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Traffic and channels

Offer wall

Also called offerwall, reward wall.

Short answer

An offer wall is a page or widget – typically in mobile apps and on reward sites – that shows a list of affiliate offers where the user is rewarded with points or virtual currency for completing them. The operator earns commission per completed action and shares the value with the user.

Definition of Offer wall.

An offer wall gathers many campaigns in one view: install an app, complete a survey, start a free trial. Each offer shows a reward in the platform's own currency – coins, points or playing time – and behind each offer sits an affiliate campaign, most often paid as CPI (per install) or CPL (per lead).

The economics are a split. The advertiser pays the operator a commission per completed action, and the operator passes part of the amount on to the user as a reward. If the operator earns, say, DKK 15 per app install and pays out points worth DKK 5, the margin is DKK 10 per completion.

Offer wall traffic is by definition incentivised traffic: the user's motive is the reward, not the product. That gives high volume and low quality – users who install an app for points often delete it again shortly afterwards. That is why many advertisers take an explicit position on incentivised traffic in their program terms.

Why advertisers restrict offer walls

The metrics from an offer wall look good on the surface – many installs, many leads – but the users' lifetime value is below average, and the share of cancelled trials is high. Advertisers who pay per action only discover this when the cohorts mature and the paid users never come back.

The countermove is either a ban in the program terms, a lower rate for incentivised traffic or stricter approval requirements, where only actions followed by later activity are approved.

How it goes wrong

  • 01

    The traffic is bought with points

    Users from an offer wall convert for the sake of the reward. Expect low lifetime value, many cancelled trials and an approval rate below the program's average.

  • 02

    Permission is in the terms

    Showing a program on an offer wall without checking the program terms is a classic route to rejected commissions and exclusion. Incentivised traffic is one of the areas advertisers regulate most often.

  • 03

    Fraud gathers around rewards

    Where points are paid out for actions, bot farms and fake completions appear. Expect stricter validation, longer approval times and later cancellations.

Frequently asked questions

What is an offer wall in an app?

An offer wall is a built-in page in the app where the user can earn the app's currency by completing external offers – installing other apps, taking surveys or signing up for services. The app developer earns an affiliate commission per completed offer and passes part of the value on as a reward.

Is offer wall traffic allowed in affiliate programs?

It depends on the individual program's terms. Offer walls are incentivised traffic, and advertisers decide for themselves whether to allow it, pay a lower rate for it or ban it entirely. Check the program terms before you show an offer on an offer wall.

How do you make money from an offer wall?

The operator receives a commission from the advertiser for each completed action, typically paid as CPI or CPL, and pays a smaller value to the user in points or virtual currency. The difference between the commission and the value of the reward is the earnings.

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