Postback

How it works

The app's SDK reports an install or an in-app event to the MMP. The MMP works out which ad, if any, gets the credit. It then calls a URL that the ad platform provides and passes the details: which campaign, which event, when, and often a value. No browser or device is involved in that call. It goes from one server to another.

You choose what is sent. Typical options are which events go to which platform, and whether a platform hears about all conversions or only the ones it won.

When it matters

Ad platforms bid by learning from results. A platform that only hears about installs will find people who install. A platform that hears about purchases will look for people who buy. The events you post back shape who sees your ads, so this setting deserves as much care as the campaign itself.

Timing matters too. A postback sent the moment a trial starts cannot know whether the trial was cancelled an hour later. Airbridge's Signal Hold, on supported ad channels, holds a conversion postback for up to 24 hours and drops it if a matching cancellation arrives.^[1]

How it relates to attribution

Attribution is the decision. The postback is how the decision leaves the MMP. A match that is never posted back helps your reports and does nothing for the campaign. The same word is used for a different message on iOS, where the device sends the result to the ad network; see SKAdNetwork postbacks. For networks that make their own match, read self-attributing networks. For returning users, see re-engagement attribution.