This is the report of a traffic manager specialized in acquiring iGaming traffic for a betting house. He manages his iGaming traffic campaigns on Adsterra, focusing on attracting new bettors.
Recently, his main challenge (and ours too, of course) was working within the monthly budget while increasing players’ first deposits.
With his permission, we are sharing this story with you, including some valuable tips on how to boost conversions in sports betting and iGaming.
Campaign Summary
Before continuing with the strategies worked on between the traffic manager and the Adsterra team, let’s take a look at the campaign details:
- GEO: Romania
- Operator: Maria Gaming
- Ad Format: Popunder
- Objective: First Deposit (FTD)
- Acquisition Model: CPM
- Monthly Budget: $3,000
- CPA Limit: $72 (ideal: $40)
- Minimum Deposit: $100
Results: Increased iGaming Conversions
- Monthly deposit growth: from 42 to 93
- Profit generated: from $5,700 to $11,100
- CPA final: $32,5
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Challenges Faced in Increasing Deposit Rates
Our partner needed to increase the first deposits in Romania without exceeding the budget of $16,000. However, the target CPA of $70 per conversion was difficult to achieve due to the intense competition in this region.
Another hurdle was the lack of S2S tracking, which limited our ability to monitor ad performance. Even so, we managed to almost double the number of deposits from 42 to 93, maintaining the quality of traffic (players continued betting and depositing).
Strategies to Increase Conversions in iGaming
Before driving first deposits, we analyze traffic performance. Our traffic manager could only share detailed reports every 28-30 days, allowing us to check data such as: Impressions; clicks; placement IDs; Records; Deposits; Dates.
We quickly identified that the best sources of conversion came from the first 12 placements, while the rest did not convert, even though they generated many impressions.
Here are the top four tactics we apply to increase iGaming conversions:
1. Budget Control and Distribution
Avoiding spending 50% of the budget in the first five days was essential. We distributed resources evenly over the 30-31 days of the campaign, ensuring they reached all available traffic in Romania.
This strategy not only increased conversions, but also allowed you to give traffic sources that initially didn’t convert a second chance.
2. Define the Best Times to Advertise
In addition to distributing the budget, we test the ideal times to show ads. Although players can visit the site at 3 am, conversions occur at more strategic times. We excluded nighttime hours, further optimizing Popunder campaign performance.
3. Bid Customization
Without real-time tracking, manually adjusting bids for traffic sources that weren’t converting but still driving clicks. We use Adsterra’s Custom Bid feature to reduce bids on these placements.
This allowed us to save money and redirect budget to high-converting sources.
4. Blacklisting of Inefficient Sources
After four weeks, we remove traffic sources that don’t convert. Although it was risky to cut traffic volumes initially, it helped maximize the campaign’s return.
Final Summary
Conversions in iGaming and sports betting are not instantaneous. Excluding traffic sources prematurely can reduce conversion opportunities.
Adjusting bids and continually monitoring performance are the best ways to maximize return on investment, especially in FTD campaigns.
Additionally, iGaming campaigns on a CPM model tend to generate better results compared to CPA traffic, which works better for leads or installs.
Stay tuned for more success stories in the iGaming vertical by joining the Official Adsterra Brasil Channel on WhatsApp or via the official Instagram.
