I chased the highest payout and lost money — why?

I chased the highest payout and lost money — why?

Q: A reader switched from a $32 finance offer to a $48 one. Revenue dropped. What happened?

A: We pulled their numbers. On the $32 offer, conversion rate was 6.1%. On the $48 offer, the funnel was longer (extra income-verification step), so it sank to 2.9%.

Math on 1,000 clicks:
— $32 x 61 conversions = $1,952
— $48 x 29 conversions = $1,392

Same traffic, $560 less. The 'better' payout had a worse earnings-per-click (that's revenue divided by clicks). They moved back, then split-tested a $39 offer with a shorter form — it landed at 4.7% and beat both.

Short version: payout times conversion rate beats payout alone. Track earnings-per-click, not the sticker number.

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