Beyond Facebook and Google: 3 Emerging Channels Reshaping Mobile User Acquisition in 2025
Mobile user acquisition is evolving beyond traditional Facebook and Google Ads as marketers discover untapped growth in influencer partnerships, programmatic advertising, and offline-to-app campaigns. These emerging channels offer fresh audiences and often better cost efficiency, but they also present new attribution challenges that require sophisticated tracking solutions. Smart mobile marketers are already diversifying their acquisition mix to capture users from these high-potential sources.
The shift isn’t just happening… it’s accelerating. According to recent industry data, mobile commerce was projected to reach $3.56 trillion, representing nearly 73% of total e-commerce transactions. Furthermore, mobile marketers plan to increase spending on non-traditional channels expecting exponential growth in 2025, with influencer marketing leading the charge with a sharp growth of 22% Y-o-Y1.
But here’s the catch: while these channels promise fresh audiences and lower competition, they also break traditional attribution models in ways that can make your marketing team’s head spin.
Why Traditional UA Channels Are Hitting Their Limits
Let’s be honest, Facebook and Google Ads aren’t the goldmines they used to be. Competition has intensified dramatically, with mobile app install CPIs rising over 30% year-over-year across major verticals2. What used to cost $2 to acquire a user now easily runs $8–15, and that’s before factoring in lifetime value calculations.
iOS privacy changes have fundamentally altered the targeting landscape. Since iOS 14.5’s App Tracking Transparency rollout, precise audience targeting has become increasingly difficult. Marketers who once relied on detailed behavioural data now find themselves shooting in the dark, leading to higher acquisition costs and lower conversion rates.
Perhaps most importantly, market saturation has reached critical levels in core demographics. The average smartphone user sees 6,000–10,000 ads per day, creating banner blindness that makes traditional paid social and search increasingly ineffective3. This saturation has forced smart marketers to explore channels where their target audiences aren’t yet oversaturated with app install ads.
Influencer Marketing: The Creator Economy Goldmine for Apps
According to the global financial firm Goldman Sachs, the creator economy is expected to roughly double to $480 billion by 2027, up from about $250 billion in 2023, perfectly positioning mobile apps to capitalize. Unlike traditional advertising, influencer campaigns leverage authentic relationships and trusted voices, leading to higher-quality installs and better long-term retention rates.
Micro and nano-influencers (1K-100K followers) are driving particularly impressive results for app marketers. These creators typically charge $10–100 per 1,000 followers for promotional content, offering cost efficiencies that make traditional paid social look expensive. More importantly, their audiences are highly engaged… nano-influencers see engagement rates of 7–8% compared to 1–2% for mega-influencers5.
Creative Considerations for Influencer Campaigns
User-generated content consistently outperforms polished brand content in influencer campaigns. Apps that provide creators with flexible guidelines while encouraging authentic usage demonstrations see 3–4x higher install rates than those requiring strict brand compliance. The key is finding the sweet spot between brand safety and creative authenticity.
Video content reigns supreme across all influencer platforms. TikTok videos showcasing app features drive 6x more installs than static Instagram posts, while YouTube tutorials and reviews generate the highest lifetime value users. Smart app marketers are creating content libraries that influencers can adapt rather than requiring completely original content creation.
Mobile Attribution Challenges and Solutions
Here’s where things get tricky. Traditional attribution models break down when tracking influencer campaigns across multiple platforms and touchpoints. A user might discover your app through a TikTok video, research it on Instagram, and finally install after seeing a follow-up Instagram story creating a multi-touch journey that standard UTM parameters can’t capture.
Modern measurement solutions for influencer campaigns include:
Promo codes with post-install event tracking to measure true conversion value
Influencer-specific deep links that trigger custom attribution windows
Post-install surveys to capture qualitative attribution data
Cohort analysis comparing influencer-acquired users to other channels over 30–90 day periods
The most sophisticated app marketers are implementing attribution data strategies that track the complete user journey, from initial influencer exposure through long-term engagement metrics.
Programmatic Advertising: Automated Precision at Scale
Programmatic advertising has evolved far beyond basic display banners. Real-time bidding now spans video, audio, and emerging formats like connected TV (CTV) and digital out-of-home (DOOH), opening massive opportunities for mobile app marketers willing to embrace complexity.
