Cheaper CPI, worse users
15.1% → 9.9% day-one retention
Sample1 DSP campaign, gaming app
On a DSP campaign for a gaming app, CPI fell from $4.74 to $1.66 and I didn't call it a win, because day-one retention fell from 15.1% to 9.9%.
Performance marketing · User acquisition
Paid acquisition that pays back.
I'm Jan Nafta. I buy paid traffic on Meta, Google, TikTok, Apple Ads, programmatic DSPs and ad networks, and I judge every campaign on backend revenue instead of platform-reported conversions.
Channels I buy and measure
- Meta Ads
- Google Ads
- TikTok Ads
- Apple Ads
- Moloco
- PropellerAds
- ExoClick
- AppsFlyer
- Conversions API
Services
One buyer across walled gardens, DSPs and ad networks
I plan, buy and measure the campaigns myself, and I build the tracking and the creative in-house with AI, so testing doesn't wait on a design queue.
Channels
- Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)Account structure, creative testing and Conversions API for apps, ecommerce, lead gen and gaming, judged on backend results.
- Google Ads: Search, Performance Max and App campaignsSearch, Performance Max and App campaigns bidding on clean conversion signals, with one primary action per goal.
- TikTok AdsApp install, app event and web conversion campaigns set up from zero, with pixel, Events API and MMP wired before the first dollar.
- Apple Ads (Apple Search Ads)Keyword structure, bid caps from your unit economics, Custom Product Pages and attribution that actually reaches your analytics.
- Programmatic and DSP buyingMobile programmatic on Moloco and other DSPs, with bundle-level whitelists, creative rotation and cohort quality checks.
- Native, push and pop trafficPropellerAds, ExoClick and other networks bought at zone level, with tracker postbacks, zone blacklists and fraud filters.
By business model
- Mobile app user acquisitionInstalls that turn into payers. Multi-network UA for iOS and Android apps, planned around payback instead of CPI.
- iGaming player acquisitionCasino and sportsbook acquisition optimized to first deposits and payback, within each platform's gambling policy and each market's licensing rules.
- Affiliate and performance trafficCPA, CPI and CPL buying for affiliates and performance networks, with tracker discipline and unit economics per offer.
Measurement and creative
- Tracking and measurement (MMP, Conversions API, server-side)Make the numbers trustworthy before buying more: MMP, Conversions API, server-side events, SKAN and backend reconciliation.
- AI creative production (banners and video ads)Banners, UGC-style and motion video ads produced with AI, sized for every placement and checked against platform policies before launch.
Who I work with
Teams that need installs, deposits or sales that pay back
Usually teams spending around $10K a month on ads or more, with a decision-maker who wants the real numbers.
Four seats
I've bought traffic from both sides of the table
Ad network, ad-tech company, independent consultant and in-house advertiser. Each seat shows you a different way the numbers can lie.
- 2019 to 2021
Ad networks
Push and pop buying at one ad network, programmatic and RTB buying at another.
- 2021 to 2024
Ad-tech company
Programmatic campaigns for iGaming, crypto and telco advertisers.
- 2025 to today
Independent consultant
DSP campaigns for a gaming app publisher and UA consulting for app publishers.
- 2026 to today
In-house advertiser
Paid media for regulated online casino and sportsbook brands.
How I work
Five rules I don't break
They sound obvious. They are also the first rules to go when a launch is running late.
Receipts
Numbers with their denominator
Clients stay anonymous. The numbers keep their sample size and their caveats, including the ones that make me look less impressive.
Kill rule
0 new depositors
Sample1 search offer test, stop rule written before launch
I wrote the kill rule before launch. We killed the search offer test at zero new depositors while the platform rated it the account's best cost per conversion.
Conversions API
99.35% events filtered
Window48 hours, all server events
Traced under-firing Conversions API events to a destination trigger that filtered 99.35% of server events over 48 hours. Removing it restored delivery the same day, and the fix went to the sister brands.
Lo-fi vs polished
$9 vs $21 CPI
Sample86 installs, about $865 of spend
For a mobile game, the lo-fi UGC-style concept took 81 of 86 installs at about $9 each, against about $21 for the polished one, on about $865 of spend. Meta pushed most of the budget to the lo-fi one, so the fair comparison is CPI, not volume, and 5 installs on the losing side is a small sample. The client's buyer ran the account. I produced both concepts with AI and read the results.
How to start
A free 30-minute diagnostic
Before you change agency, add a channel or raise budget, get a second opinion from someone who buys the traffic himself.
Apply in three minutes
Tell me about your spend, channels and goal. The form is the whole process.
I prepare a pre-read
Built with AI agents from public data and checked line by line by me. You get it as a short PDF or a narrated video.
We talk for 30 minutes
The three biggest opportunities I see, what I would test first and the stop rule for each test.
Insights
Free, practical and specific
Worksheets and checklists from the buy side. No gated PDFs.
8 min read
How much can a subscription app pay per install on Apple Ads?
A breakeven worksheet for Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads): maximum CPI, maximum cost per tap and the four campaign types I start with. The examples come from my own iOS apps, which I use as a lab.
Read9 min read
Meta says 23, the backend says 4: how I reconcile ad platforms with real revenue
A working checklist for putting Meta Ads, Google Ads and MMP numbers next to backend data, with the tracking faults I have actually found.
ReadFAQ
Questions people ask first
What does Jan Nafta do?
I'm a performance marketing and user acquisition consultant. I buy paid traffic on Meta, Google, TikTok, Apple Ads, programmatic DSPs such as Moloco and ad networks such as PropellerAds and ExoClick, set up the tracking and produce AI creative. Every campaign is judged on backend revenue.
Who do you work with?
App publishers and subscription apps, mobile games, licensed iGaming operators and their affiliates, ecommerce and lead generation brands, and agencies or in-house teams that need a senior buyer for programmatic, ad networks or tracking.
Is there a minimum budget?
Most of the teams I work with spend around $10K a month on ads or more, or have a funded plan to get there. If you spend less, apply for the diagnostic anyway. I'll tell you honestly if a monthly engagement doesn't make sense yet.
Where are you based?
Dubai, UAE. I work in English with teams worldwide.
How do we start?
With a free 30-minute diagnostic. You fill in a short form, I prepare a pre-read from public data, and we go through the three biggest opportunities on a call.
How many clients do you take on?
One or two new clients a month.
Free · 30 minutes
Spending $10K a month or more and not sure the numbers are true?
Send me the basics. You get a pre-read and 30 minutes on the three biggest opportunities, free.
