What is incent traffic?
Incent traffic — or incentivised traffic — refers to the practice of obtaining a specific action from a user in exchange for a reward. In mobile app promotion, these rewards are usually virtual: unlocking content, or earning in-game currency in another app.
The result: the user who installed your app via an incent campaign was not interested in your offer, your product, or your communication. They did it to earn virtual coins. Your app was a tool, not a destination.
Unsurprisingly, users acquired through incent campaigns are of much lower quality than those acquired through standard campaigns. Incentivised installs have low loyalty, conversion, and retention rates. Regardless of your app's business model, the LTV of such a user is extremely low and rarely exceeds the cost of acquisition.
Fast, cheap, and at scale — when incent traffic makes sense
Incent installs are cheaper and allow you to reach large volumes quickly. In specific situations, this can be genuinely useful:
- App store ranking boosts: In a short time and at relatively low cost, you can generate a large number of installs. The installs themselves have little value — but a high ranking position drives organic growth, which is the most valuable kind.
- Building data sets: Incent traffic is a potentially cost-effective tool for building user databases, as an alternative to older "win an iPhone" mechanics. If you're comfortable with a database of users who shared their data in exchange for virtual rewards, this type of acquisition is worth considering.
- Testing audience fit: If part of your target audience consists of heavy consumers of virtual goods, it may be worth testing incent user acquisition. If the low price compensates for lower performance, use the channel.
Warning: Fraud
Used consciously as part of a user acquisition strategy, incent traffic can be effective. Unfortunately, it far more often appears in campaigns as abuse — without the advertiser's knowledge.
Awareness of how widespread this is remains low. Many briefs and proposals don't distinguish between incent and non-incent installs. Some providers exploit this by artificially lowering CPI through increased incent traffic in the media plan. Marketers, driven by price, choose offers that have no chance of delivering any ROAS.
The solution is simple: explicitly distinguish incentivised installs from standard ones in briefs, strategies, and contracts. Without this distinction, you're exposed to fraud and stripped of the grounds to challenge it.
To incent or not to incent
There's no reason to demonise incent traffic outright. It may well have a place in your app promotion strategy. The key is to know the pros and cons, buy consciously, and not limit your quality assessment to basic media metrics.
