How to get Betting traffic from Google UAC

Mobile traffic is becoming increasingly popular in the iGaming industry. This is due to the fact that more consumers spend their time on smartphones rather than on stationary computers. For this reason, more and more companies are looking to access a wide audience of mobile users, where one of the top traffic sources is Google UAC.

It is by no means inferior, and in many aspects outperforms industry heavyweights Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Today, we’ll go over an alternate marketing option: Google UAC, an advertising platform for mobile apps that  many webmasters use for generating traffic to betting sites.

What is Google UAC?

Google UAC, or Universal App Campaigns, is one of the segments of Google Ads, which is responsible for promoting exclusively mobile applications in online stores. This type of advertising campaign is displayed across nearly all Google services. These include:

• YouTube.
• Google Play Store.
• Google Search Engine.
• Google Display Network (GDN).

With such a large pool of placements for advertising, the app owner will get a wide coverage. This has the potential to generate leads, increase ROI, or simply get more views.

Google favors UAC marketing because online store apps have already been verified. If you just generate traffic on white-labeled offers, the source rarely bans accounts.

Google UAC provides a reliable way to:

1. Increase the number of app downloads;
2. Automate UAC ad campaigns using AI.

UAC can optimize your App install ads, but it will do it in its own way. The advertising platform is completely automated: its algorithm will take some time to collect and analyze information about your adverts before showing them to potentially interested audiences.

Google UAC is a significant source of traffic for webmasters. If we exclude AI automation, the only peculiarity is that this technology is only useful for promoting apps.

When we talk about mobile apps, we don’t mean messengers like WhatsApp or the Angry Birds game. It is possible to convert practically any website into an app that will eventually be available in the Store. In fact, this is an offer that does not have its own landing page, but rather a cross-platform browser that opens only one window. In affiliate marketing it is called a WebView app.

Actually, no programming skills are required to pack any website into WebView format. It is sufficient to use compiling software (programs that convert the source code of a program into machine code), which are numerous today. All that remains is to submit the application to the marketplace, get through moderation, and further mobile app promotion with Google UAC.

Traditional native applications are also actively used by webmasters. Usually they are provided by the advertiser, and also they can be bought or rented. This might be a more qualitatively packed offer, with features designed for mobile device usage such as built-in payment and authorization processes.

Benefits of using Google UAC

First and foremost, let’s discuss why you should use Google UAC. Aside from the obvious fact that webmasters make thousands of bucks here, let’s point out the main benefits:

• Relatively low competition.
  Beginners rarely use this platform, as generating traffic through this source requires investment. While Google’s algorithms are optimizing your campaign, there is a considerable possibility of spending your entire budget. However, for the skilled webmaster, the fact that UAC-campaign can be long-lasting is a considerable advantage. There’s no need for regular changes, like on Facebook, where webmasters often puzzle over new strategies of ad campaign promotion.
• A wide range of offers.
  Almost any products can be promoted via Universal App Campaigns, however online gambling should be obscured. You’ll need 3-4 accounts in reserve, as well as 2-5 applications.
• Generating large amounts of traffic.
  This option is available if you have a trusted account. This allows you to withdraw certain sums without risking being prohibited from further spending.
• Quick launch of ad campaign.
  Universal App Campaigns represent flexible tools that are quite easy to customize thanks to the use of AI.
• Low probability of banning.
  Your account can last for a long time when promoting white offers, but it can only last for one to two weeks when it comes to casinos. Either way, this time frame will be sufficient for generating leads and conversions.
• Great coverage.
  The advertisements are shown across all Google services and partner websites.
• Ability to use any creatives.
  In addition to static content, you may include animations or full-fledged videos.
• Ad campaign AI automation.
  Google’s UAC machine learning algorithms independently test audiences and optimize bids. 

