The 3 AppLovin leaks

A free checklist for Shopify stores testing AppLovin. The 3 places money leaks most often, and the fix for each. Takes 10 minutes to check.

Leak 1 · The pixel

Spending before you know the pixel sees every step. If AppLovin can't see the purchase, it can't learn who buys.

• Install Axon Pixel Helper in Chrome.
• Open your store in a clean window: homepage, then a product page, add to cart, go to checkout.
• Check that the extension shows an event at each step.
• If you can, place a real low-value order and refund it, so you see the purchase fire.
• Only then turn the campaign on.

Leak 2 · The creative

Running your 15-second Meta cuts. In CTC's data (May 2026), 81% of spend went to videos between 31 and 60 seconds.

• Vertical 9:16, full screen.
• 30 to 60 seconds. Stretch your best Meta ad: the product in a hand, text on screen, captions.
• Design the end card: one big button, one clear reason to tap.
• Send the tap to the product page, not the homepage.
• Load at least 5 videos.

Leak 3 · Helping the campaign

The fastest way to kill an AppLovin campaign is to touch it.

• The ROAS target is a percentage: type 150, not 1.5.
• Budget around 10x your target CPA, in one campaign.
• Give it 7 days without touching it. Give each new creative set 2 to 4 days.
• Put new creatives in a NEW set, never in the old one.

Want the whole thing?

The setup step by step, the 35-second scripts, the end cards and 10 teardowns of ads that keep running are in The AppLovin Playbook.

Sources: Axon (AppLovin) docs, CTC (May 2026), Pep Hufen (2026). Not affiliated with AppLovin.