Connected TV advertising represents the fastest-growing programmatic segment, with 87% of CTV inventory now sold programmatically6. For app marketers, this means reaching cord-cutters and younger demographics who’ve largely abandoned traditional television but still consume premium video content.
Digital out-of-home advertising has transformed from static billboards to dynamic, data-driven displays. Modern DOOH campaigns can trigger based on weather, time of day, local events, or even mobile location data, creating contextually relevant app install opportunities.
Creative Considerations for Programmatic Success
Dynamic creative optimization (DCO) is essential for programmatic success. Rather than creating single ad variants, winning campaigns use algorithmic testing of headlines, images, calls-to-action, and even app store screenshots to optimize for each placement and audience segment.
Video creative requires format-specific optimization. Six-second videos work best for pre-roll placements, while 15–30 second videos perform better in social feeds. The most successful programmatic video campaigns create 8–12 variations optimized for different placements, rather than forcing one creative across all inventory.
Attribution Complexity and Measurement Solutions
Programmatic attribution presents unique challenges because users often interact with multiple touchpoints across different demand-side platforms (DSPs) and publishers. A single user journey might include programmatic display exposure, a retargeting video ad, and a final conversion through a different network entirely.
Advanced measurement solutions include:
Server-to-server tracking that bypasses cookie limitations
Unified ID solutions like Trade Desk’s UID 2.0 for cross-device measurement
Incrementality testing using geo-holdout experiments
Viewability and attention metrics beyond simple click-through rates
Fraud detection and verification through third-party partners
The key is implementing mobile attribution tools that can handle complex, multi-partner ecosystems while maintaining measurement accuracy across all programmatic touchpoints.
Offline-to-App Campaigns: Bridging Physical and Digital
The most overlooked opportunity in mobile user acquisition might be the oldest: offline advertising that drives app downloads. QR codes, radio spots, event marketing, and even traditional print advertising are experiencing a renaissance as marketers seek untapped audiences.
QR code adoption skyrocketed during the pandemic and has maintained high usage rates, particularly among younger demographics7. Apps that integrate QR codes into outdoor advertising, product packaging, or event marketing are seeing acquisition costs 40–60% lower than traditional digital channels.
Radio advertising remains surprisingly effective for app promotion, particularly for targeting commuters and specific geographic markets. Radio spots combined with memorable vanity URLs or promo codes can drive significant app install volume at fraction of digital advertising costs.
Creative Considerations for Offline Campaigns
Clear calls-to-action are absolutely critical in offline advertising. Users need to immediately understand how to find and download your app, whether through QR codes, app store search terms, or memorable URLs. The most successful offline campaigns use multiple conversion paths to accommodate different user preferences.
Memorable brand moments trump complex messaging. Unlike digital ads where users can easily click for more information, offline advertising must communicate value propositions instantly. Simple, benefit-focused messaging with strong visual branding consistently outperforms feature-heavy approaches.
Measurement Strategies and Attribution Solutions
Offline attribution requires creative measurement approaches since traditional click-tracking doesn’t exist. Successful strategies include:
Time-based attribution windows that capture install spikes following radio or TV campaigns
Geofencing around billboards or events to track location-based app installs
Promo codes specific to offline campaigns for direct attribution
Brand survey attribution to capture offline influence on app discovery
Store visit attribution linking physical location visits to subsequent app installs
The most sophisticated measurement approaches combine multiple attribution methods to build comprehensive pictures of offline campaign performance, often revealing that offline advertising influences digital conversion paths in unexpected ways.
Attribution Nightmares: Why These Channels Break Traditional Tracking
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: emerging channels create attribution complexity that traditional mobile measurement partners (MMPs) struggle to handle. Multi-touch user journeys spanning influencer content, programmatic touchpoints, and offline exposures require measurement sophistication that many attribution tools simply can’t provide.
Deferred deep linking becomes essential when users discover your app through non-clickable channels like radio ads or influencer mentions. Users might hear about your app during their morning commute, remember it hours later, and finally download it that evening — creating attribution gaps that standard tracking can’t bridge.
Privacy-first measurement adds another layer of complexity. iOS 17’s enhanced privacy features and growing cookie restrictions mean that traditional attribution models relying on device IDs and cross-site tracking are becoming less reliable across all channels.