Cons of using Google UAC

It will be fair to emphasize the disadvantages as well. Among them, let’s highlight such difficulties:

• Audience selection through algorithms.
  Universal App Campaigns still represent the same AI. Certainly, it simplifies the process, but the bad news is that UAC performs poorly due to sluggish learning and lack of ability to immediately expose the offer to a target group right away. Here you can help the system by adding signals, such as specifying the audience and their attributes.
• Targeting is extremely limited.
  There is almost no manual customization with Google UAC. There is no way to configure the following parameters: add negative keywords, exclude gender, interests, playsets, or age. Furthermore, machine control can result in random geo-restrictions, where one county is accessible on one account, but not present on another.
• Lack of control over traffic quality.
  The algorithm manages impressions, making it impossible to control the target audience and increasing the possibility of ineffective budget spending. There is no tracker, and ad campaigns cannot be set up in the same manner that contextual advertising is: for example, with quality bidding (the process of controlling bids on ad impressions), advertising schedules, and so on.

What you need before launching a Betting campaign with Google UAC

So, we looked at the benefits and drawbacks of using Universal App Campaigns. In general, there is no distinction between the offer complexity — the future result is entirely dependent on the webmasters’s skills. 

To operate with this type of source, you must understand some complexities related to advertising tools and campaign analysis. For running traffic we should take into account the following things:

Trusted Google accounts

To run ad campaigns we need trusted Google Ads accounts that have already been used to spend money. There are no clear guidelines for spending because it all depends on the profile’s “age”: (the older, the better). However, along with accounts that have been warming up for a while, webmasters also can use recently created ones.

For the first launch, you can take your personal Google Ads account. In this case, it is desirable to start with the warming up of white offers (without spending). This allows you to increase its trust. To scale the ad campaign you may need a lot of warmed up accounts. It is best to purchase farmed accounts from sellers or rent pre-existing ones. However, you need to be careful with online shops so that you don’t get an ordinary auto-registered account instead of a legit one.

Mobile App

You can either request such an app from an affiliate program or CPA network, or buy your own.  There are no fundamental differences between them — only the price. In the first scenario, you can contact 888STARZ Partners. We deliver native applications to webmasters that work with us.

Should you opt to purchase your own app, the costs start at $150 and go up to $200. On the other hand, the affiliate network will give it to you for free. And if the application is suddenly banned, you’ll get a new one for free as well. 

Payments

The bank card will be used to cover advertising costs on your  account. Remember that you cannot link one bank card to more than two Google Ads accounts. It is also recommended that you choose prepaid over postpaid payment option because Google has stricter control over postpaid payment processors. 

Individual bank cards are ideal for the webmaster to work with. It is preferable to replenish them in small amounts because this allows you to gradually improve the degree of trust in the account while lowering the chance of getting banned.

Pay attention: If you’ve previously chosen a geo for an offer, be sure to indicate it in IP and payments settings. Otherwise, Google will consider it as an excuse for further account suspension or even banning.

Anti-Detect browser and proxy

You will only need anti-detect and proxy if you want to use Google Ads accounts purchased from sellers.  If you work on a personal account, you won’t require antidetect or proxy. In this instance, Google will perceive the action as more natural, reducing the possibility of blocking issues. 

Tracker

You can’t operate without the tracker because Google UAC lacks analytics features. Webmasters have to track the performance of ad campaigns in order to avoid acting blindly and wasting advertising budget. You may use Firebase or AppsFlyer to monitor user activity, conversion rates, and other key metrics.

Creatives

“The more the better” strategy applies greatly to creatives in UAC marketing. One campaign may include ranging from 10 to 20 creatives — these might help while the campaign leaves much to be desired.

As with most other traffic sources, the following formats of creatives can be used:

• Video;
• Images;
• Text.

Video is the most popular and versatile alternative, especially in 16×9 format. Additionally, it allows the use of formats 9×16, 2×3, and 1×1.

It doesn’t matter if you use creatives obtained from spy services (except you must make them unique and different from the ones you borrowed), or generated separately — the most important requirement is high-quality. First and foremost, this point relates to visitors from YouTube. This video hosting platform receives the majority of targeted gambling traffic. For example, Tier-1 customers typically visit YouTube for enjoyment and entertainment, therefore an advertising offer on Betting will be more relevant.

By the way, you can upload a video for an ad campaign only from YouTube (not from a computer or laptop). Therefore, add creatives on the service itself, and then search by keywords or a link.

