Risk Management and Quality Control

Though Kadam fights fraud with a multifactor quality control mechanism, the advertiser using affiliate marketing must independently minimize risks in new GEOs with international traffic and iGaming traffic.

Anti-Detect Tools and Proxy Usage

Use anti-detect browsers with high-quality residential proxies of the desired region to see how your landing page looks to the user.

FAQ

How do I calculate the budget for testing new GEOs in pop ads?

It’s okay to base it on CPA, CPL, and CPI arbitrage bids, or the cost of a registration or a click. Multiply the payout per conversion by 3–5 and then by the number of creatives to measure the test cost.

How much data is needed to make a decision on a new GEO?

Run the test for at least 7–14 days, aiming to collect 10,000 impressions and 50–100 clicks. Allow at least 24 hours for initial analysis.

Which metrics determine when to stop a test?

The metrics that indicate a need to stop the pop test are CR (below 0.5–1 %), ROI (negative or below –50 %), eCPM (low), and CPL (too high).

How can I adapt a campaign if performance is weak in a new GEO?

Increase your CPM to buy high-quality traffic. Check the website’s loading speed through proxies. Test different visuals and consider using partner marketing.