Advertisers / Customer acquisition
Customers at a cost you agree in advance.
Outcome-based pricing turns acquisition from a bet on media into a purchase of results. You decide what a customer is worth — the network works to deliver it.
Growth without guessing.
Traditional media buying asks you to pay for attention and hope it converts. Performance acquisition flips that: you agree the event you value, the price you'll pay for it and how it will be measured — then pay when it happens.
That doesn't remove the work. It moves it to the right places: choosing the right event, pricing it so partners want to promote it, and improving the funnel so more of the traffic converts.
- Agreed conversion definitions
- Payouts set per model and market
- Source-level reporting
- Continuous optimization
The numbers that matter
Measure acquisition by what it returns.
- CPACost per acquisition
spend ÷ conversionsWhat each agreed outcome costs. On outcome-based models, this is close to the payout itself.
- CACCustomer acquisition cost
total acquisition cost ÷ new customersThe full cost of a paying customer, including non-media costs. Compare it with lifetime value.
- LTVLifetime value
Σ margin per customer over timeWhat a customer is worth over the relationship. It sets the ceiling for what you can pay to acquire them.
- ROASReturn on ad spend
attributed revenue ÷ spendRevenue per unit of spend, tracked by cohort so late revenue isn't ignored.
How acquisition is structured.
- Value: Work out what an outcome is worth to you, using your own margins and retention.
- Event: Pick the event that best predicts value and happens quickly enough to optimize.
- Price: Set a payout that gives partners a competitive earnings per click.
- Learn: Run a learning phase across sources and measure by cohort.
- Scale: Grow what converts; pause what doesn't; revisit payouts with evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Is performance acquisition cheaper than media buying?
Not automatically. It makes costs predictable per outcome and shifts risk, but the price of an outcome still depends on your market, funnel and payout.
What if my conversion event takes weeks to happen?
Use an earlier event that predicts it — for example registration or first transaction — and measure the deeper outcome by cohort alongside.
Can I combine models?
Yes. Many advertisers use CPI to learn and CPA on proven sources, or CPL for high-intent traffic alongside CPS.
Next steps