Example of UAC betting campaign: getting started

There are not many options for a betting offer in Google Universal App Campaigns. Here we have:

1. Campaign subtype;
2. Geo;
3. Language of target audience;
4. Type of operating system;
5. Daily budget and bid.

And that’s all that is required of you. First of all, you need to create a personal account. To do this, log in to your Google account and switch to the section with all services, where Google Ads is located. Then press the “Start now” button:

Next, you need to link your bank card to your account. For this, click on the “wrench” symbol and go to the menu “Billing” — section “Settings”:

Select “Payment Methods” and add your card:

Setting up and warming up an account before UAC campaign

To prevent Google from banning your account for suspicious activity, you need to “warm up” your account first. This is necessary to gain account trust, which can be done with the help of Smart-campaigns. Run it for 1-2 days with a budget of $10-20 on some trusted marketplace like Amazon. To do this, go to the “Campaigns” section, click on the “+” sign, and then select “New Campaign”: 

Next, select “Create a campaign without a goal guidance”. This allows you to launch a campaign without a predefined goal, giving you full control over settings and targeting. However, you will need to set your own goals and optimize the campaign according to your current objectives. To confirm, click “Continue”:

Choose the Smart package. This option will help you highlight the key benefits of your offer and attract customers. You can create one campaign or several at once, each focusing on different products or services with unique key themes.

Fill in some general information about the company for now. Since we’re just warming up the account, there’s no need to dive into specific details of any offer yet.

Given that our initial goal is to warm up the account, insert a link to any ad, let’s say a random seller from Amazon, or another large marketplace: 

Next, in a new window, you should make sure that there is definitely no checkmark in the “Show a call button in your ad” column. Also here you should fill in the titles and descriptions to the current offer:

Optionally add a few keywords:

Choose a random geo. For the example we picked the United States:

Specify a recommended budget:

Check the ad and that’s it — the warming campaign is ready. Leave it for a couple of days.

How to launch a Google UAC Betting campaign

First of all, we need to decide on the geo. For this example we have chosen Germany. In the familiar “Campaigns” menu, click on “+” and select “New Campaign”, and on the page that appears, select “Mobile App Promotion”:

In the “Look up your app” field we add a link to the Google Play app:

Then customize the campaign. Choose the geo, language, budget (from $20-50 and increase every day by 1.5-2 times) and in the “Bidding” section remove the checkbox “Set a target cost per install”. This is necessary to maximize the number of installs.

Next, upload your creatives. They should be native and, preferably, similar to the application style and design.

There are guidelines for mobile app promotion: you should not use direct appeal to avoid causing Google to suspend or even ban your account. Negative keywords for gambling offers include bet, casino, spin, free, and other similar terms. Also don’t hurry up — it’s worthwhile to generate some traffic. Only after the first results you may try to add some attractive triggers to the current creative.

In the almost final third step, fill in the important information in the fields below:

After the fourth stage, which is “Confirmation”, and successful moderation, optimize creatives and increase the daily budget by 1.5-2 times every 24 hours. That’s it!

However, there is one more condition. Although UAC is regarded to be a reliable source, with banning only very provocative ads, sometimes problems arise even with appropriate creatives. There are cases when out of 5 identical text creatives, only one passes Google moderation. There are several ways to solve this type of problem:

1. Changing the text in the creative itself;
2. Restarting the ad campaign, without replacing the account;
3. Running ads from another profile.

So, set aside a few hundred bucks, discover a trusted affiliate program or network that provides smart links and apps, and be sure to profit on Betting offers promotion. To ensure that everything goes as it should be, contact 888STARZ Partners. We assign a personal manager to each of our partners, who offers all required information, assists with the launch of your ad campaign, and answers any questions you have on running traffic from Google, FB, Instagram, and other popular platforms!

Conclusion

Google Universal App Campaigns is nearly one of the best advertising options you need to promote Betting offers. It is also a relevant source of traffic in affiliate marketing, where apps are either packaged offers or separate platforms for advertising the same offer.

If you want to drive traffic to betting though apps and take your ad campaign results to the next level, join 888STARZ Partners! Here you will get favorable conditions for launching campaigns through Google UAC and other traffic sources. We offer quality promotional content (landing pages, creatives, banners), native ads, offers for each geo and more. Take advantage of all the benefits and start making even more money with one of the top affiliate programs in iGaming!