Publication date: 2 February 2026

In media buying, the word “spend” is constantly echoed. Formally, everything is straightforward: spend is the money a media buyer has spent on purchasing traffic. Whether it’s Facebook*, Google, TikTok, native ads, or influencers, it makes no difference. Your spend equals the exact amount you’ve allocated.

To put it simply, it’s the amount the ad platform has already deducted from your balance or card for the impressions or clicks. All further key metrics are calculated based on spend: profitability, ROI, profit and campaign efficiency.

However, in practice, spend is more than just an expense line item. In iGaming, it often becomes the starting point for negotiations, especially at the beginning of the partnership between a media buyer and an advertiser. This is where it’s crucial not to confuse situations where a focus on spend is justified, and those where it can create problems in the long run.

What is spend? In media buying, the term “spend” is one of the key financial metrics. Spend is the amount of money a media buyer spends to purchase traffic (clicks, impressions, installs) from advertising sources. For more details on other terms in affiliate marketing, read the 3S.INFO Knowledge Base.

Spend in Affiliate Marketing: A Detailed Breakdown

Core Definition: It is the cost of acquiring traffic. You pay platforms like Facebook*, Google, TikTok, or teaser networks to display your ad and send users to your landing page or app.
Measurement: It is typically measured in US dollars ($) over a specific period (day, week, month, campaign).
The Media Buying Funnel: Spend is the first and mandatory part of the financial model. The traffic then converts into actions (leads, applications, installs, sales), which generate revenue.
The Primary Goal of Media Buying: To ensure revenue significantly exceeds spend. The difference between the two is profit.

The fundamental formula of media buying is: Profit = Revenue – Spend

Why is the Spend Metric So Crucial in Promoting Gambling and Betting?

Performance Measurement. All key metrics are calculated based on spend:

CPC (Cost Per Click) = Spend / Number of Clicks
CPM (Cost Per Mille) = (Spend / Number of Impressions) * 1000
CPI (Cost Per Install) = Spend / Number of Installs
CPA (Cost Per Action) = Spend / Number of Target Actions (e.g., leads)
ROI (Return On Investment) = ((Revenue – Spend) / Spend) * 100%

Budget Control: It helps manage advertising campaigns in real time, ensuring you stay within set limits.
Profitability Analysis: It allows you to identify which traffic sources, combinations (offer + creative + landing page), and targeting strategies are profitable and which are loss-making.
Scaling: A successful campaign with a positive ROI is scaled by increasing the spend. You invest more money into it to generate even greater revenue.

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Example
Let’s say you are a media buyer promoting an online casino or betting app:
- You spend $500 (your spend) on TikTok advertising.
- For this amount, you receive 1,000 app installs.
- The affiliate (advertiser) pays you $1 for each install. Your revenue = $1,000.
- Your profit: $1,000 (revenue) – $500 (spend) = $500.
- Your ROI: ( ($1,000 – $500) / $500 ) * 100% = 100%.
In this case, your $500 spend has paid off and generated a profit.
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Budget is the planned amount of spend. Spend is the actual expenditure.
Net Spend: sometimes “spend” refers specifically to net expenses, i.e., the amount you actually owe the traffic source after deducting any commission or fee it may charge (if applicable).
The core task of media buying is spend optimization. This means continuously working to reduce the cost per target action (CPA, CPI) while maintaining or increasing traffic volume. This is achieved by testing creatives, landing pages and targeting, as well as selecting the most profitable offers.

Why Is Spend a Normal and Inevitable Part of Media Buying?

Any media buying business model begins with spend. Until you invest money, you have no:

data on CR;
understanding of the audience;
statistics on deposits;
clear picture of the traffic source.

This is especially critical:

when launching in a new GEO;
when testing a new brand;
when switching traffic sources or ad formats.

In these conditions, the phrase “I’m scaling based on spend” most often refers not to a “philosophy,” but to a specific stage of work. The media buyer is purchasing data, and the market is receiving its first signals. This is a normal process, and no serious project can function without it.

Why It’s Perfectly Fine for a Media Buyer to “Scale Based on Spend”

It’s crucial to clarify from the start: mentioning spend itself is not a problem. The issue always lies in the context.

Focusing on spend during the testing phase is logical when:

there is no accumulated LTV yet;
the product has not shown stable metrics;
the parties are still adjusting to each other.

At this stage, spend is:

a clear and measurable quantity;
an entry point for analytics;
the foundation for future decisions.

In such a situation, the media buyer isn’t sacrificing quality. They are simply unable to properly evaluate it yet, and the market understands this.

