iGaming is still one of the most popular verticals for affiliate marketing. This means that for this vertical, traffic is king. And with all of the competition that is in iGaming, you should know that you will have to fight for every click and conversion. But if you manage to carve out a space for yourself, this vertical can be incredible for revenue.
With this in mind, you should know that your campaigns need to be the best they can if you want to make it. This means that you will have to do your research, set them up properly, and optimize them constantly.
Most affiliates focus on vanity metrics like clicks, sign-ups, and others. But the things that really matter are conversions, and one of the best metrics for that is the First Time Deposit (FTD) metric.
Understanding it, tracking it, and optimizing for FTDs can turn your campaigns from barely profitable into money printers! But you need to know what to look for and optimize for if you want to do it right! With a few valuable insights from us, you will be able to optimize FTDs and maximize your return on ad spend (ROAS) in no time!
What Is FTD and ROAS?
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's cover the basics and explain what these terms mean in iGaming.
FTD (First Time Deposit)
The name explains it pretty well. Basically, this metric shows how much money a new user deposits into his or her account. With how most online casinos and gambling sites work, the initial deposit offers a lot of benefits that get people to engage with the platform, after which they are likely to get lured into spending more and more money, which makes the casinos real money.
This is a point of conversion. For some offers, it's the only event that matters. But for other, more lucrative offers, it's the starting point after which you can get some returns for each successful deposit by that user.
Online gambling and betting platforms almost always focus their interest on this metric as it shows the users that are really interested in playing with intent and money to back it up. This is where you will get most of your money from, if the offer doesn't have recurring payments for other conversions.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
ROAS is basically FTD and all other conversion events summed up together and divided by the money you spend on your ads. It's the ultimate measure of your campaign's profitability and success. The usual formula is:
- (Total Revenue / Total Ad Spend) * 100
This shows a number in percentage where anything over 100% is profitable (100% being neutral) and anything under 100% is negative.
Most conversion points, like leads or registration, are important, but with iGaming, sometimes they simply don’t pay out (or pay little). You can get thousands of registrations and sign-ups, but if those people don’t deposit money into their accounts, you will likely not get a substantial payout. This is why optimizing for FTDs is so important in iGaming!
Why and How To Optimize for FTDs
High-quality leads and traffic lead to a higher FTD rate, and the more your audience deposits, the more you make. Focusing on it as a primary goal is important if you want to make the most out of your marketing efforts.
- It Proves User Quality
With how online casinos and betting sites are set up, anyone can make a free account and check out what the site has to offer. While even that action is valuable to the platform (it's the first step towards conversion), they still prefer people who spend money. With the right audience, you can show the offer provider that you have good traffic and bring in conversions, which can help you negotiate a better rate later on.
- It Aligns With The Goals of the Offer Provider
These betting platforms don’t profit from free users, they want deposits and active players. If you optimize for FTD, you are optimizing for their ideal customer, which is a double win. You get paid more, and they will appreciate you bringing in traffic.
- Simple Optimization Target
Sometimes we aren’t really sure what to optimize for to get the best results. We have all tried different optimization goals and strategies to get to them. Luckily, with this, you know exactly what you should focus on. Your goal is to find users who are interested in iGaming, and get them to deposit!
So knowing this, how do you optimize for First Time Deposits?
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Attracting the Right Player
You should know that optimization for conversion starts even before the click. This means that you need to target people who are already, or have the potential to be, interested in what you have to offer. These are the people who are likely to make a deposit.
- Pre-qualify Your Leads
Your ads should clearly show that money is in play. Instead of going for easy sign-ups with things like “Free Sign Up” you can use language that pushes people to think more about the deposit and how they should spend money to make money.
One of the most common tactics is focusing on the benefits or depositing your first amount of money. Usually, all casinos have welcome bonuses and first-time deposit prizes like increased value of the funds deposited, free spins, or other incentives.
This means you can try with language such as “Get a 200% deposit Bonus!” “Claim 100 Free Spins Right Now!” or “Spend $10, Play with $30” and others!
- Target for Value, not Clicks
While getting Traffic is important, gaining value from that traffic is more important. Don’t chase the cheapest clicks and sign-ups. Segment your audience based on location, spending power, and age. Middle-aged men are likely to have more money than young people, etc. Try finding the players that have the highest Lifetime value, and optimize for them!
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Optimizing The Landing Page
Now that you have the click, you need to make sure that the person converts! Here are things you can do to minimize friction and drive conversions!
- Reinforce the Offer
The headline of your LP should match your ads and point towards the copy. You should explain right away what the benefits of depositing early are and what bonuses audiences can expect for doing so. Try keeping a consistent message over time, as that builds confidence.
- Show Trust
iGaming is full of shady offers and even shadier affiliates. If you want to make it big there, you need to showcase that you are trustworthy. Make sure you show any security logos you have on your LP as well as your official gambling licences, and of course, logos of trusted vendors you work with, like payment methods, etc.
- Simplify Everything
The less your audience has to think, the better. You want them to convert on autopilot mode if possible. Remove any unnecessary words, segments, images, headlines, or anything else that might confuse people or give them any reason to doubt you. Ask for the info you need and try not to bother your future players too much before they even get the chance to deposit and play on that platform.
- Have a clear CTA
Your call to action should be clear and impossible to miss. Use action-oriented text to get more conversions!
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Push Your Lead
If your lead has already registered and started the process, it's time to push him or her just a bit more to get that conversion going.
- Onboarding
After they register, don’t just push them to the homepage. Try giving them an option to deposit right away (even if it means a bigger bonus). This pop-up should have the focus of showing the potential player how much they can gain in bonuses if they decide to deposit now. It's a FOMO tactic, and we all know how well those do!
- Follow Up
If you haven’t gotten the conversion, make sure to do a proper follow-up. Your remarketing campaigns should be crucial there, as often people change their minds, especially if the brand or person interacting with them shows up multiple times, offering the same or improved deals every time.
If you don’t want to bother your audience too much, you can send an automated email after a few hours of them registering, and then one after a few days to make sure they are still interested and don’t forget about it.
Conclusion
iGaming is incredibly competitive, and having any sort of advantage can be a huge asset. One of the things most affiliates make mistakes in is getting distracted by clicks and registrations instead of focusing on the bigger picture.
Building your strategy around the basics of FTD and ROAS is the key to driving more conversions and having better results overall. It does take some time to get right and dial in, but once you do, you can expect huge returns on your investment!
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