Every pay-per-call deal rests on one definition: when does a call count? Settle it clearly and both sides trust the numbers. Leave it vague and every invoice turns into a negotiation.
The common rules
- Duration: the call counts once it passes a set number of seconds.
- Press 1 to accept: the buyer confirms they want the call, and the timer starts from that moment.
- Postback: the buyer reports a conversion from their own system, such as a sale or a booked appointment.
What each one rewards
A duration rule is simple and quick to settle, but it rewards long calls rather than good ones. Press 1 to accept protects buyers from paying for calls that ring into a busy floor or an IVR they never wanted. A postback pays on real outcomes, but only as well as the buyer reports them.
- The call
- 2:10 long, buyer pressed 1 at 0:25
- Duration, 90 seconds
- Converted
- Press 1, then 120 seconds
- Not converted: 1:45 after accepting
- Postback on sale
- Waiting on the buyer
Illustrative.
Choosing the rule
Match the rule to the vertical. Fast, high-volume verticals often settle on duration. Higher-value calls, where a buyer may screen several callers before one buys, lean toward press 1 or a postback. Whichever you pick, write the threshold, the moment the timer starts and the payout type into the agreement.
In Avortyx each buyer sets what counts as converted, by duration or API postback, with CPL or CPA payouts per conversion. With Press-1-to-accept, the timer starts when the buyer presses 1.
See it in your own numbers. Know where each call came from, send it to a buyer who can take it, and see what it earned.