Real Attribution problems
Consider this common scenario: A user sees your app mentioned in a TikTok video (no click), later sees a programmatic video ad on YouTube (view-through), searches for your app after hearing a radio mention (offline influence), and finally installs after clicking an Instagram ad (last-click attribution). Traditional attribution would credit only the Instagram ad, completely missing the multi-channel journey that actually drove the conversion.
Programmatic fraud detection becomes exponentially more complex when campaigns span multiple DSPs and inventory sources. App marketers have reported discovering that a significant portion of their programmatic installs were fraudulent, but only after implementing sophisticated post-install behavioural analysis.
The Channel Maturity Timeline: When to Add Each Emerging Channel
Not all emerging channels are appropriate for every company stage. Strategic channel expansion should align with attribution capabilities, team resources, and risk tolerance. Here’s a practical roadmap:
Stage 1: Startup/Bootstrap ($0–50K monthly UA budget)
Focus: Organic growth + one paid channel + micro-influencer partnerships
Start with organic app store optimization and content marketing
Choose one traditional paid channel (usually Facebook or Google) to establish baseline attribution
Begin small-scale micro-influencer partnerships with clear promo code tracking
Budget allocation: 70% organic/content, 20% paid, 10% influencer testing
Stage 2: Scale-up ($50K-250K monthly UA budget)
Focus: Programmatic expansion + structured influencer program
Add programmatic display advertising with simple attribution models
Expand influencer program to include nano and micro-influencers across multiple platforms
Implement more sophisticated attribution tracking for multi-touch journeys
Budget allocation: 50% traditional paid, 30% programmatic, 15% influencer, 5% testing
Stage 3: Growth/Enterprise ($250K+ monthly UA budget)
Focus: Offline integration + advanced programmatic + scaled creator partnerships
Launch offline campaigns with comprehensive attribution frameworks
Expand programmatic to include CTV, audio, and DOOH
Develop creator partnership programs with performance incentives
Implement incrementality testing and advanced attribution models
Budget allocation: 40% traditional, 25% programmatic, 20% influencer, 15% offline/emerging
Risk Assessment Framework
Start with channels offering attribution confidence: Influencer campaigns with promo codes provide clearer measurement than programmatic view-through attribution. Offline campaigns should be the last addition due to measurement complexity.
Test incrementally with dedicated budgets rather than shifting money from proven channels. Emerging channel performance often looks worse initially due to learning curves and attribution gaps.
Building a Future-Ready Attribution Stack for Multi-Channel UA
Modern mobile measurement requires Attribution platforms that can handle complexity without sacrificing accuracy. The essential features for multi-channel attribution include:
Essential MMP Capabilities
Cross-platform tracking that maintains user identity across iOS and Android while respecting privacy requirements. This includes support for iOS SKAdNetwork 4.0, Android Install Referrer, and probabilistic matching for gaps in deterministic tracking.
Custom attribution models that go beyond last-click attribution. Data-driven attribution, time-decay models, and position-based attribution help distribute credit across complex user journeys spanning multiple channels and touchpoints.
Fraud protection becomes critical when expanding beyond traditional channels. Programmatic and influencer campaigns face different fraud vectors that require specialized detection algorithms.
Specific Attribution Models by Channel
Influencer campaigns benefit from first-touch attribution models that credit initial exposure, combined with post-install event tracking to measure true conversion value. Time-decay attribution works well for longer influencer partnership campaigns.
Programmatic advertising requires data-driven attribution that can weight view-through exposures appropriately. Incrementality testing through geo-holdouts provides the most accurate measurement for upper-funnel programmatic campaigns.
Offline campaigns need time-based attribution windows (typically 1–7 days) combined with brand survey attribution to capture indirect influence on digital conversion paths.
Implementation Roadmap
The technical requirements for comprehensive multi-channel attribution include server-to-server tracking infrastructure, custom event tracking beyond installs, and integration with offline measurement partners. Deferred deep linking becomes essential for bridging offline discovery to app installation.
Real-world measurement scenarios require attribution platforms that can handle users who interact with influencer content on TikTok, see programmatic ads on YouTube, hear radio mentions during commutes, and finally convert through app store search. This level of complexity demands measurement sophistication that traditional attribution tools struggle to provide.
