FTD is an important point, but not the final
The top of the funnel is convenient to count: clicks, registrations, first deposits. But two sources with the same cost of FTDs can lead audiences with vastly different behaviors after the first action.
For CPA, this is important because of quality and validation. For RevShare, it directly affects subsequent revenue. For Hybrid, it affects both parts of the economy.
What indicators help us to see the quality further
| Indicator | What gives? |
|---|---|
| Repeat Deposit/Repeat Activity | It shows if the user is returning. |
| Retention on the selected day or period | Comparison of cohorts of the same age |
| NGR by cohort | Links quality to the RevShare economy |
| Approval rate | Shows what percentage of primary actions are confirmed |
| LTV | It helps to estimate a long horizon if the data is sufficient. |
There is no universal “good” norm: indicators vary by product, GEO, source, and follow-up period.
Why You Can't Compare Old and New Audiences
The cohort of January lived for eight months, and the cohort of August for a week. If you compare their accumulated income, the old one will almost always look stronger. Therefore, retention and LTV are compared at the same age of the cohort: for example, the first 7, 30 or 60 days.
This removes some of the distortion and reveals whether the quality has changed.
What can a partner do with retention?
Affiliate does not control the entire product, but can influence the audience. The source, message, and wait-to-click determine who exactly comes.
If the creative promises one thing and the product delivers another, the top of the funnel may be strong and the further quality weak. Therefore, it is useful to associate retention not only with GEO, but also with creativity and site.
Example of solution
Let’s say Source A produces a cheaper FTD, but after 30 days, its cohort is noticeably weaker than Source B in terms of the quality metric available to you. This does not mean that A should be turned off automatically. You need to recalculate the payment model and understand what is more important for the current offer.
On a CPA, a short horizon may be sufficient if the actions are confirmed and the economy is positive. On RevShare, long-distance behavior becomes much more important.
What to request from the affiliate program
- available cohort reports;
- definition of NGR;
- FTD Confirmation Rules;
- calculation period;
- Possibility of subID segmentation;
- Reactivity data, if available to the partner.
Conclusion
Retention is not for the sake of good analytics. It helps to avoid accepting a cheap first deposit for quality traffic. To continue, look. cohort analysis and RevShare/NGR.
