Pay Only for Approved Results: How It Works

What you are really paying for

Most ad platforms sell a chance: an impression that might be seen, or a click that might turn into something. You carry the risk that nothing happens after that. With pay-per-result advertising the price is attached to the outcome itself, so a campaign that brings nothing costs nothing.

That changes how you plan. Instead of asking “how many people will see this?”, you decide what one result is worth to you and pay exactly that for each one you receive.

Pay-per-result compared with the usual models

• Pay per impression (CPM): you pay for views. Useful for awareness, but a view is not a customer.
• Pay per click (CPC): you pay for visits. Better, but many visitors leave without doing anything.
• Pay per result (CPA): you pay for a completed action such as a sign-up, an install, a follow, or a verified visit. The risk moves from you to the channel.

For a deeper comparison with formulas, read CPM vs CPC vs CPA.

How approval works on Sharklio

1. You describe the task and exactly what the proof must show, such as a screenshot of a follow or the username of a new account.
2. Our team reviews the campaign before it goes live, so users only see clear and allowed tasks.
3. Users complete the task and submit proof. Automated fraud checks filter out bots, duplicate accounts, and disguised locations first.
4. You approve or reject each completion in your dashboard, with its proof, country, and device in front of you. A rejection always needs a reason.
5. You are charged only for approved completions. If you do not decide within your approval window, anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 days, the completion is approved automatically.

The approval window protects both sides. You get time to check the proof, and users know they will be credited within a set time instead of waiting forever.

What this means for your budget

Because you set the price of one result, the budget turns into a number of results you can predict. A budget of $50 with a bid of $0.25 pays for up to 200 approved completions. You can also:

• Price every country separately, worldwide, so you pay more where a result is worth more to you.
• Cap spend per hour or per day, so a popular task does not use the whole budget at once.
• Cap completions per hour or per day, so you never receive more than you can review.
• Limit how often the same person can repeat a task, from once ever to every few minutes.

A worked example

Paying for visits instead

If you only need people to see a page, a click campaign charges per credited visit. A visit is credited once the user has stayed on your page for the view time you chose, from 5 to 60 seconds, and passed our fraud checks. There is no proof to review, which makes it the faster option for traffic, launches, and landing page tests.

How pay-per-result stays honest

• Campaign review by our team keeps misleading or prohibited tasks out.
• Automated fraud checks stop bots, duplicate accounts, and disguised locations before anything reaches you.
• Your own review of each task completion means you decide what counts.
• Fair rules require a reason for every rejection, which keeps good users coming back to your tasks.

When pay-per-result is not the right fit

• Pure brand awareness, where the goal is to be seen by as many people as possible.
• Long B2B sales that take weeks and several meetings to close.
• Actions nobody can verify, because approval depends on clear proof.

For everything with a clear, checkable action, such as installs, sign-ups, follows, feedback, or visits, paying per result keeps your spend tied to what you actually get.

Pay-per-result vs affiliate networks

Affiliate networks also pay per result, usually a commission on a sale or a lead. The difference is who brings the audience and how results are checked. With affiliates, partners promote your offer in their own way, and you depend on tracking to confirm each sale. With a task campaign, users receive your exact instructions, and you check the proof yourself before paying. Many advertisers use both: affiliates for sales, and task campaigns for actions such as sign-ups, installs with a goal, follows, and feedback.

Checklist before you launch

1. One clear result. Could two people read your task and do exactly the same thing?
2. A known value. What is one result worth to you, and is your bid below that?
3. Checkable proof. Does the proof requirement say exactly what must be visible?
4. Sensible countries. Start with markets you understand, then expand worldwide.
5. Safety limits. Total budget, daily caps, and a frequency cap that match your plans.
6. An approval window you can keep. Short windows attract more users, but only if you review on time.
7. Tracking after the result. Know how you will measure what these users do next week.

What to expect in the first week

After our team approves the campaign, completions usually start as users discover the task. Review them at fixed times each day, reject only when the proof clearly fails your requirements, and watch two numbers: how many completions you approve, and the cost of each result in every country. Raise bids where results come slowly and are valuable, and lower them where you receive more than you need.

Frequently asked questions