Modern MMPs like Linkrunner handle these complex user journey scenarios through advanced attribution modeling that tracks user journeys across all touchpoints, providing marketers with accurate performance data regardless of channel complexity.
The Future of Mobile User Acquisition is Multi-Channel
The channel maturity timeline shows that diversifying beyond traditional channels isn’t just an opportunity, it’s a strategic necessity that should align with your company’s growth stage and attribution capabilities. With the right measurement infrastructure and creative approach for each channel, marketers can confidently invest in influencer partnerships, programmatic buys, and offline campaigns while maintaining clear visibility into performance and ROI.
The app marketers who succeed in 2025 and beyond will be those who embrace measurement complexity while maintaining focus on sustainable unit economics. Understanding the true cost of mobile attribution becomes essential when expanding into emerging channels that require sophisticated tracking capabilities.
Ready to expand beyond Facebook and Google? Start with the channel maturity framework that matches your current stage, implement proper attribution infrastructure, and test incrementally with dedicated budgets. The future of mobile user acquisition is multi-channel… and the future is now.
Footnotes:
[¹]: Mobile Marketing Trends 2025 https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/mobile-marketing-trends-in-2025-a-comprehensive-report
[²]: Mobile App Install Cost Increases
https://www.businessofapps.com/ads/cpi/research/cost-per-install/
[³]: Digital Advertising Exposure Statistics https://www.digitalsilk.com/digital-trends/how-many-ads-do-we-see-a-day/
[⁴]: Creator Economy Market Size https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/creator-economy-report/
[⁵]: Nano-Influencer Engagement Rates https://www.emarketer.com/content/tracking-impact-of-nano-micro-mid-tier-creators-audience-engagement
[⁶]: Connected TV Programmatic Growth https://www.statista.com/statistics/265808/connected-tv-programmatic-ad-spend-usa/
[⁷]: QR Code Adoption Growth https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/qr-code-adoption-rate
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Why Every Mobile App Business Needs an MMP Platform in 2025
In 2025, the mobile app ecosystem is more crowded, competitive, and data-driven than ever before. With millions of apps competing for user attention and marketing costs steadily rising, understanding where your users come from and what drives them to engage has become a critical business function.
Gone are the days when simply tracking installs was enough. To grow sustainably and optimize marketing performance, app businesses now need precision tools that go beyond vanity metrics. This is where a Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) platform like Linkrunner.io becomes not just helpful, but essential.
The Attribution Puzzle
The path a user takes before installing your app is often long and fragmented. One moment, they’re watching an Instagram Reel. Later, they’re Googling your brand. They might even hear about you in a WhatsApp group before finally downloading your app via a YouTube ad days later.
Without attribution technology, you have no way to connect the dots between these touchpoints. You don’t know what campaign influenced the install. You can’t measure which creative performed best. You’re spending money, but you’re blind to its effectiveness.
That’s where the power of an MMP comes in.
What Is an MMP Platform?
A Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) platform is a specialized analytics and attribution tool designed to track where app installs and in-app actions come from. It connects user activity back to your advertising sources (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, influencer links, and more) giving you a complete view of how marketing impacts real user behavior.
Platforms like Linkrunner.io provide a single, unified dashboard that aggregates, de-duplicates, and attributes all your marketing data in one place, saving you from manually reconciling metrics across fragmented platforms.
Six Reasons Why Every App Needs an MMP
1. Accurate Multi-Touch Attribution
Users don’t just click and install. They interact with your brand across multiple campaigns and channels. A good MMP can attribute credit to each of these touchpoints (whether it’s a last-click install or a multi-touch conversion journey) so you can understand the true cost and impact of your campaigns.
Without this accuracy, you risk pouring money into ineffective ads while underfunding high-performing ones.
2. Fraud Protection That Saves Real Money
Mobile ad fraud is a multibillion-dollar problem. Bots, spoofed installs, and click farms can quietly steal your ad dollars in the background. MMPs like Linkrunner use real-time fraud detection algorithms to flag and block suspicious activity, so you only pay for genuine users.
This alone can improve your ROI and give you more confidence in your ad spend.
3. Unified Data, Clear Insights
Most marketing teams juggle multiple dashboards: Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads, Firebase, and more. Each tells part of the story, but none give the full picture.
