How to monetize Betting traffic with PPC affiliate marketing

Webmasters and marketers are continually refining their advertising strategies in order to attract new customers and boost sales. In this context, one of the most commonly used methods is the PPC (Pay-Per-Click) model, in which the Betting ad appears more frequently in search results.

Many elements influence the results of this type of contextual advertising, including the target audience and market competitiveness. In this article, with 888STARZ Partners team we’ll go over the aspects of a PPC in affiliate marketing, reviewing important features to avoid minor setbacks and succeed in iGaming campaigns.

What is PPC in affiliate marketing

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) is a marketing strategy, where the advertisers and webmasters place ads on search engines and get paid every time these ads are clicked by customers. For the first time this approach was applied by the search engine Google, which actually owns 90% of contextual advertising on the market (Analyzify data for 2024).

PPC advertising is based on the auction principle, where advertisers or webmasters bid on keywords related to their products or services — in our case sports betting. When a bettor types a query into a search engine, a contextual media network decides which ads to display based on bids and relevancy.

Webmasters can use PPC-campaigns to target potential consumers based on their search queries and preferences, attracting a larger audience. A fee is charged whenever a person is referred to a page or website. A site visit becomes a focused activity, and a well-executed PPC betting ad plan results in conversions. Ads might appear on internet pages, social media, or mobile apps.

According to the Economic Impact report, the average return on investment (ROI) through PPC is 200%: for every $1 invested in Google Ads, there is a $2 profit. Webmasters and advertisers around the world are investing heavily in PPC marketing. According to statistics, 65% of small and medium-sized businesses prefer the Pay-Per-Click model. It is expected that by the end of 2024, spending on contextual advertising will reach $306.7 billion, and by 2027, this figure may exceed $545 billion, showing a steady growth of 13.5% annually.

What is the difference between PPC and CPC?

PPC and CPC metrics are often confused by newbies. CPC (Cost-Per-Click) is the amount a webmaster pays for each click on their ad. PPC (Pay-Per-Click) in turn, is an online advertising model with the ability to pay only for clicks that lead users to a website, instead of paying for show ads.

The main difference between PPC and CPC is that PPC describes a marketing strategy, while CPC describes a specific cost metric. PPC includes not only CPC, but also other measurement methods such as CPM (Cost-Per-Mille, or cost per 1,000 impressions) and CPA (Cost-Per-Action).

In the PPC betting model, the webmaster does not pay for the ad itself, but for the activity that the ad generates. The more clicks, the higher the cost will be. This approach allows you to control the budget and optimize advertising campaigns, depending on their effectiveness. In general, CPC is used to calculate the cost of each click individually.

What are the benefits of PPC for betting campaigns

Here are the main advantages of contextual advertising that make it a convenient and effective tool in affiliate marketing:

• High target audience engagement:

Using PPC marketing services to promote Betting allows you to target potential customers based on their search queries and interests. This provides an opportunity to reach users who are actively looking for gambling-related products and services, significantly increasing the chances of converting these users into loyal customers.

• Cost-effectiveness:

Compared to other traffic sources, PPC allows webmasters to receive relevant traffic at a relatively low cost per click. Through flexible PPC-campaign setup, you can precisely target the right audience segments, minimizing the cost of questionable conversions.

• Quick results: 

The process of reviewing and publishing a betting ad takes only a few days. As recent statistics from EcomRevenueMax show, nearly 65% of searches end with an ad click and subsequent purchase. In this regard, SEO optimization is inferior to PPC as it takes months for the page to be indexed and appear at the top of search engine results

• Advertising budget control:

All campaign costs can be adjusted independently, which makes contextual advertising very flexible in terms of budget planning. The price may depend on the type of device on which the ad will be displayed, the place where the banner will be shown, audience demographics, time, geo, and many more.

• SEO compatibility:

Regardless of the aforementioned, PPC traffic is effectively combined with SEO promotion. This tactic greatly helps to boost a website’s ranking in organic search results. As a result, the combination of these strategies improves the overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

• Measurability of PPC campaign effectiveness:

Contextual advertising generates accurate data about the users who interact with the ads.  Impressions, clicks, conversions, and other metrics are all simply trackable. Data analysis enables the webmaster to optimize an ad campaign’s approach in an accurate and timely manner.

