Kadam Review: A Comprehensive Dissection of this High-Volume Ad Network
Last updated on November 2, 2023 by Jairene Cruz-Eusebio 27 min readTable of Contents
ToggleKadam At A Glance
Kadam: Offers & Verticals
Ad types: Native ads, Push notification ads, In-page push ads, In-app push, Clickunders, Banner ads
Verticals: Gambling, Nutra, Betting, Dating, Crypto, Sweepstakes
Kadam: Payment & Investment
Cost Model: CPM, CPA
Minimum Deposit: $100 for first deposit, $50 for subsequent deposits (except for bank transfer)
Payment Methods: Bank Card (EUR), Bank transfer, PayPal, Paxum, Capitalist (RUB/USD), USDT, WebMoney
Kadam: Support
Personal Account Manager: Yes
Knowledgebase: It has an FAQ and Help Center with valuable guides for campaign creation and management.
Support Response Speed: Excellent. In my experience, the support team responded within a minute of my inquiry.
Support Rating: Excellent. They are very patient in helping you get the answer you need and they’re available 24/7.
Contact Methods: Skype, Telegram, live chat and email.
Contacts:
- Email: support@kadam.net
- Telegram: https://t.me/kadamnet
Finding a versatile ad network that offers a wide range of ad formats and can handle substantial traffic is like striking gold.
If you find one that has enough traffic volume to handle not only your own needs but also other advertisers in the network (since you’ll be competing with them for a piece of the pie), then you’re all set.
Kadam is an advertising network that promises to be just that—versatile and reliable. But does it live up to this promise? We’ll find that out in this Kadam Review.
Key Takeaways
- Kadam offers a substantial traffic volume with at least 37 billion impressions per day.
- The platform provides granular targeting options and real-time analytics for effective performance tracking.
- There’s a variety of ad formats to choose from: push (classic and in-page), in-app push, native, display, and clickunder.
- Kadam features 24/7 moderator availability, ensuring immediate ad approval and support for advertisers. The customer support team is also available 24/7.
- The interface is too simplistic and can still be improved.
- The platform lacks an auto-optimization feature and an ad preview option, which might limit its user-friendliness and convenience for advertisers.
What is Kadam?
Kadam, a name that has reverberated in the digital advertising world since 2012, took its initial strides in the dynamic landscape of Eastern Europe.
This vibrant region, where innovation and technology intertwine, provided the perfect backdrop for Kadam’s narrative to unfold.
While the company was initially a native ad network, this DSP has since expanded its portfolio, offering advertisers a diverse range of ad types to choose from (which we will delve into shortly).
The platform is designed with advanced technology capable enough to handle up to 500,000 requests per second.
It is now considered one of the Top 10 Advertising Networks in Eastern Europe, which is a feat in itself.
Presently, Kadam boasts a workforce of over 200 employees in seven countries, positioning itself as one of the prominent players in the media buying and affiliate marketing industry.
With such a large community, you can rest assured that new features are constantly being developed.
And if you need help? It’s highly likely someone will be around to assist.
Kadam Best Features
Immense Traffic Volume
When it comes to traffic volume, Kadam is a force to be reckoned with. This advertising network doesn’t mess around, collaborating with both direct advertisers and RTB partners to bring in an incredible 37 to 40 billion impressions per day across all of its ad formats.
At least 80% of this traffic comes from mobile devices.
It’s a staggering number and one that speaks to the scale of Kadam’s reach of 195 countries. With traffic this enormous, it makes me wonder why Kadam is not as well-talked about as other ad networks of today.
If you want to see the amount of traffic the network has based on ad format, country, device type, and traffic type (adult or mainstream), then you can visit Kadam’s traffic page.
It is regularly updated and contains the average and top CPCs for your reference.
Multiple Advertising Formats
- Native Ads (Teaser format)
When it comes to sparking curiosity and driving engagement, Kadam’s native ad format takes center stage.
With its unique ability to lure in the audience through captivating visuals and punchy text, this format has seen a significant rise in impression counts, to the tune of almost 14 billion impressions per day.
This is Kadam’s first ad format offering, and they call it the teaser format. If you are looking for an alternative to social media marketing, this is it.
- Banner Format
Next up, we have the classic Banner format. A tried-and-true method that never fails to catch the eye, image campaigns like this are all about visual appeal. Impressions? Kadam has more than 7 billion banner impressions per day.
- Classic Push Notification
Push notifications are like little nudges reminding your audience about you. Kadam’s push advertising format’s traffic volume is a staggering 12 billion notifications per day.
