Many advertisers perceive Trafficshop Ad Network as a purely self-serve ad platform, but that’s only partially true. While the interface gives you full control, our team is actively involved behind the scenes. Every day, we log into client accounts, especially those running popunder traffic, to monitor performance, check for potential issues, and ensure campaign settings align with their goals. Whether you're looking to buy traffic at scale or optimize existing flows, we’re here to help make sure it all runs smoothly.

Over and over again, the same issue keeps coming back: outdated whitelists and blacklists.

This is particularly common with popunder traffic, where campaign efficiency heavily depends on the relevance and freshness of your site selections. In many cases, advertisers create a list once and then forget about it. Sometimes for years! When we dig deeper, it becomes clear how much might have changed during that time.

A few examples:

• The availability or structure of a site may have changed entirely. What worked a month ago may no longer be relevant today. For instance, just yesterday Google didn’t object to popunder traffic on certain sites, but today, due to updated policies, we had to remove them and leave only skimmed traffic active.
  
   
• Rates can shift depending on updated content, audience engagement, or even the bids of other advertisers competing for the same placements. This is exactly where smartCPM can be especially useful. It helps you stay competitive without constant manual adjustments. You can read more about how it works in this article.
  
   
• A site that once worked well may have become overused or exhausted for your specific offer. Users can become tired or blind to a particular ad or landing page after seeing it repeatedly for months, or even years. Meanwhile, the market moves forward. Within any dynamic advertising network, new and more engaging landing pages are constantly being introduced, while yours may begin to fall behind.
  
   
• Your landing pages may no longer align with the site's tone or traffic type. This is especially relevant for native traffic, where consistency in style and context is key. If the ad no longer fits naturally within the site environment, performance can drop significantly. In some cases, technical issues on the landing page may go unnoticed, leading to broken flows or missed conversions.
  
   
• The site might have lost the GEOs you're targeting. Geopolitical changes, regulatory shifts or platform-specific restrictions can all affect traffic availability. Did you hear about what is currently happening traffic in France, the UK or the US? We have as well, and regretfully had to take appropriate action to adjust traffic flows and protect campaign quality. Just like any other great advertising network would do!
  
   
• New compliance rules, such as Google restrictions, may limit certain types of offers or carrier traffic. In some cases, these rules prevent you from running specific carrier offers on popunder traffic altogether. Additionally, on certain websites, it may be technically impossible to buy traffic from Arab or Asian countries due to local firewalls or access restrictions placed on those domains.
  
   

So how often should whitelists and blacklists be reviewed?
 

Our recommendation is to revisit your lists at least once every few months. More urgently, update them whenever you notice a drop in volume or conversions, especially if your campaign setup hasn’t changed. Declining performance without a clear reason is often a strong indicator that something in your list needs attention.

Compare historical data. Analyze site-level performance. Look at GEO coverage, CPM shifts, and landing page compatibility. These small but consistent checks can reveal what’s no longer working and help you get back on track faster — especially when you're trying to buy traffic at scale and maintain consistent results.

If after reviewing the data you're still unsure where the problem lies, don’t hesitate to reach out to your advertising network’s account manager. In some cases, the issue may stem from changes elsewhere in the system, such as new advertisers entering the same targeting space or broader platform-wide adjustments. We’re always happy to provide context, offer guidance and help you buy traffic more efficiently.

Because while the platform may be self-serve, you are never on your own.


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