Tips on generating Betting traffic with PPC

Generating betting traffic with PPC can be beneficial, but certain details should be considered. To improve outcomes and generate more leads, here are the main aspect you need to pay attention to:

Setting goals and budget planning

Before launching an ad campaign for a Betting offer, it’s important for a webmaster to set goals. Increased sales, audience expansion, growth of first deposits, players from a specific geo, and so on — the precise need has a direct impact on budgeting.

Since the cost per click might grow fast, you must react promptly and optimize the ad campaign, modifying the approach; otherwise, money can be lost. Advertising budgets are also determined by criteria such as competitiveness, brand niche, keywords, and others.

Identifying your target audience

Understanding and analyzing your target demographic is one of the keys to developing a successful strategy. Consider the possible client’s needs, expectations, and ability to pay. For example, let’s look at the portrait for five categories:

Player Category	Age Range	Gender	Occupation	Interests	Betting Behavior	Keywords
High-Income Players	30-50 years	Men and women	Business owners, high-level professionals, managers	Financial markets, sports events, high-end entertainment	High amounts, often long-term investments	“prestige,” “exclusive,” “high income,” “premium,” “investments”
Middle-Income Players	25-45 years	Men and women	Mid-level managers, specialists, entrepreneurs	Sports events, leisure, technology	Moderate amounts, varied bets	“middle income,” “entertainment,” “hobby,” “affordability,” “balance”
Low-Income Players	18-35 years	Men and women	Low-skilled workers, students	Entertainment, sports, games	Small amounts, often on entertainment events	“affordability,” “entertainment,” “excitement,” “minimal risk,” “budget”
Professional Bettors	25-50 years	Men and women	Professional analysts, betting specialists	Betting strategies, data analysis, sports events	Systematic betting, risk analysis	“professionalism,” “strategy,” “analysis,” “profit”
Occasional Players	Varies	Men and women	Various professions, often over 30 years old	Sports events, gambling as part of leisure	Irregular betting, entertainment events	“entertainment,” “leisure,” “celebration,” “chance”

Keyword selection and landing page optimization

The effectiveness of a PPC gambling or betting campaign will be ensured by keywords that match the queries of the target audience. It is better to exclude negative words to avoid wasting money on irrelevant clicks and to get rid of “left” search queries.

Paying attention to negative keywords is a way to save money on advertising. For example, if you are promoting the best betting bonuses for deposit, minus words can include phrases like “where to get”, “get”, “this year”. This will allow you to avoid showing your ad to a non-target audience and limit the possibility of mislead. Simultaneously, the list of keywords and phrases must be updated on a frequent basis to ensure that it remains relevant and in line with user inquiries.

However, simply clicking on the ad does not guarantee that the customer would stay on the landing page — it’s quite possible that the content does not meet expectations. As a result, conversion rate optimization on the landing page is essential. Quality images, clear keyword-rich content, and, most crucially, an appealing call to action (CTA), can all help to enhance clickability.

Tracking statistics

Even if the budget for the Betting campaign has already been set, it’s important to constantly analyze conversion rates. This allows you to see how effective your ads are, whether they are attracting new customers and if sales are going well. Special attention should be paid to such metrics as:

1. CR (Conversion Rate).
   It reflects the percentage of users who made a targeted action (for example, registration or depositing money) in relation to the total number of clicks on PPC or other ads.
2. CPA (Cost-Per-Action).
   This metric demonstrates the competitiveness of the chosen keywords and the economic feasibility of investing in them.
3. CTR (Click-Through Rate).
   It determines how relevant the ad content is to the keywords and target audience.
4. CPC (Cost-Per-Click).
   This metric reflects the optimal cost to attract the attention of the target audience.
5. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend).
   It demonstrates the value of spending to achieve the goals you have set. 

The results of tracking these metrics with PPC marketing tools will show the most effective keywords, as well as the viability of budget optimization.

