With their ability to reach wide audiences and drive traffic, pop ads have become a powerful tool for the promotion of casino and betting niches. Vasilii Gamov from RichAds, the global self-serve ad network developed especially for performance marketers, explains how to unleash the power of pop within igaming.
With overall revenue from the igaming industry expected to reach €134bn in 2024, which opens great opportunities for marketers and compels them to choose the most suitable traffic source. Being one of the simplest traffic sources to work with, pop-under ads have proven to have high CR for marketers as well as great volumes for most GEOs.
Why pop? Why now?
Before getting down to actual data and launch peculiarities, why is it that pop ads are a topic of such great interest for marketers now? There are actually three main reasons, the utilisation of which allow for the maximum return for any marketer.
“There are actually no restrictions or limitations on the use of pop ads”
The first of these is that there are actually no restrictions or limitations on their usage. Setting up a real working campaign on any format is not that easy, especially if the traffic source has a lot of limitations. When it comes to igaming, many traffic sources such as Google and social media impose a multitude of restrictions in terms of promotional materials and create additional pains in the life of marketers. Pop ads, however, are completely different – any landing or pre-landing page will do.
Secondly, pop ads are simplicity itself to use. Even if a marketer is trying the format for the first time, it takes only a matter of minutes to comprehend the setup. Pop ads only require a landing page and simple targeting to get started – there are no special tricks required, so even a newbie can earn on it.
Thirdly, and this is often the most critical these days, pop ads provide both affordability and huge geo coverage. With pop ads you can literally target any desired country at a low price. At RichAds, for example, there are more than 200 geos that you can test on pops, but the price per mile starts at just $0.3 for Tier 3.
“At RichAds, there are more than 200 geos that you can test on pops”
Prospective geos for 2023 and 2024
Taking data and the overall situation in the world into account as 2023 comes to its close, the RichAds team can already predict the geos that will convert best on pop-under ad format.
First of all, no matter what the expertise of a marketer is, Tier 2 and Tier 3 will still convert in 2024 and will continue to be among the best for the igaming industry. Their potential can be explained by comparing them with the high competitiveness and monetary cost of Tier 1 markets – not all affiliates can afford to start with Tier 1 geos and, even if they can, they aren’t skilful enough to get to positive return on investment (ROI).
When it comes to more precise targeting, LatAm is the most logical geo, with Brazil, Peru and Argentina being the most promising specific countries. The regulation of online casino and betting in Brazil is expected to finally happen in 2024, following the ratification of the regulatory framework in early January by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Asian countries are also worth the attention of marketers, specifically the Philippines, India and Indonesia.
For sure, the most voluminous countries are among Tier 1 – the USA has 58 million active gamblers along with Germany and the UK, which both boast 29 million users of online casinos and betting platforms. However, these countries are mostly for those marketers who have a history and expertise in gaining igaming traffic in the past and consequently know how to maximise their experience.
The highest converting geos to test on pop ads at RichAds by volume all reinforce the targeting of Tiers 2 and 3 with the exception of the ubiquitous US marketplace. These seven countries are Indonesia, USA, Vietnam, Brazil, Bangladesh, India and Thailand.
Different approaches, effective returns
As the main creative for pop ads is the landing page – or sometimes the pre-landing page as well – it is crucial to pay very close attention to them. The role of these landing pages and pop ads in the sales funnel is to retain a user and make them register or make an immediate deposit.
There can be different effective approaches. The first example (see screenshot below) is an interactive pre-landing page followed by a simple lander. This usually contains a spin-win and, after a brief engagement, a user wins a bonus and then gets redirected to the registration field. This approach works as gamblers enjoy the thrill of the game and having the sense of winning in the present.
The second approach is an “all in one” landing page. With this example (see screenshot below) you can list the types of bonuses a user will get upon registration, making sure they’re clear and visible, and then create a simple registration form. On this, for instance, it is necessary to ask a user for an email and name or phone number. It is vital for the process to be as easy as possible, otherwise you risk losing most of the audience.
Making your marketing “pop”
The art of mastering pop-under advertising is not that difficult. However, there are a few things that can be done to enhance the results when it comes to casino and betting niches.
An effective marketer must always ensure that the campaign set up has the landing page localised. As the first part of any pop-under ad campaign is the landing page it serves as the main attraction for users. Check the casino or betting site you’re advertising – it’s vital that this is properly translated, has no spelling mistakes and has the most popular payment methods for the region detailed so that potential clients won’t have any issues.
In order to get good traffic volumes for your GEO and targeting, it’s crucial to choose the most suitable bid. If your bid is too high, you’ll spend the budget too fast and won’t be able to properly analyse your TA. On the other hand, if it’s too low you won’t get enough traffic. To learn which bid suits your campaign, you can consult a manager or check Predictor, which is an AI tool that forecasts volumes and is built into the package.
It’s vital that you use traffic from a Premium group. RichAds has divided its sources into four categories – “Premium”, “Standard”, “Remnant” and “New”. Of these Premium is the most profitable. This group of sources has been tested in advance and has proven to have the highest CR ensuring that affiliates will get the optimal results. This kind of traffic is the best to start with, while the other groups can be used for scaling.
Campaign analysis and revision is the only true key to success, but doing this manually and daily can be tiresome and dull work. That’s why it’s better to use an algorithm that does all of the legwork for you – Automated Rules is another function of the RichAds package that filters out or turns off the sources that fail to bring you leads or turn out to be more expensive than necessary
Basically, that’s all you need to know when it comes to the set-up of pop-under ads. The utilisation of these rules will help increase CR significantly and bring success in the promotion of igaming offers.
The power of pop
As the igaming industry grows exponentially, so more and more traffic sources enabling you to corner an audience appear, therefore it’s crucial to choose wisely. One of the most effective ways to promote casino and betting niches is certainly pop ads. Using the high-converting traffic from RichAds will help maximise the reach and return of your campaigns.
Vasilii Gamov
Vasilii Gamov has been working in advertising for 12+ years. He has experience in the igaming, finance, crypto, e-commerce, video production, health, beauty and education industries. Currently, he is chief marketing officer for RichAds ad tech holding, which helps affiliate marketers achieve the highest results, publishers monetise their websites and companies improve their performance.