A major issue I've been having with running mobile gaming app installs is that the pixel usually fires upon user opening the app, rather than download. Often times the user will not open the game they've downloaded until two or three days later.
So what I have been seeing is VERY common is to run 1000-5000 clicks on day 1, get 2 or 3 leads and have shit EPC. At this point I usually pause the campaign because it is in the red big time.
Then residual conversions come in for the next few days as users get around to opening the app. Around day 3 or day 4 I find out that my test run was actually profitable.
So my question -- is there any way to get around running these apps "blind"? I do not want to wait 3-4 days to figure out whether my campaigns are in the black or not.
I'd just like to add I'm not certain whether the pixel fire is actually on the app open, but its definitely on something deeper in the conversion funnel than the download.
I think the pixel is placed when the app is first opened , that's why the big delay in pixels firing.
There is no perfect way to do this. I would test it for a couple days and pause for a week.
If profitable keep running based on those numbers.
I know it's tough , but it might be a positive since competition will have the same problems.
I usually will spend a few hundred one day on the campaign and take a look at it in 24 hrs and decide if I should continue or not. I generally don't see very many leads come in after 24 hrs usually not enough to change my mind on continuing to run the campaign. But I haven't found a way around it because the total delay time varies depending on the app.
This is just the way most app installs work. It also has a lot to do with what 3rd party tracker the game advertiser uses, some are set up for a 3 hour cookie and some a 7 day cookie. I would suggest asking about each camping before testing it.