- Clickunder
If subtlety is your style, then Clickunders are your go-to format. They pop up behind the browser window, capturing attention without interrupting the user’s browsing experience. This less intrusive approach has earned a decent amount of impressions on Kadam, at a little over a billion per day.
- On-Site Push (In-Page Push)
Kadam’s On-Site Push is a variant of the regular push notification format, but it shows up only when the user is active on the site. Right now, Kadam offers more than two billion in-page pushes daily.
- In-App Push
Lastly, there’s the In-App Push format. Designed specifically for mobile applications, these ads pop up while the user is interacting with the app. It’s an effective way to grab the user’s attention. Kadam delivers more than a billion of these every day.
Converts Well for Several Verticals
Kadam is an advertising platform that performs well across various industries, including:
- Installs (app developers and software companies)
- Betting
- Finance (financial institutions and fintech startups)
- iGaming
- Dating (adult and mainstream)
- Sweepstakes
- Health
- Adult content
- E-commerce
- Crypto-related businesses
These sectors can leverage Kadam’s wide reach and conversion capabilities to boost visibility and customer acquisition.
Two Campaign Management Options
Kadam comes with two campaign management options: Self Service and Full Management.
- Self-Service
For those who want to retain full control over their campaigns, Kadam’s Self-Service option is a perfect choice.
This platform empowers advertisers by giving them the necessary tools to manage their campaigns independently.
With this option, you control everything from ad creation and audience targeting to performance monitoring and optimization.
The self-service platform’s user-friendly interface allows you to streamline campaign management, giving you the freedom to scale your campaigns and achieve your advertising goals at your own pace.
- Fully Managed
On the other end of the spectrum, Kadam provides full management for advertisers who prefer a more hands-off approach.
If you have a test budget of $500 or more or if you have reached a spending threshold of $1,500 within a month in the Kadam system, a dedicated manager will be assigned to you. This professional will take charge of your campaigns, ensuring a seamless experience.
If your budget is $1,000 or more, Kadam will provide Full Management, including complete control, setting up advertising campaigns, and optimizing numerous campaigns.
This option lifts the burden off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on your core business while the
Kadam professionals manage your advertising campaigns skillfully.
Three Payment Models
Kadam offers three flexible payment models for advertisers to choose from based on their unique campaign goals:
- CPC (Cost-Per-Click)
Ideal for those looking to drive traffic to their websites, advertisers pay only when a user clicks on their ads.
This model ensures you are paying for tangible user engagement, making every penny count.
This is available for all ad formats.
- CPM (Cost-Per-Mille)
Perfect for brand awareness campaigns, the CPM model charges advertisers for every thousand impressions their ad receives.
This payment model focuses on visibility and does not guarantee engagement, so it is, therefore, cheaper than any other payment model.
This is available for all ad formats except Clickunder.
- CPA (Cost-Per-Action)
With the CPA model, advertisers pay only when a user not only clicks the ad but also completes a conversion.
This model ensures you’re paying for desired results, making it the perfect business model for affiliates who earn from conversions.
It is only available for Push Ads and Clickunder ads.
Fraud Filter
With a staggering amount of traffic flowing through Kadam’s platform every second, it’s easy to worry about whether you are actually getting traffic that’s worth paying for.
There are a lot of dubious sources out there, and it can be scary to lose all your money to fraud traffic. To combat this, the platform utilizes a universal anti-fraud system that filters out bot and fraud clicks.
Clicks or impressions that are found to be dubious will be removed from your official stats and will be counted under “free clicks.” As its name suggests, you will not pay for these.
Reliable Support Team
I rarely add the presence of the support team as a main feature, but Kadam’s team really exceeded my expectations.
Their response time is lightning fast—I get a response within just a few minutes of posting a question in the live chat.
Furthermore, the representatives are friendly and patient. No matter how many questions I had, they responded with professionalism and utmost politeness.
How to Start Advertising with Kadam
Whether you’re a seasoned advertiser or a newcomer to the field, the process of starting with Kadam is remarkably simple and straightforward.
In the upcoming section, we’ll walk you through the steps to launch your first advertising campaign, making the seemingly daunting task nothing more than a breeze.
Creating a Campaign
Step 1: Sign Up
First things first, you’re going to need to create an account. Head over to Kadam.net and click on the sign-up option. Choose Advertiser and fill in your details on the next page.
Step 2: Get to Know Your Dashboard
Once you’re signed in, you’ll land on your dashboard. This is where all the magic happens! You can monitor your campaigns, check out your stats, and manage your account. Spend some time getting familiar with it.
