Last Updated on August 7, 2025 by Caesar Fikson
In 2025, push ads remain a powerful tool for affiliate marketers seeking high-converting, cost-effective strategies to drive traffic. These instant, eye-catching notifications delivered directly to users’ devices offer unmatched engagement potential, boasting click-through rates (CTRs) of up to 7-10% in top-performing campaigns.
Despite evolving privacy regulations and ad fatigue concerns, push ads continue to thrive in niches like iGaming, eCommerce, and finance, thanks to their hyper-targeted delivery and low cost-per-click (CPC). This article explores whether push ads still provide strong conversions in affiliate marketing and how to improve them for maximum ROI in today’s competitive landscape.
Six years ago I could fire a hurricane of Chrome push notifications and watch deposit graphs spike like championship odds in overtime. Fast-forward to 2025 and Safari blocks third-party service workers, Android insists on double opt-in, and Google’s “harmful content” crawler politely kneecaps anything that screams “CLAIM BONUS NOW.” So are push ads—those opt-in browser or device alerts that pop like mini text messages—finally limping into oblivion, or just forcing smarter operators to sharpen the blade?
Spoiler: they’re alive, slimmer, and choosier. Let’s dissect why click-through isn’t dead, where ROI still hides, and how affiliates pushing iGaming offers can squeeze juice without tripping compliance landmines.
Push Ads 101—Quick Re-Center Before We Geek Out
A push ad is a JSON payload: title, 90-char body, icon, optionally a 1920×1080 hero image on Android or Windows. The user must click Allow on the permission prompt—no auto-subscribe tricks survive Chrome 124. After opt-in the ad drops even if the browser is closed; on mobile, Firebase Cloud Messaging opens the payload, so yes, the system overlay gets your promo on lock screen. That immediacy—plus auction-style buys from networks like PropellerAds, PushGround, and RichAds—made push a darling for betting, dating, and finance verticals.
Push vs Native vs Banner—Why the Tussle Still Matters
Push thrives on urgency: odds swing, free spins expire, line-ups drop. Native and banner excel at storytelling and remarketing at scale. Here’s the reality check:
| Metric | Push | Native/Content | Display Banner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg CTR 2025* | 1.1–2.4 % | 0.4–0.9 % | 0.05–0.3 % |
| Avg CPC (Tier-1 GEO) | $0.06–$0.14 | $0.18–$0.35 | $0.08–$0.25 |
| Viewability | 100 % delivery | 70–85 % | 50–70 % |
| Creative Lifespan | 2–5 days | 10–21 days | 7–14 days |
| Scalability Ceiling | Opt-in list size | Virtually limitless | Inventory limited by ad-block |
*Gambling vertical; finance/dating hover ±0.3 ppts.
Bottom line: push wins on CTR and viewability but eats creative refresh budgets because fatigue comes fast.
Who’s Still Pushing in 2025?
Performance shops and super-affiliates hawking sportsbook, crypto casino, or quick approval loans still allocate 10–25 % of spending to push. A Latin-American iGaming CPA network I advise funnels 1.8 million monthly clicks through PushGround alone—CPC $0.04 Brazil, $0.07 Mexico, $0.11 Spain. They wouldn’t keep pouring if deposits weren’t outpacing cost.
Let’s face it—mainstream brands fear opt-in optics, leaving the lane open for agile affiliates who respect caps and craft arresting copy.
Benchmarks—CTR, CPC, ROAS in the Wild
2025 aggregated numbers across three networks and 42 campaigns I audited:
- Tier-1 Gambling (US state-licensed offers): CTR 1.3 %, CPC $0.14, CPA $165, 60-day ROAS 1.42, profit emerges day 37.
- Tier-2 Gambling (Spain, Italy): CTR 1.9 %, CPC €0.09, CPA €88, ROAS 1.67.
- LatAm Sportsbook: CTR 2.4 %, CPC $0.06, CPA $49, ROAS 2.05.
