Scaling traffic often drains budgets while conversions stall and CPA keeps rising. This case study reveals how switching to Popunder Mobile + CPA Goal turned unstable traffic into 570 conversions at a $6.49 eCPA. Inside, you’ll see the exact setup, filters, and optimization tactics that made scaling finally work.
Getting traffic in France was not the hard part. Making that traffic work at scale was.
For this advertiser, standard CPM launches could drive clicks and volume, but they could not turn FR into a stable, scalable lead source. The market had potential, but the setup was too loose to scale cleanly.
That is why we switched the campaign to Popunder Mobile + CPA Goal. In this case study, we’ll break down how that move helped us identify stronger sources, filter out waste, and keep pushing volume at a lead cost the advertiser could still make work through deposits and rebills.
Let’s break it down step by step.
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Key Points
Offer: Non-mainstream live chats
GEO: France (FR)
Traffic: Non‑mainstream
Ad Format: Popunder Mobile
Campaign period: March 1-22 (22 days)
Average CPA: $6.49
Conversions: 570
Spend: $3,698.34
The Challenge
France was tricky for more than one reason, and the offer itself explains part of it. We were promoting a non-mainstream live-chat service, where users connect with performers via video or text chat and typically pay through upfront deposits or per-minute billing. This vertical can monetize very well, but only when traffic costs stay in a workable range. Cheap volume is not enough here. What matters is whether the lead keeps making sense once the funnel moves deeper and deposits and rebills start doing their job.
The audience itself was worth the effort: France is a very digital market. As of early 2025, it had 63.4M internet users and 74.5M mobile connections, giving advertisers real scale in a mobile-first funnel. Economically, French consumers also support our models: households’ purchasing power grew (+2.6% in 2024) and savings rates remain high, signaling readiness for subscription and rebill funnels.
However, FR is a precision market. Competition is intense, and compliance expectations (tracking, privacy) are high. Any weak buying logic is exposed quickly. You can spend money fast in France. Spending it well is a different story.
That left the advertiser with two very practical problems:
CPM traffic fell short
Standard CPM pop campaigns could purchase traffic but couldn’t expand volume reliably without breaking the lead economics.
Need for stability
The advertiser needed a steady stream of leads. Even if an ideal front-end CPA wasn’t realistic at first, they required predictable acquisition costs that could be justified by deposits and rebills downstream.
Check out our recent guide on how to launch a successful eCommerce campaign:
The Solution: Why CPA Goal on HilltopAds
Once we recognized the pattern – volume was available, but scaling blew up the CPA – the answer was clear: we needed a model that optimizes for conversions, not just delivery.
That is exactly where CPA Goal made sense. It allows us to buy traffic on a CPM basis while focusing spend on converting zones. Instead of blindly splitting budget across all zones, CPA Goal uses conversion feedback to gradually filter out sources that aren’t producing viable leads.
Two practical factors made CPA Goal perfect for this FR launch:
Built for Popunder
CPA Goal runs inside Popunder campaigns, so we could maintain the speed and scale of Popunder Mobile without losing conversion-focused control.
Conversion feedback required
CPA Goal needs conversions passed via postback to work. Once our tracker started sending data back, the system began to learn which sources convert and shifted budget toward them.
This was not about buying more traffic. It was about finding the sources that could actually deliver leads in FR – and cutting everything that could not.
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Campaign Setup in HilltopAds
Before you can start your advertising campaign on HilltopAds, you’ll need to sign up as an advertiser. You can register through this link.
- Go to the Manage Campaigns section in your HilltopAds dashboard.
- Click the Add Campaign button.
- In the campaign creation form, select the Popunder Mobile ad format and choose CPA Goal as the campaign type.
- Then set the Conversion Cost Type to Static.
- In the Traffic Category section, pick Non-Mainstream.
We ran the campaign on CPA Goal because traffic volume alone was not the KPI. The advertiser needed leads at a cost that could still make sense deeper in the funnel. From there, we set the core control parameters for the launch, including frequency capping at 1 per 12 hours (1/12h). For FR, that was a practical way to reduce user fatigue and keep performance steadier as volume increased.
Before launch, make sure Postback is set up correctly. CPA Goal depends on conversion feedback, so without Postback the model cannot learn which sources are converting or shift budget toward them. To learn more, please check out our Full guide.
Next, we configured the campaign filters to improve traffic quality.
For this launch, we used the following settings:
- Proxy – Disallow
- WebView – Allow
We blocked proxy traffic to keep the audience cleaner and the France signal more reliable.At the same time, we allowed WebView traffic. For this type of funnel, WebView can unlock additional volume, so instead of excluding it upfront, we let CPA Goal evaluate that traffic based on actual conversion feedback.
After that, we moved to the main targeting settings.
We kept the campaign focused on France only. In an expensive and behavior-specific GEO like FR, mixing markets would have diluted the signal and slowed the learning process.
The core targeting settings were:
- GEO: France (FR)
- Target CPA (static): $4.8
We set a static target CPA of $4.8 for France. That gave the system a clear optimization benchmark while keeping the campaign aligned with a single GEO and a single core KPI.
The daily budget cap was set to $250/day. That gave us enough room to collect data and generate volume while still keeping the launch controlled during the learning phase.
The last key setup element was the optimization trigger.