An MMP consolidates data from all platforms, aligning your metrics with user behavior inside the app. Instead of switching between tabs, you get a single source of truth that makes analysis faster and decision-making smarter.
4. Privacy-First by Design
Between GDPR, CCPA, and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT), mobile privacy has become a moving target. MMPs are built to help you stay compliant, by using probabilistic attribution when needed, honoring consent, and keeping you on the right side of platform policies.
Linkrunner.io adapts to privacy changes faster than in-house solutions, shielding your marketing efforts from policy disruptions.
5. ROI-Driven Campaign Optimization
Measuring installs is just the beginning. You need to know which campaigns lead to retention, engagement, and revenue.
An MMP enables this by connecting downstream events (like purchases, subscriptions, and user activity) to the original source. With this clarity, you can double down on high-performing channels and eliminate waste, turning guesswork into strategic optimization.
6. Automation That Scales With You
As your app grows, managing attribution manually becomes impossible. MMPs automate data collection, campaign tagging, and optimization, allowing your team to scale user acquisition without scaling complexity.
With tools like Linkrunner’s automated insights and AI-powered reporting, your team can focus on strategy and growth, not just data wrangling.
The Cost of Flying Blind
Choosing not to implement an MMP might seem like a way to save money, but the hidden costs quickly pile up:
Wasted Ad Spend: You may be spending up to 30% of your marketing budget on low-ROI sources and not even realize it.
Missed Growth Opportunities: Without performance visibility, you can’t double down on what works.
Falling Behind Competitors: In a market where data-driven decisions win, not having attribution insights puts you at a disadvantage.
In today’s mobile landscape, not using an MMP isn’t neutral, it’s risky.
What to Look for in a Modern MMP
If you’re considering integrating an MMP, here are the key factors to evaluate:
Cost Transparency: Traditional MMPs can be expensive, especially at scale. Linkrunner.io offers pricing up to 7x cheaper than legacy player (without sacrificing features).
Ease of Integration: Look for SDKs that are lightweight, well-documented, and easy to implement across iOS, Android, and web.
Analytics Depth: Choose a platform that goes beyond attribution. Linkrunner offers AI-driven insights to uncover trends, anomalies, and optimization opportunities automatically.
Support and SLAs: Attribution issues can happen, what matters is how fast your provider helps resolve them. Linkrunner’s support team is known for fast turnaround and proactive issue resolution.
Dashboard Usability: A powerful tool isn’t useful if your team can’t understand it. Intuitive dashboards drive adoption and make daily reporting painless.
Final Thoughts
In 2025, the question isn’t whether you should have an MMP. It’s which one will empower you to scale smarter, grow faster, and spend wiser.
As privacy rules tighten and user journeys grow more complex, platforms like Linkrunner.io offer a critical edge. By centralizing marketing data, defending against fraud, and illuminating the path from install to conversion, an MMP becomes the foundation of your mobile marketing strategy.
Make the switch now, and let your data start working for you.
The Critical Importance of Reliable Deferred Deep Linking for Modern Mobile Apps
In today’s competitive mobile landscape, providing a seamless user experience isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s essential for app growth and retention. One key technology that significantly impacts this experience is deferred deep linking.
While many app marketers are familiar with basic deep linking, the reliability of deferred deep linking can make or break a user’s first impression and ultimately affect conversion rates.
What Is Deferred Deep Linking?
Before diving into why reliability matters, let’s clarify what deferred deep linking actually is: Basic deep linking takes users directly to specific in-app content (rather than just opening the app’s home page) when they click a link — but only works if the app is already installed. Deferred deep linking extends this functionality by “remembering” the user’s intended destination even when they need to install the app first. After installation, the user is seamlessly directed to the specific content they were originally trying to access.
This seemingly simple technology is actually quite complex to implement correctly — and that’s where reliability becomes crucial.
