It’s no use denying that every media buyer and affiliate manager in iGaming has dealt with a traffic burnout issue at some point of his life. It’s a common mistake to think that it’s always the ad or the landing page. There can be many reasons – it can be the product, the support, or even zero sync between n the affiliate and the brand.
In the latest Peaky Ads episode, its CEO, Vasilii Gamov, and Anastasia Titova, a powerhouse in iGaming user acquisition and funnel optimization, will explain why traffic burnout happens and how to fight it.
What is traffic burnout and why it happens?
Traffic burnout occurs when the expected conversion metrics, such as deposits or lifetime value (LTV), are not met. Anastasia explains that it’s not about CTR or similar metrics. It’s usually what happens after, like reg2dep, CR and your traffic when you check the quality after your test cap.
There are 3 main reasons for traffic burnout
- Poor coordination with managers. Misalignment between affiliate managers and product teams can lead to ineffective traffic management.
- Generic funnels. If you warm out your audience for an exact offer, like Jet X, for instance, and show them just the main landing page, not adapted for this specific offer, it usually affects the results, such as the cost of your traffic, payout, and user activity. You can also lose about 30% of your CR.
- Anti-fraud triggers from similar gameplay patterns. As one of the examples, Anastasia explains that if an affiliate didn’t mention that he will run a specific funnel, managers won’t be able to inform their analytics or anti-fraud team. The traffic may be taken for fraudulent – if many players are into the same game and have the same patterns, for instance.
How do bonuses affect iGaming CRs?
Bonuses can be a double-edged sword in the iGaming industry. Anastasia highlights that everything you add to the campaign can have its consequences, and they aren’t always so positive.
Cost implications.
Every additional bonus offered increases the expectations for traffic performance. Affiliates must understand that excessive bonuses can lead to unprofitable traffic.
The thing is that extra bonuses (not standard operator package) are calculated as well when checking the deposit sum and they are extracted from the overall sum, so the more bonuses you offer, the more users and higher deposits are required from you.
Example: Overloaded €500 welcome bonus with tough wagering killed D1 ROI for casual mobile users – 90% bounced.
Stat: In campaigns where bonus terms were not shown in pre-landing, conversion to FTD dropped by 42%.
Target audience looking for freebies.
Attracting «bonus hunters» who are not genuinely interested in playing can dilute the quality of traffic. Vasilii highlights that using a “no-deposit” bonus policy is an awful idea, as it will not attract long-term players at all.
Be strategic in the use of bonuses.
Bonuses should be used strategically, such as offering them for second or third deposits rather than without any money contribution. For instance, Anastasia suggests to use a generic welcome pack of bonuses. You can say that everyone that clicks on your link will have a certain amount of bonuses, and it will be just a normal welcome bonuses package, no one will actually check if it’s actually exclusive or not!
Anastasia concludes that affiliate managers should consider bonuses that are more individualized for each affiliate, which can lead to higher expectations and better performance.
By leaving out general bonuses for some affiliates and creating tailored offers, companies are capable of optimizing their promotional initiatives and thus enhance their profits. Proper communication and collaboration between managers and affiliates are essential to fully realize these opportunities.
Customer support influences traffic profitability: what is it?
Both speakers agree that customer support has a great influence on the traffic performance, there are several main points to consider.
All in all, it is essential for retaining new players, especially ones who are beginners at casinos as well as are responsible for concern and inquiry resolution, fostering a supportive climate.
Tips to consider when it comes to customer support
- Take into account regional factors. There are differences in cultural perspectives on gambling (e.g., just a fun activity in Europe and Scandinavia but has some negative connotation in CIS countries). It means that communication needs to be tailored in order to address specific regional mindset.
- Apply smart communication strategy. It’s better to ask the support team not to use triggering terms like «casino» that could foster fear. Also, support team shall use positive words, i.e., «How can I assist with the game issues?» or like “Would you love to try this or that?”.
- Use clear language. Support team shall use only simple and straightforward language to not confuse new players. It also means reducing game and bonus-related tech terms to better explain things. For instance, a funnel targeting 40-year-old women can fail because support uses jargon like “RTP” and “KYC” instead of plain-language onboarding.
