What is Incentivised Traffic? Use Cases & Metrics from one of the biggest incentivised platforms for app publishers

Incentivised traffic, also known as rewarded traffic, is taking over the mobile app market. To put it simply, it refers to the use of rewards and incentives to acquire and retain new users, as traditional methods become less and less effective.

At Almedia, we are engineering the future of UA, and have built our credibility through the knowledge that a user’s time and attention is harder to come by than ever. Thus, we use incentivised traffic to both drive initial traffic and encourage retention through genuine engagement.

What is Incentivised Traffic?

Incentivised traffic refers to rewarding users when they complete in-game actions, from leveling up to unlocking new cosmetics. Incentivised traffic has taken off enormously in recent years, so we crunched some numbers to find out why.

We studied 1000 users acquired by Almedia and compared them to Google, and the results showed just why incentivised traffic is on the rise.

Our Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) was over double that of Google, and Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was up 158%. This shows the far higher value of incentive users in the long term. Traditional traffic driving methods are struggling to keep up with the momentum of incentivised traffic, and at Almedia, we look forward to continuing to revolutionise the advertising technology landscape.

Incentivised Traffic: A Brief History

This isn’t a new concept - back in the day savvy developers used incentivised traffic to easily jump up to the top of the Apple App Store charts. This wasn’t hugely popular with Apple and other platform holders, leading to 15 years of consistent alterations to how app discovery works on these storefronts. Throughout these changes, incentivised traffic has persisted and evolved.

When iOS 14 was launched, we saw one of the biggest twists to incentivised traffic: the option for users to block the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) on an app level. Couple this with the long-lasting impacts of the pandemic and the games industry’s turbulent economic situation in recent years, and it led to a much-needed diversification of mobile developers’ UA strategy.

Technical innovation has had to keep up with these changes. Gone are the days of crude offer walls - incentivised traffic has shifted towards sophisticated reward structures, transparent systems, and genuine, cash-driven value.

The Current State of Incentivised Traffic in Mobile Gaming

Incentivised traffic is in a hugely exciting place, both from a developer and player perspective. We carried out a two-part study to determine the impact and future potential of incentivised traffic, and both the mobile gaming industry and the gamers on the receiving end of the incentives showcased highly positive sentiment.

Among 502 mobile developers we surveyed, 94% feel positive about incentive-based UA, and of those who have run reward-based campaigns, 95% say it delivered their game a competitive advantage over rivals.

Players showed similar levels of positivity, with 76.3% of players reporting that incentivised gaming encourages them to play for longer.

These are some of the main reasons we’re seeing traditional advertising channels lose their foothold in the sector, with 7 of the top 20 UA channels now being incentivised in 2024, up from 4 in 2023.

Incentivised Traffic In The Real World

You don’t just have to take our word for this, either. Our clients have seen significant success in each of their unique, challenging situations thanks to our strategic approach to UA and rewards.

We worked with Playtika and Innplay Labs to set them apart from the competition, delivering results in excess of expectation:

• 100,000+ installs in August 2024 alone

• D30 user retention 70% higher than industry benchmarks

• Almedia became the Innplay Labs’ biggest rewarded channel

These results showcase the high-intent users Almedia is able to bring in through incentivised traffic, and demonstrates the strong long-term value that can be gained by using this method.

Implementation Strategies for Incentivised UA

It’s easy to look at the results that can be gained by incentivising users, but it’s more challenging to implement it in your own marketing mix. When it comes to adding rewarded UA, it isn’t as easy as just plugging in some numbers and watching the profit pile up.

To make the most of incentivised traffic and cultivate user loyalty within your ecosystem, you need to:

• Share exhaustive event data with your UA partner. The more Almedia has, the more we can construct deep, data-driven strategies and reward structures for your players

• Clearly define your goals. We can tailor our approach depending on specific targets for your game, from installs to in-app purchases

• Be prepared to experiment. In order to fully tailor our work to your company, it is important that your UA partner runs regular A/B testing to determine the ideal course of action in the long term

Incentivised traffic isn’t just a trend — it’s a fundamental shift in how mobile app marketing works. Users today expect more for their time, and the brands that recognize and respect that are the ones thriving. As we’ve seen across both our internal data and external client successes, incentivised traffic drives better retention, stronger monetization, and ultimately, deeper player loyalty.

At Almedia, we believe the future belongs to those who reward users not just for installing an app, but for truly engaging with it. We’re proud to be building the next generation of rewarded UA solutions — smarter, more data-driven, and focused on real, long-term value.

If you’re ready to rethink your UA strategy and maximize every player interaction, we’re ready to build it with you. Book your free consultation.