The problems don’t arise when a media buyer talks about spend. They appear when spend becomes the only long-term basis for collaboration.

If the “scaling based on spend” model:

continues beyond the testing period;
is not accompanied by discussions about future metrics;
does not envisage a shift towards evaluating actual results;

— this is a point where greater caution is warranted.

This does not imply that someone is acting in bad faith or delivering substandard traffic. More often than not, the reasons are far more mundane.

Why Do Media Buyers Sometimes Consciously Focus On Spend?

In practice, there are several perfectly rational explanations for this:

Non-transparent Analytics: If a media buyer cannot see what happens to a player after their first deposit, discussing quality becomes difficult. In such a situation, spend is the only metric that is beyond dispute.
Negative Past Experience: Recalculations, delayed payments, and differing interpretations of LTV all lead media buyers to seek the most solid and objective point of reference. Spend fits that role precisely.
The Stage of the Media Buyer’s or Team’s Development: Not everyone operates with deep analytics. Some are stronger in scaling and buying volume, while others excel at deep optimization. This is neither good nor bad; they are simply different business models.

Why Can a “Spend-Only” Model be Risky as a Permanent Strategy?

It’s important to discuss this not with accusations, but with logic.

If, in the long run, the following are not addressed:

player approval rates and retention;
a shared definition of a quality player;
clear benchmarks for unit economics;

— imbalances will inevitably emerge sooner or later.

This can mean:

For the advertiser	For the media buyer
increased operational burden without a corresponding rise in profit	a lack of leverage to negotiate better terms
difficulties in scaling	a ceiling on potential earnings
disillusionment with the traffic source	dependence on short-term campaign launches

This isn’t an immediate crisis, but a slow buildup of tension.

What Does a Healthy Approach to Spend Look Like?

In stable partnerships, spend typically:

is used as a starting metric;
complements other indicators,
gradually moves to the background over time.

A seasoned media buyer’s position is often expressed not as “I scale based solely on spend,” but rather as:

“We use spend as our compass during the testing phase, then shift focus to unit economics and quality.”

This approach leaves room for maneuver and prevents either party from being boxed into rigid constraints.

Spend in Media Buying: Key Takeaways

Scaling based on spend is normal. Especially during tests, when launching new hypotheses, or when analytics are limited.

Scaling solely by spend on a permanent basis is a reason for caution, not for condemnation. It’s not always a mistake, but it’s almost always a signal that the working model isn’t yet fully formed, that there is a risk of long-term imbalances, or that expectations need to be clarified upfront.

Spend is a tool. How long it remains the only guiding metric determines what you’re ultimately playing at: running a test or building a business.

Spend is a fundamental metric, the “financial fuel” of media buying. The ability to control spend, analyze it in conjunction with other metrics, and efficiently convert it into revenue is the key skill of a successful media buyer.

*The social network Facebook is blocked in Russia by court order.

FAQ

What is spend in media buying, in simple terms?

Spend is the actual amount of money a meida buyer has spent on purchasing traffic from advertising platforms like Facebook*, Google, TikTok, teaser networks, influencers, etc. The money already charged by the platform for impressions or clicks is considered your spend.

What's the difference between spend, budget and revenue?

Budget is your plan: how much you intend to spend. Spend is the reality: the actual costs that have already gone toward advertising. Revenue is the money you receive from the advertiser for user actions. Profit is then calculated as: Profit = Revenue – Spend.

Why is spend considered a core metric in media buying and iGaming?

Spend is the starting point of the entire funnel. First, you spend money on advertising, then you acquire traffic, user actions, and finally, revenue. All key metrics (CPC, CPM, CPI, CPA, ROI) are calculated based on spend. It’s the foundation for assessing the profitability of campaigns and making crucial decisions: whether to scale up or shut down.

What does "scaling based on spend" mean, and when is it acceptable?

“Scaling based on spend” means structuring collaboration primarily around the volume of money spent, rather than on in-depth metrics of traffic quality (like LTV or retention). This approach is acceptable during testing phases, when entering a new GEO, launching a new brand, or trying a new traffic source. In these situations, you are essentially “buying data,” as you cannot yet accurately assess traffic quality or the true unit economics.

Why can a "spend-only" model be risky in the long run?

If a partnership is built solely around spend and never progresses to discussing metrics like player approval, retention, and unit economics, imbalances inevitably emerge over time: costs increase without a clear rise in profit, and it becomes difficult to negotiate better terms or achieve sustainable scaling. A healthy approach is to use spend as a starting metric, then gradually shift the focus toward traffic quality and long-term profitability.