Recommendation: For gaming-style funnels, train support to mirror user psychology: “You’re here to play, let’s win together!”
Why is it vital for affiliates and iGaming product team to sync?
Affiliates absolutely need to keep in touch with the product teams to follow up their leads, especially if they use some sensitive traffic channels like Facebook, for instance. Anastasia and Vasilii highlight some main tips to apply for both affiliates and the product team.
Use communication via messengers.
It depends on the GEO, but it’s better apply Telegram, WhatsApp, and some other local platforms for additional follow ups and communication, such channels are really effective. Push notifications from apps is also a good idea, in Vasilii’s opinion, it works really well. He also highlights that calls can be a good solution for VIP user segment, such clients really love it.
Offer special conditions to improve retention and funnel functionality.
Affiliate connection with the manager can help to improve the funnel, for instance, if a user leaves casino in 24 hours, support team will give him an additional bonus or offer some other perks. Or, for instance, if there’s a really popular sport event in some GEO, you can ask support team to notify all players about it via push message, for instance, and offer a freebet.
Example: A campaign used a Telegram emulator chat to funnel users into sign-ups – which appeared suspicious to risk teams.
Result: 1,000+ leads flagged and locked due to misunderstanding the funnel logic.Vasilii sums up that having a common marketing funnel with a casino manager can help affiliates to increase CRs and boost retention greatly. It’s also a nice idea to be proactive for an affiliate and collect a client database and ping it from his side.
UX and personalization: How will it work to boost the iGaming results?
User experience and personalization are two extremely important factors that contribute largely to the satisfaction and participation of players within the iGaming industry. Anastasia and Vasilii see several key factors to take into account when it comes to user experience.
Easy registration process.
A theme-based registration form that supports the game theme (e.g., employing images like planes for the Aviator game) creates an engaging first experience, thus making the process significant and engaging.
Effective game redirection.
Redirecting players upon registration to a specific game, such as the Aviator, maintains them engaged with content related to their initial interest, thus enhancing retention.
Demo versions and tutorials.
Offer demo versions of games to tell new players something about gameplay. Interactive tutorials using pop-ups may guide users through features, aiding in easier switching from familiar games (like Sweet Bonanza) to new games (like Chicken Road).
Consistent marketing funnels.
Consistency of theme is important throughout the marketing funnel. If the Aviator game draws players, subsequent experiences should also be consistent about that interest rather than diverting to unrelated content.
Pro Tip: Always request a deep link to the slot you’re pushing (e.g., redirect directly to Aviator or Chicken Road).
Bonus idea: Custom registration pages with slot branding boost CR by up to 28%.How to understand that the iGaming funnel is not working properly?
Experts have also compiled a list of recommendations for affiliates and affiliate managers to follow in order to gain quality traffic, notice when the funnel is not working properly and fix it quickly.
- Track conversion metrics. Watch conversion rates and engagement rates regularly. An abrupt increase in leads without any corresponding activity may be fraud.
- Examine user behavior. Track user activity after the deposit. Watch for trends like deposits without gameplay, which can indicate low-quality traffic.
- Analyze deposit ratios. Calculate the average first-time depositor deposit. A steep decline in this ratio may speak of traffic quality issues.
- Keep an eye on withdrawal patterns. Watch for fast withdrawals after deposits with no or minimal interaction. This is a healthy fraud indicator.
- Cooperate and share knowledge. Keep the dialogue among managers and affiliates open to debate traffic quality and share findings in order to promote a collaborative strategy towards fraud identification.
Conclusion
As you see, by understanding the nuances of traffic management, leveraging bonuses wisely, and maintaining open lines of communication, affiliates can easily enhance their marketing funnels and drive profitability.
Both experts highlighted several main takeaways from the podcast episode. First of all, traffic management is a team effort which means that all parties involved must work cohesively to optimize conversion rates, from product to affiliates.
It’s crucial to be proactive. Both affiliates and managers should actively seek information and support to improve their strategies.
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