Kadam will offer a tour of the dashboard upon logging in for the first time, so you’ll pretty much understand where everything goes.
Step 3: Create Your First Campaign
Now, it’s time to create your first ad campaign. Look for the “Create Campaign” button on the upper right corner of your dashboard.
The fields you need to fill out are pretty basic, such as the campaign name, URL, payment model, and ad format.
On the left is a list of macros you can add to your URL.
If you are using any of the trackers below, your tracking platform would already have a template for Kadam, so choose that when adding a traffic source so that the macros will be pre-filled correctly for your URL.
Here’s a list of trackers with Kadam templates or integration:
- AppsFlyer
- Binom (Read our review)
- Kitaro
- Voluum (Read our review)
- RedTrack (Read our review)
- Bemob (Read our review)
Next, there’s a portion for Template of Acceptance, which is presumably the conversion status, namely Accepted, Hold, and Rejected. You can set your own template or select from any of the pre-made ones. This is optional.
You’ll then have to select the ad format: Native, Banner, Push, or Clickunder. If you choose Push, you’ll be asked to select either On-Site Push or Classic Push. You can also select both.
Underneath this is the option to choose the country targeting and then the section for placing your bid (CPM, CPC, or CPA target).
You can place as low as $0.00001 or 0.001₽, but of course, don’t expect any traffic with a bid that low, so check the traffic page for reference on the right bid to place. You can also place your CPA goal so the platform can compare the results to your aim.
You can opt to target several countries per campaign, and more importantly, you can apply a different bid and CPA target per country.
Step 4: Set Your Campaign Targets
We’re still on the same page for campaign creation, but this section is about your campaign parameters. Kadam has the following targeting options:
- geolocation – This is for narrowing down to specific regions or cities of your pre-chosen countries.
- connection type – Wifi or 3G/LTE
- ISP
- categories – Based on IAB list.
- audiences – based on your collection of audiences. It can be included (whitelist) or excluded (blacklist) from the campaign. You can add more than one, and you can use the AND or OR conditions.
- platform – This includes all kinds of operating systems and versions.
- device – This includes all kinds of devices available today—Desktop, Smartphone, Phablet, Tablet, Console, Smart TV, or Others. Each of these main categories has itemized devices that you can select or deselect.
- browser
- Subscription age (if you chose push)
- browser language target
- exclude and include – This section is for those who know the domain name or the ID of the website they want to exclude or include.
- blocking IP address – The option says “blocking,” but it is also an exclude/include list based on IP.
Once you’ve filled out the filters above, the graph on the right of the page will show an estimate of the traffic you’ll get based on your bid.
Step 5: Setting Campaign Limits
Now, at the very bottom of the page, you’ll be asked to set the limits of your campaign. The only one required is the daily budget, for which you can set as little as $5.
Other options for limiting are:
- Total campaign budget
- Probable maximum loss – This one is calculated based on ad spend minus revenue.
- Daily conversions limit
- The maximum number of transition per day – The transitions here means clicks, according to their support team (not sure why they don’t just place the word clicks here).
- Demonstrate the ad not more than (blank) times per (blank) days.
- Display the campaign less than (blank) times per (blank) days.
- Minimum number of impressions on the sites.
- Maximum number of views on the sites.
Underneath the Campaign Limits is the Scheduling or day parting portion.
I should also add that some of the information on the thought bubble when you hover over a question mark doesn’t make sense.
Like in the image above, you can set the maximum number of views on the sites.
If you place 1,000 in this field, it means you expect your ads to still show up on websites that haven’t reached 1,000 views, right?
But based on the thought bubble, it says, “do not display ads on websites where impressions per day are less than the specified number.” So this means if a website has, let’s say 10 views, your ads will stop showing there because it is less than 1,000, right?
I believe this may be a translation issue, and I hope Kadam corrects this misinformation immediately so that advertisers won’t get confused.
Step 6: Add Your Creatives
After clicking on the “Create a Campaign” button, you’ll be taken to the next page where you can upload your ad. Surprisingly, Kadam allows up to 100 creatives to be uploaded per day! If you can spend more a day (like $500 a day, for instance), your daily upload limit will even increase.
According to the support team, the upload limit refreshes every day and that there is no limit to the number of creatives you can add per campaign. That’s very astounding.
Here’s how the materials (a.k.a ad creatives page) looks like for push:
Kadam doesn’t offer any kind of ad preview, though.
One thing I like is that you can add {city} and {area} (for the region) macros. These can help adapt your ads and make them personalized to the person viewing them.
After completing the ad creation, click on the Create button. Alternatively, if you want to add more creatives, click on Save and Add More.
