Vanity metrics lie
A campaign can show millions of impressions, a strong click-through rate and thousands of registrations, and still lose money. Those are activity metrics. They measure motion, not outcome. For a broker, the only outcomes that count are funded accounts and the volume those accounts trade. If a metric does not connect to that, treat it as a diagnostic at best, not a goal.
The metrics worth tracking
Cost per funded account. Not cost per lead, not cost per registration. What does it actually cost to produce a trader who deposits? This is the number that decides whether you scale or kill a campaign.
Deposit conversion rate. Of the people who register, how many fund? A low rate points to a leak between sign-up and deposit, usually onboarding or trust, not the ad.
LTV to CPA ratio. A funded account is only profitable if its lifetime value beats what you paid to acquire it. A healthy ratio means you can scale spend with confidence.
Traded volume per cohort. Two cohorts can have the same cost per funded account but very different value if one trades far more. Volume tells you which sources bring real traders.
Your CPA is high because your funnel leaks
When cost per funded account looks bad, brokers blame the ads first. Usually the ads are fine and the funnel leaks: a slow site, a confusing funding step, weak onboarding, no follow-up. Fix the leak and the same ad spend produces more funded accounts. This is why performance marketing and funnel work cannot be separated.
It changes by market
Acquisition economics differ across Africa. A funded account costs and behaves differently in Nigeria than in South Africa or Kenya. Benchmark per market, not globally.