It is closely tied to the rest of the business, and it can have a considerable impact on the way the affiliate marketing program runs in the future. Software packages such as MyAffiliates receives data from the gaming provider. We are then able to display new players and their related activity, trigger CPAs, calculate Net Revenue for revenue share and hybrid deals, and calculate earnings for all affiliates.
Besides the fact that affiliate marketing is a major contributor to the traffic generation and revenue to most gaming operators, operators leave the choice of the affiliate marketing tool they will be using to the end when their choice of gaming provider has already been made.
Operators do not realize how closely these systems work together and what impact the choice of the gaming provider may have in the way their affiliate program may or may not work in the future.
As we all know, transparency is a determining factor in the choice affiliates make for an affiliate program. Therefore, it is crucial for operators to understand their data providers’ capabilities to send granular data for them to display full transparency to their partners. It is also key for the operator to understand what data is available to build their business model.
An affiliate program’s net gaming formula is the key element that will ensure the affiliate program’s success for both the affiliates and the affiliate program. When operators do not understand the data provider’s capabilities to provide every element the affiliate program needs to build their business model in the affiliate marketing software, they sometimes need to make compromises on transparency and profitability for both the affiliates and the affiliate program.
The frequency at which the data can be sent is also crucial. Most affiliate companies need frequent data updates to make quick decisions with the optimization of their campaigns. If the gaming operator cannot provide the data at least hourly, affiliates’ and operator’s costs increase, as it would take 24hours for affiliates to understand conversion from click to FTD.
The operators’ business model should also factor in the cost of affiliate marketing, including the cost of running on a reputable, reliable, strong software. Often, gaming operators would have invested a lot of money in engaging gaming content providers’ services to offer the best available gaming options to their players, disregarding the fact that affiliate marketing will be their primary way of getting these players to register and play.
The cheapest option, which offers basic functionalities, will often turn out to be the more expensive decision. One needs to remember that most of the biggest affiliates have been around for years. Their choice of promoting an affiliate program or not would also be based on the affiliate marketing software the operator would have chosen.
On the other hand, the operator needs to rely on the software provider’s support to tackle in a timely manner, issues that may occur with the data, the reporting, or any issues they may be encountering. For example, it is a common problem to have a gaming provider sending data late or incompletely. The operator needs to be able to rely on the affiliate marketing software to be able to react and re-import the data as soon as it is made available for affiliates if they are to trust the gaming operator.
Choose wisely, then. As with most things, cheaper is not necessarily better. And don’t leave your choice of affiliate management software for when it’s already too late for your business to make the most of that decision.
