Cost-per-install (CPI) advertising is one of the most effective strategies for growing mobile game downloads, especially in a saturated market like North America. Game developers are under constant pressure to reduce CPI while maintaining quality user acquisition. That’s where white label PPC services for US & Canada businesses come in — empowering studios to scale, optimize, and dominate the mobile gaming market without managing ad campaigns in-house.

This guide explores how CPI campaigns work, why they matter, and how white label PPC partners help studios manage them profitably from day one.

What Is CPI in Mobile Game Marketing?

CPI (Cost Per Install) is a user acquisition metric in which advertisers pay each time someone installs their mobile app after clicking on an ad. Unlike CPM (cost per thousand impressions) or CPC (cost per click), CPI is performance-based. You only pay when you get a result—an install.

Mobile game studios prefer CPI because:

• It offers predictable marketing costs
• It aligns tightly with user acquisition goals
• It makes ROI tracking more straightforward

But while CPI looks simple, it’s far from easy. High competition, creative burnout, and shifting platform algorithms make it hard to stay profitable without constant campaign optimization.

Why CPI Campaigns Are Challenging for Game Studios

While CPI campaigns are appealing, managing them in-house comes with challenges:

• Ad fatigue from overused creatives
• High competition driving up costs
• Limited bandwidth for testing and optimization
• Platform-specific learning curves
• Lack of in-house expertise in Google UAC, Meta Ads, TikTok, and Unity

For many studios—especially indie or mid-sized developers—these hurdles can limit scale and kill profitability. This is where white label PPC becomes a practical and profitable solution.

What Is White Label PPC in Mobile Gaming?

White label PPC refers to outsourcing your pay-per-click ad campaigns to an agency that operates under your brand. For mobile gaming, this means giving campaign control to experts who specialize in platforms like:

• Google App Campaigns (UAC)
• Facebook & Instagram Ads
• TikTok for Business
• Unity Ads
• Apple Search Ads

White label PPC partners take over strategy, creative development, tracking, and ongoing optimization—without requiring you to build a full internal marketing team.

Key Benefits for Mobile Game Studios:

• Reduced overhead and staffing costs
• Access to platform-specific knowledge
• Scalable user acquisition without internal bottlenecks
• More time to focus on game development

To learn more about how white label PPC works behind the scenes, visit our White Label PPC Services page.

How White Label PPC Partners Drive CPI Campaign Success

Campaign Strategy & Setup

Successful CPI campaigns start with the right foundation:

• Audience research to find lookalike segments and high-LTV users
• Platform selection based on game type (casual, mid-core, etc.)
• Budget planning tied to install targets and LTV predictions
• Goal-setting: establishing CPI caps and ROAS goals

Partners build the full funnel—from ad creative to post-install engagement—aligned to the game’s unique player journey.

Ad Creative Optimization

Ad creative is critical in CPI campaigns. A white label PPC partner typically provides:

• Video ads optimized for swipes and taps
• Playables and carousel ads for interactive demos
• A/B testing of headlines, visuals, CTAs, and formats
• Localized content for US vs. Canadian markets

Since fatigue sets in fast, the agency constantly refreshes creatives to keep CTRs high and CPIs low.

Targeting & Scaling

Once initial tests show traction, the focus shifts to scaling:

• Lookalike and interest-based targeting to broaden reach
• Geo-segmentation (e.g., scaling in the US before expanding in Canada)
• Smart bidding strategies using platform algorithms
• Retargeting strategies for dropped installs or inactive users

This allows studios to grow at a steady pace without overspending.

Tracking, Attribution & Analytics

To keep CPI profitable, every click and install needs to be tracked accurately. White label partners integrate:

• Mobile Measurement Partners (MMPs) like AppsFlyer, Adjust, or Singular
• Real-time dashboards with metrics like:
  • CPI
  • ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
  • LTV (Lifetime Value)
  • D1/D7/D30 retention

Sample Metrics Table:

Metric	Target	Notes
CPI (Goal)	<$1.50	Varies by region and genre
ROAS (Day 7)	>100%	Essential for profitability
Retention D1	>30%	Indicates early engagement quality
LTV (Target)	>$5.00	Key for long-term scaling

With this data, campaigns are adjusted weekly (or even daily) to maintain performance.

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When Should a Studio Use White Label PPC?

White label PPC isn’t just for big publishers. It’s a smart option for:

• Indie devs launching their first game
• Mid-size studios without internal UA teams
• Studios expanding into new regions or platforms
• Agencies managing multiple mobile game clients
• Developers with hit games who want to scale profitably

If you’re running CPI ads but aren’t seeing consistent installs or ROI, outsourcing could be the difference-maker.

Choosing the Right White Label PPC Partner

Not all white label agencies are equal. Before signing a contract, ask:

• Do they have experience in mobile gaming?
• What platforms do they specialize in?
• How do they handle creative development?
• What’s included in their analytics and reporting?
• Can they scale across the US and Canada?

For help choosing a provider, check out our Guide to White Label Marketing Partnerships.

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Final Thoughts: Why White Label PPC Is a Game-Changer for CPI Campaigns

Managing CPI campaigns profitably takes more than a good product—it requires smart strategy, constant optimization, and deep ad platform knowledge. Most game studios simply don’t have the time or in-house talent to handle this alone.

By partnering with a white label PPC agency that understands mobile gaming, developers can offload complexity and focus on what they do best: building amazing games. Whether you’re launching in Canada, the US, or both, a white label solution offers the scalability, agility, and performance you need to compete.