Why Reliability Matters in Deferred Deep Linking
First Impressions Shape User Retention
Research shows that 25% of users abandon apps after just one use. When a new user clicks on a promotional link promising specific content (like a special offer, product, or feature) but ends up on a generic welcome screen instead, you’ve already failed your first impression test. Reliable deferred deep linking ensures the promised content is delivered, creating a positive first interaction.Conversion Rate Optimization
Marketing campaigns that utilize deferred deep linking correctly have shown conversion improvements of up to 2.5x compared to campaigns that don’t preserve context during the installation process. Each failed deep link represents a potential customer lost in the conversion funnel.Maintaining Marketing Attribution Data
Beyond just the user experience, unreliable deferred deep linking can break your attribution chain. Without proper implementation, you lose visibility into which campaigns are driving not just installations but actual in-app conversions and engagement — making ROI calculations nearly impossible.Complex Technical Challenges
Several factors can cause deferred deep linking to fail:
OS-specific limitations (iOS and Android handle deep linking differently)
Edge cases with various device manufacturers
Browser inconsistencies
Timing issues during app installation
Reliable solutions must account for all these variables.
The Hidden Costs of Unreliable Deep Linking
When deferred deep linking fails, it triggers a cascade of negative outcomes:
Wasted Ad Spend: You pay for clicks and installations, but lose the conversion because users can’t find what was advertised
Increased Support Costs: Confused users contact customer service when they can’t find promised content
Damaged Brand Perception: Users blame your app, not the linking technology
Skewed Analytics: Attribution data becomes unreliable, leading to poor marketing decisions
How to Ensure Reliable Deferred Deep Linking
Implementing reliable deferred deep linking requires:
Robust Technology: Choose an MMP with proven reliability in deferred deep linking across all device types, browsers, and edge cases
Thorough Testing: Test your deep links across multiple scenarios, devices, and user journeys
Fallback Strategies: Implement graceful fallbacks when deep linking fails for any reason
Monitoring: Track success rates and quickly identify any issues with specific campaigns or link types
Conclusion
In the mobile app ecosystem, the details matter. Reliable deferred deep linking might seem like a small technical consideration, but it significantly impacts user experience, conversion rates, and ultimately your bottom line. As you evaluate mobile measurement partners, prioritize those that can demonstrate consistently reliable deferred deep linking capabilities across all platforms and user scenarios.
By ensuring your users always arrive at their intended destination — even after installing your app — you’re not just improving a technical metric; you’re building trust from the very first interaction.
The True Cost of Mobile Attribution: Why Affordable Solutions Like Linkrunner.io Are Changing the Game
In 2025, mobile attribution has become a foundational part of any app marketer’s tech stack. It’s no longer just a tool for advanced teams. It’s a baseline requirement for anyone spending money on user acquisition. Yet, while the value of attribution is clear, the cost associated with traditional Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP) platforms is often not.
Many developers and marketing teams (especially those at growing or mid-market app companies) have silently accepted high attribution bills as a “cost of doing business.” But what if it didn’t have to be?
The Real Price of Legacy Attribution Tools
Legacy MMPs like AppsFlyer, Branch, and Adjust offer sophisticated tracking features, but they come with a heavy price tag. Most app marketers initially focus on pricing per install or event, but the true cost goes far beyond that.
1. Volume-Based Pricing That Penalizes Growth
Almost every legacy MMP charges based on the number of attributed installs or tracked events. At first, this might feel like a fair tradeoff: pay as you scale. But in practice, this model punishes success. As your acquisition efforts become more effective, a larger portion of your budget gets diverted into attribution costs.
For example, if you’re driving 100,000 installs per month, you might end up paying $3,000 to $5,000 monthly, which often equals 5–10% of your entire marketing budget. That’s money you’re not putting into ads, creative, or optimization.
2. Hidden Feature Paywalls
It gets worse when you realize that the base pricing tiers don’t even unlock the full platform. Many essential features (like fraud detection, cohort analysis, API access, and long-term data retention) come with additional fees:
Advanced fraud protection? +20%
API and raw data access? Separate tier
More than 6 months of data retention? Pay extra
When you add these up, your $3,000/month bill can easily double.
3. High Engineering and Integration Overheads
The technical complexity of legacy MMPs often requires dedicated engineering time to implement and maintain:
Initial SDK integration
Event parameter mapping
Campaign tagging setup
Data reconciliation between platforms
It’s not uncommon for dev teams to spend dozens of hours every month just maintaining the MMP setup, an expensive drain on internal resources.
4. Tiered Support That Slows You Down
Lastly, most older MMPs offer tiered support based on how much you pay. If you’re not in the top pricing tier, expect delayed replies, limited access to specialists, and longer resolution times.