Your campaign will now be added to the queue for approval. Kadam promises 24/7 availability of moderators, so even on a weekend, you can expect your campaign to be moderated within hours, if not minutes, after submission.
Step 7: Adding Postback URL
This step is for those who want to send back to Kadam your conversion data. It’s especially important if you choose to utilize the campaign limiting section we discussed above.
Anything that requires information on conversions, you must send it back to Kadam for the limitations to work properly.
Anyway, it’s not immediately apparent how to add your postback URL, but it’s easy enough. Just head over to the campaigns page and look for the campaign you just added.
Right across it to the far end of the table, you will find several options to manage your campaign.
This includes:
- Change – This is the option for editing your campaign.
- Pause
- Move to Archive
- Duplicate
- Postback URL
- Delete
Select Postback URL. A small pop-up will appear, showing an incomplete Postback URL. The support chat will also open up, asking for the tracker that you have so that they can provide complete instructions as well as the full postback URL for such tracker.
If none of your trackers are included in their list, you should reach out to the support team for assistance.
However, it’s highly likely that you’ll have to manually set up the parameters in your tracker, as well as manually add the macros for your postback.
Adding Funds
It’s important to note that your campaign will not run, let alone be sent to moderation, until you have added funds to your account.
To do this, click on either Balance in the main menu or Add Funds in the left corner of the interface.
Kadam offers a variety of funding options for advertisers, making it convenient and flexible to meet their specific needs. The minimum deposit required is $100 for the initial payment.
Before doing that, though, use our exclusive Kadam coupon to get the code for a 10% top-up bonus!
For subsequent deposits, the amount is reduced to $50 unless the advertiser chooses to use a bank transfer method, which requires at least $500.
The platform accepts a broad array of payment methods to cater to its diverse international user base. These include Bank Card payments in EUR, Bank transfers, PayPal, Paxum, WebMoney, and Capitalist (RUB and USD).
In addition, Kadam also accommodates digital currency transactions, accepting payments in USDT.
With this array of payment options, advertisers from all over can easily fund their ad campaigns on Kadam.
Viewing Reports & Optimizing Campaigns
Once your campaign is up and running, monitoring its performance is crucial. Kadam provides multiple options for viewing comprehensive reports on your ad campaigns.
These are:
- General Statistics
- Campaign Statistics
- Click Statistics
- Conversion Statistics – This report primarily examines conversions, including the time of click, time of action, time of conversion, campaign ID, creative ID, URL, area, IP, amount, and status.
- Site Statistics – This is the best report to view if you want to optimize your campaigns. This provides stats per website ID so you can add sites to your blacklist or whitelists.
To view these reports, click on Statistics, then select the option you want.
You also view Campaign Statistics and Site Statistics for a specific campaign by clicking on these options under the Campaign Name:
When it comes to optimization, Kadam offers manual blacklisting from the Site Statistics page.
Just tick the checkboxes next to the sites you want to pause, then press the Add to Blacklist button. Alternatively, you can click on the Add to Blacklist link right across the website ID, on the far right of the reports table.
Kadam Pros and Cons for Advertisers
Now that we have discussed the features and walked you through the process of setting up an ad campaign on Kadam, let’s take a moment to evaluate the platform.
Pros:
- Large traffic volume: Having at least 37 billion impressions per day is not to be looked down on.
- Granular Targeting: The options to help you find your target audience are on par with industry standards.
- Real-Time Analytics: Performance tracking and reporting is comprehensive, with analytics being updated in real-time.
- Variety of Ad Formats: Kadam allows you to choose from several high-performing ad formats.
- Option for CPA bidding: Other platforms have a minimum ad spend requirement before allowing advertisers access to CPA bidding. This advertising network doesn’t have such a requirement, allowing even new media buyers access to this payment model.
- 24/7 Moderator Availability: This isn’t something that many digital marketing networks can say. Kadam’s 24/7 availability of moderators makes it so that you don’t have to worry about waiting for days for your ads to be approved.
- Affordable rates: The rates are so affordable that even the average bids per country and per ad format are lower than most ad networks.
- Unlimited Ad Creatives per Campaign: I’ve never seen any other network that allows this. The only limit is the number you can upload per day. The mere fact that this DSP can handle that much data is very impressive.
- Awesome Customer Support: The best I’ve seen in the industry! They’re fast, helpful, always available, and polite.
- Fraud Filter: If the quality of certain clicks is really low, Kadam automatically classifies them as “free clicks” so advertisers won’t have to pay.