Focus on effective channels

The marketing strategy of a PPC-campaign usually includes several promotion channels. Their effectiveness is determined by many criteria: brand niche, target audience, budget, ad format and other factors. In 2024, the most popular platforms for PPC gambling and betting advertising include:

Platform	Market Share (Coverage)	Ad Format	Pricing
Google Ads	91.47% of the global market; 84.2 billion monthly traffic	Text ads, responsive banners, display ads, video ads	CPC: $1 – $50
Microsoft Ads	17.02% on PC; 659 billion searches per month	Display, animated, audio, and video ads	CPC: $1 – $1.50
Facebook	45.5% of the social media market; 3.98 billion Meta users	Images, videos, carousels, instant experience, collections	CPC: $0.50 – $2
Instagram	14% of the social media market; 1.4 billion active users	Images, videos, reels, stories, in-shop ads (carousels)	CPC: $0.30 – $1
LinkedIn	17% among social media users in the US; 900 million users	Single image, text, video, carousels, events	Minimum $2 per CPC
X (Twitter)	611 million active users	Images, videos, text, carousels, moments; Promo ads, Follower ads, Amplify, Takeover, and Live	CPC: $0.50 – $2
YouTube	2.7 billion active users per month; 80 million subscribers to YouTube TV	Video ads, overlay text or graphic ads	CPC: $0.10 – $0.30

Some brands do better on social networks, while others — on affiliate sites and search engines.

For the webmaster, the most effective channels for contextual advertising of betting platforms are search engines and affiliate websites. Search engines like Google Ads can attract users through keyword targeting. Focus on long-tail keywords, a keyword phrase consisting of multiple words (usually 3 or more) that has a narrower focus and lower search frequency than general queries. 

For example, instead of “sports betting” the long-tail query could be “live soccer betting for beginners”. Such keys attract a more targeted and action-ready audience, which often results in higher conversions at a lower Cost-Per-Click.

Affiliate platforms like sports blogs and forums provide access to a loyal and engaged audience.

Social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram can also be helpful, but it’s important to consider their strict rules regarding betting advertising. Taking a unique approach to developing promotional materials, such as sports content advertising with a mention of the website, will help you to avoid moderation. You can read more about generating betting traffic on Facebook here!

Peculiarities of launching PPC campaigns

Learning from the experiences of others is always more beneficial and cost-effective. Here are some tips to assist you avoid mistakes and not waste your money on ineffective PPC campaigns:

Non-optimized ads

In a highly competitive vertical like Betting, it’s critical to constantly optimize your ads. First and foremost, the ad should only contain key information about the product or service in simple terms. For example, if we’re talking about a 150% bonus for creating a new account, it should simply be stated as “Register and get a 150% bonus”.

It’s not always easy to write the perfect headline on the first try. Try different approaches and assess their effectiveness. Finally, there should be a clear call to action. The customer should be aware of what to expect from the supplied betting offer.

Lack of integration with Google Analytics

PPC marketing services for analytics and optimization are key steps in launching PPC-campaigns. Google Analytics is a proven tool for comprehensive analysis. It provides up-to-date metrics and the ability to customize specialized reports. Such approach enables a more in-depth analysis of target audience behavior as well as a more accurate assessment of PPC betting strategy, ultimately assisting in the optimization of conversions and increasing ROI.

Poorly structured landing page

The importance of data markup on a website cannot be overemphasized. For a blog, it is important for content to be organized by category and topic. The variety of markets and matches to bet on, the quality of promotional descriptions, and players feedback are all important factors to consider while promoting a betting offer. A well-structured and easy-to-read landing page will boost conversions.

Absence of a mobile version

Consider this scenario: a mobile user clicks on your ad and navigates to the desktop version of the website. They are unlikely to continue engaging with the website. Because search engines consider site adaptability, a lack of a mobile version will reduce the impact of an ad campaign.

Final things to consider before launching a Betting PPC campaign

Lastly, a few important recommendations for a successful launch of PPC advertising for betting:

• Bank cards:
  There are plenty of services that allow you to create an infinite number of virtual cards with secure BINs. It’s important to remember that, even with premium cards, the system becomes less trusting if another payment method is linked to the account.
• Accounts:
  It is recommended that you use post-payment accounts. This can help you prevent losing your advertising budget, for example if your prepaid account is blocked despite having been paid in advance.
• Account warm-up:
  This usually involves spending a few bucks on advertising for white labeled offers. Following that, you allow your profile to become dormant for a while. This approach helps to reduce the risks of blocking and warm-up the account, which later will be used for Betting advertising campaigns.

Conclusion

Contextual advertising is a powerful tool for webmasters in the sports betting space to reach their audience. With well-designed PPC ads, you can see immediate results at a low cost, boosting conversions and enhancing your brand’s competitive edge. It’s also an ideal way to test new products or services.

So, if you’re driving traffic with PPC and ready to launch right now, contact your personal manager at 888STARZ Partners. We have everything you need to successfully start betting campaigns in over 100 geos!