Discover Pop-Under and Monetize Traffic Better

Pops, pop-unders, one-click, click-under or any other combination of the words “click“, “pop“ and “under“ describe an ad format when ad pops in a new tab below the main browser window.

The simplicity of this format allowed it to seep into all corners of the Internet, so that almost every website can be connected to an advertising network that sells pop traffic.

At least once you have seen these ads of harmless antiviruses or offers to win the latest iPhone. Despite the seeming simplicity, pop-unders been popular ever since 2010 and keep bringing traffic to advertisers and profit to affiliate marketers.

Unlike pop-ups, which fell out of favor with Google (Chrome blocks pop-ups by default) pop-under is still thriving.

Today, pop-under ad impressions is measured in billions per month, and advertising networks provide unique offers and features for those who want to purchase this time-tested format. In most cases, you will find own anti-fraud systems and also features for budget and campaign optimization. There are also much more advanced features like interest targeting from Kadam https://go.sv/W1Z2J4 advertising network, which allows you to target an interested audience and get the most targeted clicks. 

Suitable offer verticals 

Advertisers (in our case, affiliates) use pop-under to advertise a variety of offers, however, the following verticals show the best results:

Dating — this vertical shows consistent performance when you drive traffic to a single offer or use a smartlink. This is relevant both for mobile and desktop traffic. Due to the low cost per click, you can purchase large volumes and get a modest but stable ROI if you spend a lot.

Sweeptakes. Any sort will do. You will find dozens of case studies on pop-under plus sweepstakes regardless of GEO and offer — cheap clicks and huge audience reach — a combination that has proven its worth more than once. 

Sports betting is a vertical that demands high quality of traffic, but brings a lot of money if you optimize your approaches, monitor sports events, and use them in creatives and landing pages. 

E-commerce — shopping on the Internet is the new black, and there are more and more marketplaces and affiliate programs that cater to this need. Pay attention to season-specific products and hot (in every sense) offers.

Installations — the vertical has been around for years, and new offers appear every day because new applications and software enter the market and need to be promoted. Pop-under will bring you a huge amount of mobile traffic.

Subscriptions vertical includes mobile content or push notifications, in recent years this vertical has seen its ups and downs, but still yields good results. Make sure to study the legislation of your target GEO, and when using push notifications — better segment desktop and mobile traffic. 

With pop-under, you can run campaigns within almost any vertical, but you should remember that you will have to optimize as you go unless you want to lose it all. 

Advantages and disadvantages 

The advantages of pop-under advertising: 

Reach. You can find pop-under ads anywhere on the Internet, and advertising networks can supply you with millions of impressions. 

Flexibility. With advertising networks, you can launch campaigns for different verticals with a more relaxed approval process, compared to social networks.
Simplicity — you don’t need hundreds of bank cards, accounts, and proxies to purchase pop-under ads. It is enough to register in one advertising network and launch campaigns from one cabinet. 

No creatives — means that you can get rid of one of the most unpredictable elements of the funnel and make your life much easier. 

Cost per click. The numbers speak for themselves. Let’s compare CPC on Facebook and Kadam advertising network 

Of course, you should remember that you will be buying more clicks with an advertising network. 

And here are the disadvantages of the format: 

Advertising networks can have bot traffic. The share of bots varies depending on how well the network monitors the quality of traffic. 

The need for manual optimization. This does not mean that you will have to manually sort through all the ad placements. Use a tracker and features such as Target CPA from Kadam, and will make campaign optimization much easier. 

Ad blocks — although pop-under is not blocked by Google Chrome by default, it is still worth considering that some of the ads will not be shown to the audience due to the use of ad blocks (but, there will be no blockers in Chrome after 2023). 

Pop-under is harder to notice on mobile devices. This happens because the way we use a smartphone browser is strikingly different from the way we surf on a PC. 

Best practices 

Since pop-under is a time-tested format, there is a lot of accumulated wisdom that you should not neglect. 

1. Never change two variables in one campaign, so you can get representative statistics and understand which settings affect the result.
2. Use a tracker. Without a tracker, you will not be able to quickly retrieve the campaign data and detailed statistics, all that and in a convenient form. 
3. Use smartlinks. Affiliate networks have developed smartlinks specifically for voluminous traffic sources. They will help you run a quick test of the funnel with the selected Placement and Offer, since one of the variables (the offer) will stay unchanged. Also, with a smartlink you will spend less time on compiling a black list.
4. Use a black list. It is difficult to overestimate the importance and benefits of blacklisting websites. 
5. Don’t rotate your landers. Use one lander per ad campaign, so you can get representative data. 
6. Set frequency capping. The number of impressions per user is just as important as the quality of content.
7. Ask questions. Although you need to figure out most of the really important things yourself, this does not mean that no one will help you. Don’t be afraid to contact your affiliate manager to learn more about working with the network. At Kadam, managers are not only ready to help with setting up an advertising campaign, but they will also suggest the best offers for your goals.
8. Convert everything into money. Affiliate networks did not just come up with EPC, and marketers like to discuss the spend and not the ROI (simply because it is better to spend $100K with a ROI of 10% than $50 with a ROI of 200%). So make sure to calculate everything from the very beginning, preferably in dollars.
9. Lose your prejudices. Yes, everyone is running gambling campaigns on Facebook, but does this mean that you need to do the same? 

One could go on and on naming the pros and cons of pop-unders. It’s unwise to discard a traffic source that has been around for many years simply because it has had its downs. Launching your first pop-under campaign is easy — it will take a mere 10 clicks in an advertising network such as Kadam. 

* According to AdCostly