Cons:
- Simplistic Interface: While it does the job, I find Kadam’s interface to be too simplistic, and I believe that it can (and should be) improved to look more professional and modern.
- Variable Ad Quality: While Kadam has strict guidelines for publishers, there can be variability in the quality of traffic advertisers receive.
- No Option for Auto Optimization: By now, I somehow expect advertising networks to offer auto optimization based on rules for all ad types since manual optimization can be tedious.
- No Ad Preview: I like checking how an ad creative (particularly for native ads and push ads) looks first before running them, and I can’t do that with Kadam.
- Translation Issues: Some fields during campaign creation can be confusing. For instance, what does a transition mean when limiting the number of transitions? (Apparently, transitions are clicks.)
How to Earn Money as a Publisher with Kadam
Getting started with Kadam as a publisher is an excellent way to monetize your website’s traffic and enhance your profit margins. Here’s a quick guide to help you navigate the platform and create successful ad placements.
Step 1: Sign Up
First things first, you need to sign up on Kadam’s website. You’ll find the process straightforward, requiring basic information such as your name, email address, and password.
Be sure to review their terms and conditions before proceeding.
Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with the Dashboard
Just like with creating an advertiser account, publishers are given a quick tour of the dashboard upon logging in for the first time.
Step 3: Adding Your Website
Once you’re already familiar with the interface, it’s time to add your website.
You’ll first be asked for the site name and URL, then on the next step, you’ll be asked for access to site analytics platforms LiveInternet, Yandex, or Google Analytics. This is necessary for their moderation team to review the site and ensure compliance with the platform’s requirements.
Aside from general restrictions, to be approved, the website needs to have a minimum of 500 unique users per day over the past 14 days.
After this, the next step is to proceed with the confirmation of rights, which is essentially the website verification process. You can download a file and upload it to the root of your website, or you can use the Meta Tag option.
When you’re ready, click on the Check button to proceed with the verification process. Once you’re website is verified, then you’re all set to create ads.
Step 4: Choose Ad Placement
Next, decide what kinds of ads to promote and where you want them to appear on your website.
You have the freedom to choose the placement and ad format that best suits your website’s design and content.
Make sure to place the ads strategically to maximize visibility without disrupting the user experience.
Step 5: Monetize Your Traffic
Now, it’s time to monetize your traffic. Once you’ve set up the ad placements, Kadam will display ads to your website visitors. Each click or view earns you money, so it’s in your best interest to drive as much traffic as possible to your website.
Remember, the key to successful ad monetization is delivering high-quality content that attracts and retains users. So, keep your content engaging, fresh, and relevant.
Step 6: Monitor Your Performance
Lastly, keep an eye on your ad performance. Kadam provides comprehensive analytics, helping you understand how your ads are performing. Use this data to tweak and optimize your ad placements over time.
Step 7: Withdraw Your Earnings
After all the hard work of setting up your website, attracting visitors, and hosting ads, the next step is to reap the rewards of your efforts. Kadam provides a user-friendly process to withdraw your earnings.
To do this, navigate to the ‘Finances’ section of your dashboard. Here, you will see your current balance and the option to withdraw funds.
Kadam offers various withdrawal options for publishers, though each of them have their own minimums. The lowest is through QIWI for 10 Rub and Paypal for $10 USD.
Other payout methods include bank transfer, USDT, Paxum, Capitalist, Webmoney, Yandex.Money, wire transfers, and bank cards for Russia and the CIS region.
All in all, becoming a publisher with Kadam is a relatively simple process with potentially lucrative results. Just remember, patience and continuous optimization are vital.
Kadam Pros and Cons for Publishers
Let’s delve into the advantages and drawbacks of utilizing Kadam as a publisher. Understanding these aspects can help you make an informed decision about whether the platform aligns with your monetization goals.
Pros:
- Monetization Opportunities: Kadam provides publishers with multiple ad formats to maximize their earnings.
- Flexible Payment Terms
- Real-Time Analytics
Cons:
- Ad Quality Control: While Kadam has strict guidelines for advertisers, there can be variability in the quality and relevance of ads displayed on different websites or apps, which could impact user experience.
- Payment Delays: Some publishers have reported delays in payments, which can affect their cash flow.
Kadam Verdict
In conclusion, Kadam is undeniably a great option for advertisers looking to scale their winning campaigns. With its high volumes and affordable rates, it provides an excellent opportunity for success.
However, it’s important to note a couple of downsides that I personally experienced. The lack of an ad preview feature and auto-optimization can be a bit inconvenient.
Despite these minor drawbacks, Kadam remains a valuable platform for achieving advertising goals.
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