We set the campaign to start optimization after 6 conversions.
This setting defined the rhythm of the launch, so it mattered more than it might seem at first glance. We intentionally chose 6 conversions as a middle ground: enough to avoid reacting to pure noise, but early enough to start protecting the budget before weak sources absorbed too much spend.
In a competitive GEO like FR, waiting too long to begin filtering can be more expensive than starting slightly earlier and fine-tuning as the signal grows.
Learning Phase and Optimization Trigger
CPA Goal doesn’t magically know what converts – it learns from data.
Before 6 conversions
The campaign is in data-collection mode. Traffic is being delivered, and any conversions are sent back via postback. This feedback is mandatory for the system to evaluate which placements convert and deserve more budget.
After 6 conversions
Optimization begins. Once the campaign crossed that threshold, CPA Goal analyzed performance by traffic zone against our target CPA and shifted budget toward higher-performing zones. In practice, this meant slowly pausing expensive placements and concentrating spend where conversions were cheaper.
Importantly, the campaign didn’t just enter optimization and flatline. Over March 1-22, we saw 570 conversions from 2,453,422 impressions at a $6.49 average eCPA. On the strongest days, the cost dropped into the mid-$4 to low-$5 range. The best day delivered 36 conversions at a $4.585 eCPA. This shows how, once fed enough data, the model locked onto stronger traffic pockets and kept the campaign moving forward.
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Results and Advertiser Economics
Here is what the campaign delivered over the March 1-22 launch window:
Total impressions: 2,453,422
Total conversions: 570
Average eCPA / lead cost: $6.49
Conversion rate (CR): 0.02323%
Total spend: $3,698.34
A quick note on target CPA vs. final eCPA
One point is worth clarifying: although the campaign was launched with a $4.8 target CPA, the final average eCPA came in higher, at $6.49.
This is not a contradiction. CPA Goal is not a strict CPA buying model. Its job is to push the campaign as close as possible to the target while still keeping volume and helping the system find working sources at scale. Some days and some zones will convert closer to the target, while others will come in above it — that is a normal part of how this kind of optimization works in live traffic conditions.
Just as importantly, this campaign was not judged on front-end CPA alone. For this advertiser, the offer monetized through deposits and recurring rebills, so the real business result sat deeper in the funnel. That is why an average eCPA above target could still make full business sense in this case.
Check out our recent interview with the COO of LosPollos on the latest affiliate marketing trends:
How the advertiser viewed the economics
Our advertiser’s benchmark was clear: leads in FR at around $6-7 were already a win, because earlier CPM launches had failed to scale this GEO at all.
Across the full launch window, we delivered leads at an average eCPA of $6.49, which stayed inside that workable range. That was the key business result. CPA Goal helped us do what manual optimization could not: find the sources that actually delivered leads and keep pushing volume there in a more systematic way.
Most importantly, the campaign’s profitability was never built on cheap leads alone. It was built on unit economics and LTV, with traffic paying back through deposits and recurring rebills.
Roman
Business Development Manager at HilltopAds
For this advertiser, the question was never just about getting the lowest possible lead price. The real question was whether France could produce a stable volume of leads at a cost that still worked on the back end. During this launch, we averaged $6.49 per lead in FR, which is a solid result for this kind of offer and this GEO. The payback comes from deposits and rebills, so what really matters is getting the right sources to convert consistently – and that is exactly where CPA Goal helped us.
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Why This Setup Worked Well in HilltopAds
This launch worked because we had enough control to test fast, enough automation to cut waste, and enough room to scale once the signal started coming in.
Traffic Control
We could shape the traffic environment around the offer instead of buying blind. Frequency capping, daily budget limits, proxy filtering, and WebView control all helped us keep the launch cleaner and more manageable in FR.
Conversion-Focused Optimization
CPA Goal let us optimize toward the outcome that actually mattered. Instead of simply accumulating impressions, we could use conversion feedback to decide which sources deserved more budget.
Faster Source Discovery
In a difficult GEO, source discovery is half the battle. Once the model had enough signal, it helped us narrow in on stronger traffic pockets without forcing us into constant manual zone reviews.
Better Day-to-Day Manageability
One of the biggest advantages of this setup was that it stayed manageable. We could watch eCPA behavior, control pacing, and make smart adjustments without spending all day cleaning up the campaign manually.
A Setup That Can Actually Scale
That was the real difference here. We did not just get traffic live in France – we built a setup that could test, learn, optimize, and keep going once the results started coming in.
We recommend checking out our other successful case studies on launching non-mainstream offers:
Conclusion
For this advertiser, France was the GEO that “didn’t want to scale” on standard CPM campaigns. CPA Goal on Popunder Mobile changed that. Over the March 1-22 launch, it delivered 570 conversions from 2,453,422 impressions at a $6.49 average eCPA – right inside the advertiser’s profitable $6-7 range for FR. By letting CPA Goal identify and stay on converting sources, we turned FR into a more stable lead channel and gave the advertiser a lead flow that still made sense once deposits and rebills came into play.
If you want to launch a similar CPA Goal campaign – especially in tough GEOs like France – create an advertiser account on HilltopAds and start with Popunder Mobile + CPA Goal. With the right caps, filters, and optimization trigger, a campaign like this can scale without turning into chaos.