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Smart Bidding After CPI? Here's What You Really Need to Know

By Musa Naqvi Senior Business Development·Jul 2, 2025·8 min read

Summary

This article explains Mintegral's Smart Bidding solutions, which leverage machine learning to help advertisers optimize user acquisition for revenue outcomes rather than just installs. Two main products are Target ROAS (including IAA, IAP, and Hybrid ROAS) and Target CPE for purchase events. The author debunks three myths: that Smart Bidding is only for big apps with large budgets, that CPI is sufficient so there's no need to change, and that setup is too complex.

In reality, smaller teams with clear monetization goals can benefit, Smart Bidding complements CPI by focusing on performance outcomes, and Mintegral provides support via MMP integrations and dedicated teams. Readiness for Smart Bidding depends more on campaign maturity and data quality than app size or budget. A self-check list suggests starting with CPI if historical data is insufficient, but many advertisers can begin directly with Smart Bidding if they have strong postback data.

The recommended approach is to run both CPI and Smart Bidding together, using CPI for top-of-funnel testing and Smart Bidding for driving ROAS. To start, identify a stable CPI campaign, launch a pilot with modest spend on tROAS or tCPE, align on optimization goals (e.g., D0 or D7), enable full-channel postback data, monitor closely, and scale gradually. Results from Mintegral clients include increased conversions without raising CPI, stable and reduced cost per event, improved ROAS within two to three weeks, and less manual effort.

The article concludes by encouraging developers with event data and revenue to test smarter approaches and contact Mintegral for support.

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