This can be a nightmare if attribution breaks during a critical campaign window, like a holiday sale or product launch.
Why This Matters: The Real ROI Impact
These costs aren’t just a line item. They have ripple effects on your entire growth strategy.
Imagine this scenario:
You spend $50,000 on a campaign
Your MMP takes an 8% cut ($4,000)
Your target CPI is $2.00
That $4,000 hit means 2,000 fewer users acquired. This results in a higher effective CPI, a lower ROAS, and reduced momentum in user acquisition.
In other words, the more you rely on attribution, the more expensive your growth becomes (unless you’re using the right tool).
Linkrunner.io Enters the Scene: A Better Way Forward
Enter Linkrunner.io, a modern MMP built for cost-conscious, growth-focused app teams. With flat, transparent pricing and enterprise-grade features included out of the box, Linkrunner is making powerful attribution accessible to everyone (from indie developers to Series B startups and beyond).
Here’s how it works differently.
Flat-Rate Pricing That Scales With You
No more paying more just because you’re successful. Linkrunner’s pricing is fixed and predictable, with no install- or event-based penalties. This unlocks scalability for marketing teams, allowing them to run high-volume campaigns without spiraling measurement fees.
Compared to legacy MMPs, customers report paying up to 7x less. That means more capital for acquisition, experimentation, or product.
Everything Included (No Surprise Costs!)
Every Linkrunner plan comes fully loaded:
Advanced fraud detection
Unlimited historical data retention
Seamless attribution across Android, iOS, web, and OEM channels
Real-time API access for custom dashboards and modeling
AI-powered analytics to surface optimization opportunities
It’s attribution the way it should be: powerful, complete, and unlocked from day one.
Developer-Friendly by Design
Most attribution platforms are built for analysts first and developers last. Linkrunner reverses that. With clean, auto-generating SDKs, no-nonsense docs, and built-in campaign tagging, integration takes a fraction of the time compared to older tools.
Support for CI/CD pipelines, QA modes, and live-testing environments makes it ideal for fast-moving growth teams.
Real Support for All Customers
Unlike platforms that reserve responsive help for their largest customers, Linkrunner offers:
24/7 support availability
Attribution specialists, not generic agents
Personalized onboarding sessions
Ongoing optimization and training
Whether you’re running your first attribution test or scaling multi-country campaigns, you’re never alone.
Why This Matters Strategically
Affordable attribution isn’t just a “nice to have.” It reshapes what’s possible for app marketing.
Experiment More, Risk Less
Freed from volume penalties, your team can test TikTok, influencer campaigns, push notification strategies, or programmatic networks without worrying about budget bloat from tracking costs.
Democratized Access to Data
When attribution isn’t metered, your product managers, designers, and growth analysts can explore metrics and behavior freely, leading to more informed product decisions and faster iteration loops.
Support Long-Term Planning
Cohort tracking over 30, 60, 90, and even 180 days becomes feasible without extra fees, allowing real LTV modeling, retention forecasting, and revenue planning.
Full-Funnel Visibility, Not Just Top-of-Funnel
From ad click to install to revenue, Linkrunner tracks it all across every channel, every region, and every user segment, without breaking your budget.
The Business Case: Real-World Math
Let’s say your app spends $100,000 per month on user acquisition:
Legacy MMP (7%): $7,000/month → $84,000/year
Linkrunner.io (1%): $1,000/month → $12,000/year
Annual savings: $72,000
With that savings, you could fund:
An entire new growth hire
Another 28,800 users (at $2.50 CPI)
6 months of influencer campaigns
A stronger runway or improved burn rate
In every scenario, the ROI upside of switching is undeniable.
The Attribution Revolution Is Now
Measurement isn’t going anywhere. If anything, it’s becoming more important as privacy frameworks tighten and marketing budgets face more scrutiny.
But that doesn’t mean attribution needs to be expensive, gated, or reserved for enterprises. With Linkrunner.io, attribution becomes a growth enabler, not a hidden tax.
Whether you’re just launching or scaling into new geographies, choosing the right MMP can add velocity to your entire business.
The question isn’t whether you can afford attribution.
It’s whether you can afford to keep overpaying for it.