- Finance Payday: CTR 0.9 %, CPC $0.21, CPA $125, many drop due to credit rejects—watch churn.
ROAS compresses year over year but beats TikTok paid in compliance-heavy gambling by 17 % at similar scale. Push still punches when you control frequency.
Creative Anatomy—Microcopy That Survives 2025 Filters
Headline 30-35 chars, body 60-80, emoji sparingly. Google Filters auto-downgrade all-caps and “FREE.” Swap to “claim,” “snag,” “secure.” Use 🚀🚀🚀 or ⚽⚽⚽ to hint vertical; deletion awaits if you flaunt 🍑 for gambling. Icons 192×192, bright border; hero images test 25 % higher CTR on Android, 60 % deliver rate on desktop Windows.
What intrigues bettors? Odds updates and social proof. Example:
⚽ 8.5x if La Roja Scores First
Spain starts in 45 min—boost vanishes at whistle. Tap & lock now.
Dynamic elements—team names, minutes to kickoff—lift CTR 0.4–0.6 ppts when piped via macros.
Mobile vs Desktop—The Split Shift
Desktop push inventories shrank 30 % after Chrome 122 hid permission prompts behind double-click banners. Mobile kept pace: Android still grants one-tap allow screens. CTR on mobile sits 0.3 ppt higher, but CPC matches desktop; ROI leans mobile by 12 %.
Weird quirk: Windows 11 toast notifications linger in action center for eight hours, so long-tail clicks trickle; segment budgets accordingly.
Traffic Sources Worth Testing
PushGround— granular bid modifiers per OS, good tier-2 volumes. PropellerAds— deep list size, retargeting pixel that fires server-side, helpful as third-party cookies die. RichAds— AI clearing price suggestions; their MyTarget supply feeds CIS GEOs if you chase ruble deposits. Smaller suppliers like Evadav and Notix pineapple niche but watch for bot filters—fraud clocks in at 8–12 % unless you enable fingerprint screening.
Compliance & Opt-In Landscape
ePrivacy Directive forces double consent in EU; your script must fire permission after explicit “Receive offers” button. California CPRA lumps push tokens as personal data, so you must attach opt-out link in every payload. Chrome 125 auto-blocks push from sites with > 90 % deny rate. Warm up domains with helpful alerts (score updates) before promo blasts; denial ratio below 10 % keeps you whitelisted.
Saturation, Fraud, and Click Quality—2025 Reality Check
Saturation is real: user lists rot 2 % per day if hammered. Fraud skews installs via emulated Android builds; push networks now ship anti-injection JS plus IP scoring. I still quarantine 10 % of bid supply using device fingerprint entropy filters. After cleaning, quality holds: landing-page bounce sits 28 %, comparable to native.
Campaign Setup Tips That Rescue Margins
Frequency Capping— 2/24 hours, 10/7 days. Exceed and CTR nosedives from 1.8 % to 0.6 %.
Geo & Time Targeting— Match push time to sporting events. Testing Brazil push at 19:00–21:00 local improved FTDs by 26 %.
Segment by Activity— Fresh opt-ins (<7 days) convert 3 × dormant tokens; bid 20 % higher there.
Use Custom Return Path— Send unpaid clickers to freemium picks blog, cookie them for rev-share retargeting. People tired of raw bonuses still love content.
Are Push Ads Worth It in 2025?
If you’re gunning Tier-1, expect tighter CPAs and compliance overhead but still-positive ROAS with surgical caps. Tier-2 and LatAm remain a gold mine at $0.05–$0.08 CPC if funnels are mobile-optimized. Keep creatives fresh, police bot traffic, and integrate server-side postbacks because pixel loss hits remarketing hard.
Push won’t reclaim 2019 glory days, yet it still delivers a controllable, high-visibility click at cost levels native content can’t touch. Question is, will you iterate copy daily, honor quiet hours, and scrub lists, or keep pushing until deny rates nudge Chrome into kill mode? The traffic’s there; the patience to manage it separates winners from spam fodder.
