How to Promote Telegram Channels and Bots with HilltopAds: Recommended Campaign Settings

Step 1. Choose the Right Ad Format

Mobile Popunder

All HilltopAds managers recommend using mobile Popunder as the main format for Telegram promotion.

Based on Telegram’s design and usage patterns, Telegram traffic is mostly mobile-driven. So, you don’t need display creatives; send users straight to your product. Your destination URL in that case would be a direct Telegram link (https://t.me/yourchannel or https://t.me/yourbot)

We recommend starting with direct Telegram links. Check that users can reach your channel or bot from the browsers and operating systems you plan to target.

Step 2. Choose Your Bidding Model

For Telegram promotion you can choose between CPM and CPM Goal.

CPM

With CPM you pay for traffic volume (for every thousand impressions, to be precise). To control performance, you can manage bids, targeting and auto-optimization rules.  

CPM is a good starting point if you are testing GEOs and audiences or do not have conversion tracking set up yet. For broad traffic, start with the minimal rates for your GEO. Adjust bids as you see performance data.

CPA Obiettivo

If you have conversion tracking set up with Postback, you can also use CPA Goal. It allows you to optimize around your target action.

CPA Goal works best when your goal is measurable, like getting a new subscriber or a bot start.

Define what counts as a conversion, and make sure this event is tracked correctly in HilltopAds. Are you not using any tracker yet? We have detailed guides on connecting the most popular ones to HilltopAds. Check out the guides (promocodes inside)!

Postback Setup: Guides and Tips for Trackers – Hilltopads blog

Tip: A click on a Telegram link is not the same as a completed subscription or bot start. Your tracking should tell these actions apart if you want to optimize for real user acquisition.

Step 3. Choose GEOs and Telegram Traffic Targeting

Your choice of target GEO depends on whether you are focusing on a Telegram-specific audience or running a larger-scale campaign.

Option A: Telegram-Specific Traffic

For Telegram campaigns, consider a broad range of geographic regions, as long as the audience aligns with your product. 

Please contact your manager to get access to the feature.

Option B: Broad Traffic

For broad campaigns, start with markets where Telegram is popular and your product is in demand.

Consider the following regions for testing:

– CIS countries;

– India;

– other geographic regions where your Telegram channel or bot has an appropriate audience.

If your channel targets a specific language, focus on countries where that language is spoken and where your target audience can engage with your content.

Compare Both Approaches

Do not mix all traffic in one campaign. Set up two separate tests:

This comparison helps you see if higher costs for Telegram-related traffic lead to better acquisition results.

Dai un'occhiata al nostro articolo sulle alternative a TrafficStars:

Alternative di TrafficStars nel 2026: 10 reti pubblicitarie confrontate

Step 4. Technical Targeting

Configuring technical parameters is essential if we want users to open your product in a mobile app.

Devices & OS:

Start with mobile traffic and run Android and iOS versions separately.

Splitting by operating system helps you see differences in traffic costs, app-opening behavior, and conversion rates.

Later, once your first data for optimization, you can check OS versions. For a focused test, you can also target the latest two or three OS versions separately.

Browser

There are two main approaches to browser targeting.

Focused browser targeting:

• Android: Chrome
• iOS: Safari, Chrome, Google Search App

Broad browser targeting:

• All browsers, with performance analyzed after collecting initial data

While focusing on specific browsers gives you more control at first, broader browser targeting can help you discover new converting opportunities.

Targeting Linguistico

Remember to match your target language with the language of your Telegram product.

Ad esempio:

If your channel or bot is multilingual, test each language separately if you can.

Proxy and WebView Traffic

There are different ways to handle Proxy e Traffico WebView.

Some recommend turning off Proxy and WebView traffic for your first test. Others suggest keeping them on to see if they bring extra results.

The best way is to test Proxy and WebView traffic separately so you can compare results.

• Mobile connection
• Broadband / Wi-Fi connection

This helps you see if connection type affects Telegram opens and conversions.

Step 5. Frequency Capping

This setting limits how often a unique user sees your ads. We recommend starting with the standard 1/24 – which means 1 impression per user every 24 hours.

After you have enough data, try a frequency cap of 1/12 and compare your conversion costs.

Do not assume that showing ads more often will always bring more subscribers. Check if the extra spend leads to more completed actions.

Step 6. Define Your Testing Budget

Your recommended budget depends on how many GEOs you test, your targeting, and the size of your test. Our managers suggest the following ranges:

For example, if you test one GEO with Android and iOS in separate campaigns, split your budget between them instead of giving each the full amount.

If you test several GEOs at once, plan your total spend to cover all of them.

Remember, your test budget is for collecting enough data to judge traffic quality and acquisition costs. It does not guarantee a set number of subscribers or bot starts.

Step 7. Configure Auto-Optimization Rules

Ottimizzazione automatica helps you avoid extra spending by finding zones that do not bring results.

For Telegram promotion, use an eCPA-based rule.

Recommended Auto Rule

Condition:

• Zone spends your target CPA x2,5
• Conversions <1

Action:

• add the zone to blacklist

For example if you plan to pay $2 per bot start, you can turn off a zone after it’s spent 4-5 with no conversion. That’s your starting threshold; you’ll obviously need to adjust it based on your conversion volume and the reliability of your tracking.

Keep in mind: Not every user acts right after seeing an ad. Some users may open Telegram and subscribe later, or your conversion may be tracked with a delay. Before using strict auto-rules, make sure your evaluation window gives time for delayed conversions. Otherwise, you might turn off zones that could still bring conversions.

Step 8. Track the Right Conversions

This is a key difference between Telegram promotion and standard website campaigns.

For a Telegram channel, your desired action might be:

• A new channel subscriber
• A qualified subscriber who remains active

For a Telegram bot, you might track:

• A user starting the bot
• A completed onboarding step
• Another meaningful in-bot action

A direct Telegram link does not automatically send subscription or bot-start data to HilltopAds.

You need to set up a tracker that links a Telegram action to an ad click and forwards the conversion data back via a postback. If this is not feasible (meaning you cannot track actual subscriptions or every bot start), you will have to use a CPM model and analyze engagement and audience acquisition metrics instead. Just be sure not to count link clicks as conversions.